GAUGING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS FROM INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY COURSES THROUGH PRE- AND POST-COURSE SURVEYS

Across most disciplines, the instruction of introductory courses presents a unique and enriching experience for faculty to introduce the foundational concepts of topics they are most passionate about. However, against the backdrop of lowering admission standards, Introduction to Geology, a favorite of first-year students, has become something of an enigma. Students entering the course tend to expect an “easy” general education natural science course, and many even have a fleeting interest or curiosity in geology. But what they experience is a more rigorous course with a broad variety of topics beyond rocks and a message of the relevance of geology in their lives. The authors have made a concerted effort to maximize the relevance of Geology as potentially the last science course for most general education students while recognizing the need to also prepare geology and related majors in the foundational content necessary for upper-level coursework and careers. Beginning in 2015, an effort to measure student outcomes led to a course survey system within the Geology program at PennWest University – California (formerly California University of PA). Each course requires students to complete a course intake survey and a course exit survey. Additionally, all students that take a Geology course are required to complete a program-level survey one time per term. The surveys are different than traditional course evaluations, focusing on career preparation and students’ comfort with course content and objectives, rather than teaching/learning styles and perspectives or “likes/dislikes” for a course. These surveys have been illustrative of how students have internalized Geology as a discipline, how they value various topics most relevant to their experiences, and concepts they find most challenging. Qualitative analysis suggests students are both surprised and impressed that the topics of water and environment are included in geology. Measured by Likert scale, students tend to overestimate their level of comfort with geology concepts on the pre-course surveys, making learning gains difficult to estimate. However, based on qualitative responses combined with Likert responses, students generally increase their comfort with the “big ideas” like Plate Tectonics, Geologic Time, and Climate Change.