GEOSCIENCE IN TWO-YEAR COLLEGES

Two-year colleges are often suggested as vehicles to increase the diversity in the geosciences. There is a well-documented diversity of students at Two-year colleges (2YC), which takes many forms. These include cultural, racial, intellectual, financial, and preparation. This wide range of diversities brings a wide range of challenges, some of which are unique to 2YC’s. These diverse challenges demand a diverse range of pedagogies and programs to be effective in engaging and ensuring completion of these diverse students.

These challenges range from the national level to the regional level to the school level, as well as to the classroom level. They include declining enrollments and declining High School age students, “disruptive innovation”, challenges of the non-traditional or returning student, placement, “top of mind”, diversity and equity, balancing the use of effective pedagogies with delivering necessary content, and underprepared students. The challenges are great, but so are the rewards. There are many resources and trends that are leading to these great rewards, including outreach to the 2YC’s from the National Science Foundation, Geological Society of America and American Geophysical Union. In particular, the SAGE 2YC: Faculty as Change Agents(Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education) program has been developing a nationwide transformative community of practice that is supporting the success of all 2YC students, broadening the participation in the geosciences, and facilitating students’ professional pathways in geoscience. In addition, there is the networking and advocacy of the Geo2YC Division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, and the strong representation of Discipline Based Education Research in 2YC’s.