CULTIVATING INTEREST IN GEOSCIENCE AMONG NATIVE STUDENTS WITH AN OUTDOOR HYDROLOGY EXPERIMENT

Geoscience programs rank lowest among the physical sciences in ethnic diversity, and Native student enrollment is especially low. This is a participation gap that must be addressed by bridging an identity gap, where Native students need to visualize themselves as geoscientists before they can commit to geoscience programs and careers. At Utah State University, the Department of Geosciences has opportunities to engage with Native students to foster pathways into Earth science degrees, including the Native American Summer Mentorship Program (NASMP), and the Blanding campus’ College Launch and Upward Bound programs. For the past three years, the department has participated in NASMP, offering week-long research experiences. Students gain hands-on experience in earthquake science, geochemistry, and hillslope hydrology. For the hydrology research experience, a portable rainfall simulator and measurements of runoff from an outdoor test plot have been used to teach concepts related to dryland hydrology, where students learn about connections between storms, flash flooding, and runoff. At the Blanding campus, we used the experimental setup in the introductory geology class. Students took a pre- and post- survey before and after the implementation of the rainfall-runoff activity to rank and access their attitudes and motivations toward geoscience. Additionally, a group interview provided qualitative insights into the activity’s impact. Two main takeaways from these survey data are that learning science is more likable when it is hands-on and that making connections between students’ lives and STEM create more meaningful experiences.