UNDERSTANDING STUDENT EXPERIENCES ON AND MOTIVATIONS TO ATTEND A GEOSCIENCE FIELD TRIP

Field trips are important for students in geosciences because they need to observe a variety of rocks and learn to use equipment and take measurements in the field. Very little empirical research considers the experiences of and benefits to underrepresented students who participate in field trips. The goal of this study was to explore the motivations of a sample of undergrads attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the benefits experienced on a field trip to SW NM in Jan. 2023 with camping. We asked: What motivates students to participate in a field trip? What barriers do students face to participating in a trip? How do students experience a field trip? To what extent does participating in a field trip affect students’ beliefs about geoscience? We used self-determination theory to guide our study of students’ motivations to attend the field trip and the benefits they derived from attending the field trip. We used a longitudinal case study design. Participants were 17 undergraduate students who attended the trip. Six identified as Mexican American or Hispanic, two as biracial, 70% as women, 47% as 1^st-gen college students. 53% were in their 1st or 2nd year, 25% were not studying geology, 40% had never been on a college field trip, and 47% had no prior camping experience. We collected data with pre- and post-trip one-on-one interviews and daily journaling during the field trip. We analyzed our data using iterative cycles of coding and memoing in Dedoose. The two most-common motivations expressed were competence and relatedness. Fewer participants referenced intrinsic motivation or autonomy as motivations for participation. All participants spoke about what they learned from the trip—competence—as well as the opportunities they had to interact with others—relatedness. They described fewer benefits relating to autonomy or enjoyment. Almost all students came away from the trip either with more-positive views of geoscience or with their existing interest in geoscience reaffirmed. Several students shared that the trip had led them to consider graduate studies in geoscience, and three stated the trip had helped them narrow their interests in geoscience. Several students who were not geoscience majors told us they were considering changing their majors, adding geoscience as a minor, or lamented they could not change majors.