STUDENT ATTITUDES IN INTRODUCTORY GEOSCIENCE COURSES

Educational priorities in STEM at the undergraduate level include sparking leadership and innovation in emerging and rapidly changing fields and educating a scientifically literate populace. Both of these priorities depend on the nature and quality of the undergraduate educational experience (NSF IUSE Program, 2015). This study focuses on investigating student attitudes and department engagement within the introductory undergraduate geoscience experience at SUNY Buffalo State. The resulting data offer a snapshot of student interests, values, and resource awareness that helps to provide insight into the characteristics of the early undergraduate geoscience education experience at Buffalo State. 

During the Fall 2016 semester, approximately 150 students studying Introductory Geology, Introductory Geology Lab, or Introductory Astronomy were asked to take part in an anonymous survey which asked students to reflect on different aspects of their introductory geoscience experience. Questions included reasons for taking the course, interpretations of course content, their personal impact on course outcomes, past experiences with science, and awareness of department and college offerings. 96 survey responses were gathered using multiple-choice, Likert-type scale, yes or no, and short answer methods. 

Early analysis shows that introductory geoscience classrooms attract students from across different majors as well as from the natural science disciplines. Nearly one in four responding students is a first-generation college student. The majority of students in these classrooms are seeking to fulfill the college’s natural science requirement but also indicated a general interest prior to course selection. Students seeking help generally prefer emailing the professor or teaching assistant, while students who don’t ask for help usually ask peers instead. Students demonstrated a limited knowledge of campus and department offerings. Study results may help inform the Department of Earth Sciences and Science Education about student attitudes toward introductory courses, which may lead to developments in future department offerings.