Image caption: GEODUC scholars during a field trip.
The geosciences have a diversity problem. The proportion of Historically Excluded Groups (HEG) in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations is significantly lower than that of the general population, with their participation in the geosciences lagging even further behind, a statistic which has not changed in the last 40 years.1,2 Paradoxically, historically excluded communities are the most impacted by environmental challenges such as climate change, natural hazards, and pollution.3
Our research teams suffer as a result. Without diversity in all its forms, research and policies are less likely to address the needs and preferences of affected communities. Diverse perspectives are crucial for scientific advancement, sparking unique questions and innovative problem-solving approaches.4,5 It’s imperative to shift towards equity in geosciences so that our future workforce mirrors our demographic diversity.
Community college students are untapped human and research capital. Community college (CC) students often represent a more diverse population, coming from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and nontraditional educational pathways compared to first-year students at four-year institutions. Community colleges play a vital role in guiding students from marginalized communities toward STEM careers.6 Early exposure to geoscience at four-year institutions boosts recruitment into these fields.7 However, CC students rarely get the chance to take geoscience courses at 2-year institutions, limiting their exposure to these disciplines and careers.
Enter GEODUC. To address this tripartite issue, we developed GEODUC (Geoscience Education, Oceanographic Discovery, Undergraduate Collaboration). This program recruits CC transfer students to build a diverse student body and uses place-based learning to overcome perceived academic barriers. Our hypothesis is twofold: (1) exposing CC students to the connection between marine geosciences and real-world problem-solving will boost recruitment to these majors, and (2) fostering a sense of community and belonging among first-year CC transfer students in marine geoscience majors will increase their retention in these pathways.
Tested at the University of Washington (UW; Seattle, WA), the GEODUC program consists of three core phases: (1) direct recruitment at local CCs, (2) a place-based immersive learning bridge program, and (3) a year-long community-building mentorship seminar series.
Here we share three valuable lessons we have learned from our first two GEODUC cohorts.
Lesson 1: Build people relationships at Community Colleges.
Our recruitment program focuses on students from HEG who are enrolled at CC in WA State and have declared a STEM pathway. We partner with instructors and advisors at local CC to create a student recruitment strategy and supporting materials for marine geoscience degree programs at the Seattle Campus of the UW.
GEODUC scholars build a temperature sensor to monitor changes in water temperature off the dock at FHL.
During the six months leading up to the application deadline, our team reaches out to STEM instructors at those local CC using individualized and personalized emails to introduce the GEODUC program. The instructor-instructor connection is particularly powerful because most CC instructors serve as career and academic counselors to students with a declared STEM interest. We offer virtual and in-person information sessions at UW with both research faculty and student ambassadors. Outreach also includes sharing recruitment materials (e.g., GEODUC website, flyers, social media posts) with instructors, advisors, and students.
To give students a real taste of what it is like to be a student in our geoscience departments, CC partner instructors are also invited to bring their students to observe classes, tour labs and meet with current UW students and research faculty in the marine geosciences. Importantly, program leads participate in guest lectures and interviews with students applying to UW and offer weekly office hours during the application window. This fosters a mutually beneficial relationship between the CC instructor and the recruitment efforts of the GEODUC team.
One GEODUC Scholar receiving the personalized messages and their two-part motivation for applying, was very interested in the motivation behind building this program specifically because, “I [also] have interest in engaging community college students (in research opportunities), helping them persist through their STEM career, helping them develop their STEM identity. It’s something that I’m passionate about because I’m going through this process myself. It’s something that’s a bit lacking: how to better help students, an overhaul of what academia looks like. I think that it [GEODUC] is a really important program.”
Lesson 2: Center place-based immersive learning and a growth-oriented mindset.
Place-based learning is a powerful learning approach that links concepts with community-driven issues or questions, allowing students to integrate their understanding of a topic or discipline into solutions-driven research.8 Using this model, we built a 10-day immersive experience at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL, San Juan Island, WA) before fall quarter begins. This residency program is designed to facilitate collaboration and community among the GEODUC scholars while also building skills in critical thinking, scientific inquiry, quantitative reasoning, and data analysis using local, on-island examples (i.e., contextualized learning).
GEODUC scholars collect eelgrass blades from the intertidal.
During their residency, the GEODUC scholars dive into the scientific method and fundamental marine geosciences concepts using local environmental issues that resonate with them and their communities – these issues are chosen from lists provided by the scholars in their application essays and vetted by our instructional team to ensure a breadth of underlying marine geoscience methods and concepts. The FHL experience culminates in the scholars conducting their own independent research projects on topics that sparked their interest during their residency, they thus apply the knowledge acquired in a different context: their own study.
We found that 90% of participants reported improved research skills, and their confidence in conducting experiments averaged a 4.0 (5-point Likert scale). Additionally, 100% of the GEODUC scholars reported being introduced to new local environmental issues, and three months later, they could all clearly articulate up to five specific examples of local marine geosciences issues.
The impact of the summer bridge program on recruitment and retention is significant. Of the 26 GEODUC scholars who participated in the 10-day field experience during the 2022/2023 (first cohort) and 2023/2024 (second cohort) academic years, 92% are still enrolled at UW, all in STEM majors, and importantly, 53% have declared or intend to major in a geoscience subdiscipline.
A GEODUC Scholar reported that their most salient moment was, “Collecting the eelgrass. I was doing actual field work: collecting grass, going back to Friday Harbor Labs to analyze all the data. It made me feel like a scientist in action, in the field.”
Lesson 3: Create and sustain a safe community.
Long-lasting mentoring relationships and a robust community of peers lead to enhanced academic outcomes in HEG and other non-traditional students. During their first year at the UW, GEODUC scholars enroll in a weekly seminar course that connects the place-based program to a support network for the entire first academic year at UW through three key themes: Academic Success (Autumn Quarter), Getting Involved in Research (Winter Quarter) and Career Opportunities (Spring Quarter) in the marine geosciences.
GEODUC scholars while hiking to Neah Bay on the Makah Reservation.
Seminars include visits from offices and programs on the UW campus (e.g., First Year Programs, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the Career and Internship Center) and scientists and professionals from across the Marine Geoscience disciplines (e.g., academia, tribal, federal, and state agencies, industry, and nonprofit organizations). Guest speakers, at different career stages from recent graduates to senior professionals and faculty, share their diverse backgrounds, failures, and lessons learned along the way.
At the beginning of each quarter, GEODUC scholars are encouraged to reflect on their strengths and areas of needed improvement and are led through a goal setting activity. Each seminar begins with a quick check-in to follow up on previous weeks to ensure their personal goals are being achieved and potential obstacles or problems are addressed promptly. To create an inclusive environment, we provide snacks and light refreshments that cater to the cultural preferences and dietary needs of our scholars, ensuring everyone feels valued and welcome. This also facilitates social interaction and community building.
One second-year GEODUC Scholar described to us this sense of belonging, “It has really created a sense of community with people who are like me. Because other students around me – they’re not transfer students. They don’t receive financial aid like me. It’s just vastly different experiences.”
Long-term, Carry-over Benefits
Our GEODUC Scholars have engaged deeply in their chosen pathways:
- 62% have received at least 1 new fellowship/scholarship/research position in STEM
- 27% had research abstracts accepted at local and national conferences
- 15% added a major or a minor in the marine geosciences
- 77% intend to engage in the field of the marine geosciences regardless of their major
Importantly, the support network has not only provided these students with opportunities but also with the confidence needed to excel in their academic and professional endeavors.
As one Scholar commented, “There’s a lot of encouragement to really try everything that comes your way. I don’t know if I would be applying to some of the scholarships or some of the internship opportunities that I am currently in the process of applying to if it weren’t for GEODUC – I don’t think I would have the confidence to do so. I am very thankful for GEODUC.”
Call to Action
Community colleges are a key resource in meeting US’ current STEM workforce challenge, with the additional potential to serve as a conduit in addressing socio-economic and racial inequalities in the geosciences and other STEM fields.9 Our GEODUC program is an effective model for supporting CC transfer students in a four-year research institution. After one year, we’ve found that the weekly seminar series (i.e., regular meetings that include self-reflection activities, interaction with professionals, and other low-stake assignments) is the most exportable, cost-effective, and accessible component of the GEODUC program. We believe that this must hold true for other four-year universities, and other large research institutions, where incoming transfer students struggle to adapt to the rigor and size of university courses and how to thread themselves into the fabric of established student communities.
Acknowledgments
Funding for the GEODUC program was possible by the National Science Foundation, IUSE program (Award # 2118605). We want to thank other members of the GEODUC team: Kerry Naish and LuAnne Thompson for their inspiration and support; and to our scholars who agreed to be photographed and their words to be used.
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