NATIONAL GEOSCIENCE FACULTY SURVEY RESULTS ON EDUCATION PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

What is the extent to which college and university faculty report using education practices that support enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences? The NSF-funded 2016 National Geoscience Faculty Survey was developed through leadership of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, On the Cutting Edge, InTeGrate, and SAGE 2YC. The survey asked faculty to report on teaching practices they used in a course they taught in the prior two years, on how they learn about contents and methods used in their teaching, and on how they share with colleagues what they learn about teaching. Analyses of responses were limited to questions included in the national survey, and did not cover all of the practices that are critical to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. A small sampling of the survey questions includes: Considering the images and stories of individual geoscientists in your course, what percent included people of color? Do you ask students in your class to reflect on their success in learning a concept or skill during the course? Did you develop strategies to support less successful groups of students based on data from the course? Did your students address environmental justice issues? Do you frequently communicate with your colleagues about how to meet the needs of groups that traditionally have been underserved and/or underrepresented? Twenty-two of the survey questions divided into four categories based on factor analysis: geoscientist representations, learning strategies, career pathways, and curricular choices. The self-reported use of practices in these four categories varies, with some used by many faculty respondents and others by few. Regression modeling combined with ANOVA tests on the responses to the questions show that education practices differ based on variables such as institution type, introductory or major course, class size, faculty type, years of experience in teaching, and teaching style. These differences suggest opportunities for focused geoscience faculty development around education practices that support the success of all students and the enhancement of diversity and inclusion in the geosciences.