ENGAGING NON-MAJORS WITH A STUDENT-DRIVEN APPROACH TO CLASS PROJECTS

A challenge to any instructor teaching introductory courses dominated by non-science majors is to engage and relate the geosciences to students’ individual experiences and interests. Implementing a student-driven approach to a semester project can help to engage these students and encourage interest in the geosciences. Highlighted here is the development of an open-ended semester project where each student or group chooses their topic and the media they will use to present their project. There are only three restrictions to this: 1) The project must have something to do with the course. 2) The project must be stand-alone (no one need to present it). 3) The project must be informative to the general public. A rubric has also been developed to fit as many projects as possible, but is also open to revision on a project by project basis. This semester project is appropriate for both in-person and online courses. The project has yielded many amazing student submissions including posters, slideshows, videos, songs, artwork, and much more.