ASSESSING MOTIVATIONS, BENEFITS, AND BARRIERS OF IMPLEMENTING VIRTUAL FIELD EXPERIENCES

The geosciences lag behind other STEM fields when it comes to minority and disabled representation and an opportunity may exist to increase recruitment of new undergraduate students from underrepresented groups into geoscience-related departments. The use of virtual field experiences may help alleviate this shortage of geoscientists across all associated industries and have the potential to increase inclusivity in the field. As such, this research aims to explore the extent to which geoscience-related departments are implementing virtual field experiences in undergraduate programs across the U.S.

Surveying department heads and field trip/field course instructors in geoscience-related departments in two- and four-year colleges and universities across the United States, the study focuses primarily on the use of virtual field experiences (VFEs) as a supplement to, or in place of, in-person field trips and field courses as related to undergraduate geoscience-related education. Using a deductive reasoning approach and descriptive and selective coding methods, a variety of themes were identified in responses from 88 department heads and 27 instructors. Additionally, broad demographic information was gathered including type of college or university (two- or four-year), MSI or HBCU status, and whether class field trips and field courses/field camps are required and/or offered as part of undergraduate curriculum.

Through this research we seek to better understand the awareness level of VFEs among department leadership and faculty, how VFEs are being used as alternatives to physical class field trips and summer field courses, and the motivations, benefits, and barriers to implementing VFEs.