EVALUATING GENERAL EDUCATION GEOLOGY STUDENT OUTCOMES IN THE RAPID TRANSITION TO ONLINE LEARNING

With the arrival of COVID-19 and subsequent shut-down, many universities were forced to transition all courses to an online format. With this rapid transition, many instructors and students alike were utilizing a format they may not have been prepared to handle. This proved particularly challenging in many Earth Science courses where visuals and in-person explanations are often key to student understanding. This is important in general education courses where it may be the only exposure to these topics that some students receive.

In pre-pandemic general education courses, students tended to struggle with maintaining motivation with classes outside their major, however, due to set class times, and face time with their instructor, student learning outcomes were generally positive. With the shut-down and the rapid transition to online learning, students were consequently required to motivate themselves during this period of uncertainty. Student engagement through the initial stages of the shut down impacted performance but as adjustments were made, and instructors were able to adapt to this new format, student engagement rebounded slightly.

The data presented in this study was collected at Temple University from students enrolled in a general education course “Disasters: Geology vs. Hollywood.” This is typically a large (60+ students) course that meets several times a week. The student population of this course ranges from freshman to senior levels with various, usually non-STEM majors. This study focuses on multiple sections of the course to evaluate student outcomes that bridge the time between pre- and post-shut down, and show how our teaching, assignments, and assessments evolved to accommodate this transition.

Addressing waning attention in online courses is critical. We hope to show the value of instructor engagement in the form of weekly virtual meetings and weekly announcements to maintain student engagement throughout the semester. With consistent engagement from instructors, students are reminded about the course via current events, upcoming activities, and clearly stated expectations. This ultimately results in stronger engagement with the content and successful completion of the course.