GP-UP: Geoscience Engagement: Growing Interest at Hispanic-Serving Institutions by Scaffolding Classroom Intervention to Service-Learning Projects

Abstract from NSF website:

Despite concerted effort over the last two decades, the size and diversity of the geoscience workforce has not significantly changed to meet the projected demand for geoscientists, which has major consequences for the sustainability of natural resources and overall environmental quality that supports a strong economy and ensures the health and welfare of all United States residents. This project aims to address this shortfall using an innovative curriculum program to recruit and retain more undergraduate students from historically excluded groups; it will promote interest in geoscience within 2-year institutions where geoscience courses are limited and facilitate transfer pathways from 2- to 4-year institutions and retention to degree completion so students earn the educational credential needed to enter the geoscience workforce. The new insights gained from the program will form a model of best practices that can be adapted and implemented at other universities to grow a larger, more diverse geoscience workforce.

This project aims to broaden participation and enhance retention in geoscience by implementing and testing the effectiveness of a three-stage early intervention strategy within the undergraduate degree arena. Conducted at the Hispanic Serving Institutions of Northwest Vista College and the University of Texas at San Antonio, the three-year program will generate greater awareness of and interest in geoscience in introductory STEM courses and promote retention through extracurricular service-learning projects. In introductory geoscience, chemistry, and physics courses, four modules will test the effectiveness of a recruitment strategy that targets specific barriers and motivations to broaden and diversify the pool of geoscience majors and minors. Participants will be supported by multi-level mentoring, advising, a transfer bridging event, and stipends; a program-specific interactive website will facilitate formal and informal learning and interactions between students, faculty, professionals, and community. The project design permits a critical test of a recruitment approach that targets a wider pool of potential majors and the critical elements of service-learning projects that promote learning and retention. The new knowledge identified from formative and summative program assessments will be widely transferrable because it focuses on introductory courses that are generally offered at many institutions and experiential learning experiences that can flourish independently from formal coursework.

The team consists of Dr. Judy Haschenburger (lead PI, UTSA), Dr. Anne-Marie Nuñez (now at the University of Texas at El Paso), Janet Vote (UTSA), Dustin Smyth (Northwest Vista Community College),  and myself.

RAPID/Collaborative Research: Digitizing Early Cretaceous dinosaur trackways to preserve the geological heritage of central Texas

Abstract from NSF website:

Dinosaur tracks and trackways represent an invaluable testimony of ancient lifeforms and are enthusiastically acclaimed by the general public. Yet, increasing urbanization jeopardizes their preservation for future generations. This is especially true in central Texas where the metropolitan population grows by 1.7% yearly, and puts dinosaur tracksites exposed in rural areas and creeks at risk. Other stress includes transient flood and weathering enhanced by climate change. This proposal will preserve three sites in a digital format using advanced imagery techniques, while the analysis of collected rock samples will provide information on the landscape where dinosaurs lived. New data will be integrated in the Naylor Family Dinosaur Gallery of the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas, to educate the general public on preservation best practice and the ecology of life in central Texas about 110 million years ago. This project will engage researchers from four institutions with a strong track record on the topic; they will mentor a female, non-traditional Ph.D. student, and undergraduate students to solidify their interest in geoscience and retain them in the major. 

This project will inform on the depositional environment and the conditions that promoted the preservation of trace fossils. The digitization of each site using photogrammetric techniques will be complemented by detailed analysis of rock samples using microscopy and geochemistry. Results will evaluate whether dinosaur tracks are preferentially preserved in shallow marine sediments deposited during periods of sea-level fall when their frequent subaerial exposure under a hot and dry climate favored their early lithification and preservation. Alternatively, preservation may be enhanced by rapid burial with clay-rich sediment in a hot and humid environment. Geochemical and petrographic data will test these hypotheses. The integration of all results in a database available to the general public, will showcase the cultural heritage of Texas, and serve as a basis for future research.

Duration: August 2020 - July 2021. Follow our progress in the blog!