I THINK THEY STUDY SEAWATER: CLASSROOM CAREER PANEL DISCUSSION AS A TOOL TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ NATURE OF GEOSCIENCE UNDERSTANDING

Throughout our civilization, there have always been misconceptions from society about the work of scientists, including geoscientists. This has caused society to misunderstand the vital role geoscientists play in protecting and caring for our Earth, finding untapped resources, predicting natural phenomena, or developing new technological innovations. Misconceptions create a gap between what science can offer society and confusion about what groups can practice science. What can geoscientists do to spread their experiences and knowledge to avoid misunderstandings from society and create opportunity for greater participation? A better place to start is in a classroom, where geoscience professionals get to share their findings, experiences, and passions to inspire and educate the new generation of students about the work of geoscientists. In this study, a two-day career panel featuring 10 oceanographers from academia was introduced in an onramp oceanography course to help students understand the nature of geoscience. Qualitative surveys through student reflections (N=22) and interviews (N=5) were conducted before and after the career panel to gauge students’ understanding of the nature of geoscience from the panel discussions. Analysis of students pre-and-post reflections and interviews indicate that students’ perspective of oceanography work relating to what oceanographers do, development of knowledge, and issues of diversity improved after the career panel. This presentation will highlight what the students learned through the discussion and how the career panel changed their perspectives on geoscience and provide implications for geoscience education.