Abstract #115970; paper #235-15
On-campus Recruitment of Geology Majors:
developing alternatives to Physical Geology at a large state
university
ABSTRACT: Recruitment of Recruitment of majors is a common challenge for geology departments
nationwide. At California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) approximately 50% of our majors are recruited from the
2000 freshmen to seniors annually enrolled in 20 lecture sections of Physical Geology. Due to the large class size, field
trips and co-enrollment in the lab are not required. We hypothesized that the large class size, lack of lab exposure, and
inability to attend field trips inhibits recruitment of majors, so we are experimenting with offering alternatives to Physical
Geology. The alternative classes are smaller (24 to 60 students); limited to freshmen; have coupled lecture, lab and
field trips; and are topical (Earth’s Atmospheres and Oceans; Earthquakes and Volcanoes; Dinosaur World). Our
greatest challenge was restricting the student level. CSUF freshmen get priority enrollment during the Fall semester
only, and getting information to new students the summer before they attend campus is problematic. We circumvented
this problem by offering our courses through the University’s Office of Freshman Programs, but doing so requires us to
offer a service-learning component with each course: field-based analysis of the health of Big Bear Lake; construction
of public interest earthquake/eruption web pages, and hazards response training; and preparation of Orange County
fossils. Three-day camping trips in the 60-student courses are supported by grants from CSUF Associated Students.
We have offered each course once since Spring 2005. In surveys managed by CSUF and Freshman Programs, the
topical courses and their instructors have received exceptionally high student ratings. Although preliminary data
suggest that recruitment per capita from the topical courses does not differ from the Physical Geology lecture series,
anecdotal data suggests that recruitment of geology minors may be higher. We will use Geoscience Concept Inventory
tests to assess whether the two course formats result in meaningful differences in student learning.
SITUATION
want to increase number of majors
recruitment from large-lecture Physical
Geology classes accounts for 50% of majors
HYPOTHESIS: on-campus recruitment might improve if we
focused on topics of high public interest
Dinosaur World
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Earth’s Atmosphere and Oceans
changed class design
60-student lecture tied to two, 30-student lab sections, all
taught by same instructor
University funded 2.5-day field trip
limited enrollment to freshmen
offer courses through Freshman Programs
Learning about fault-scarps
(middle) and the rock cycle
(below) on Shake and Bake
field trip to Owen’s Valley,
eastern CA
learning communities focused on university retention
MODEL: add alternate General Education portals to
degree
majors take either Physical Geology lecture or a
lecture-lab Earth Science topics course
SERVICE-LEARNING COMPONENT
required by Freshman Programs
ALL majors must take Physical Geology lab
each topical course must cover 100-level learning
objectives required for geology majors
enhances retention
connects students to community
includes writing, reflection and presentation
demonstrates relevance of course content to society
in accord with CSUF Mission and Goals
Through experiences in and out of the classroom,
students develop the habit of intellectual inquiry, prepare
for challenging professions, strengthen relationships to
their communities, and contribute productively to society.
support provided by University
upper-division, peer-mentor assistant for each section
liability issues handled by centralized office
generous field trip funding provided by Associated
Students
mixed frosh-senior enrollment
co-enrollment in lab not required
no field trips
the breadth and scope of the Earth Sciences are
given heightened visibility in the major
100-level learning objectives for CSUF geology majors
Educational:
1. improve
critical thinking
skills;
2. improve testtaking skills;
3. improve ability
to make
observations of
the Earth.
Scientific:
1. introduce students to scientific
method;
2. understand the sources of Earth’s
energy;
3. understand (or be introduced to) the
value and limits of scientific data;
4. improve understanding of
mathematics and ability to read and
interpret graphical data.
Discipline Specific:
1. understand the basic concepts of
plate tectonics;
2. understand uniformitarianism and
geologic time;
3. know the characteristics and general
formation processes of igneous,
sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks;
4. understand the movement of water.
CLEMENS-KNOTT, Diane, BOWMAN, David, KIRBY, Matthew, KNOTT, Jeffrey & WOODS, Adam
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON
Department of Geological Sciences, Fullerton, CA 92834 dclemensknott@fullerton.edu
EXAMPLE: service-learning project from Earthquakes & Volcanoes: Shake and Bake
Objective: To enable students to practice and experience the strategies and challenges of hazard monitoring and response while
connecting to community needs
Question: How do citizens and scientists prepare for, and respond to, natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, eruptions)?
Approach: students gain real hazards training, coupled with a simulated hazards response
(1) Community Emergency Response Training
10 hours of run by City of Fullerton Fire Department and CSU Fullerton Police, including
rudimentary first aid training
education regarding local and regional disaster plans
Teaches students how to be “first responders” and to be self-sufficient in times of disaster
(2) Volcanic Eruption Simulation (Harpp and Sweeney, 2002, Simulating a volcanic crisis in the classroom, JGE)
Over the course of a month, student Volcanic Disaster Assistance Program Groups “monitor” simulated volcanic activity
students receive daily updates on course Blackboard site, and use Discussion Groups to create weekly hazard assessment
students complete labs directed at background research; surprise eruption simulation takes place in one 3-hour lab
students report experiencing high pressure of uncertainties and frustration at perceived risk
Students in Earth’s Atmospheres and Oceans
Above: data collection on Big Bear Lake, CA
Below: student presentations to officials from
the Big Bear Municipal Water District
Assessment: in addition to post-event questionnaires to assess impact of simulation and training, we’re conducting pre-/postassessment of student learning using the Geoscience Concepts Inventory (Libarkin and Anderson, 2005, Assessment of Learning in Entry-Level Geosciences courses: Results
from the Geoscience Concept Inventory). Data collection is on-going; data will be compared to results from traditional Physical Geology courses.
Dinosaur World students unjacketing Orange County fossils
Comparison of total Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) pre-test and post-test scores. The red line represents a 1:1
line (no improvement). Over 50% of the students improved or equaled their overall score in the post-test compared to
the pre-test. As might be expected, those students scoring lower on the pre-test showed the greatest gains. Analysis
of responses to individual GCI questions regarding plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes showed significant
learning gains.
100
EXAMPLE: service-learning project from Earth’s
Atmospheres and Oceans
Fall 05 GEOLOGY 110T
90
80
Corrected PostScore
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Corrected PreScore
EXAMPLE: service-learning project from Dinosaur World
Objective: To have students appreciate one of their county resources and enable them to
help make that resource available for future education and research.
Question: How do fossils go from the ground to a museum display?
Approach: help Parks and Recreation volunteers unjacket large mammal fossils collected
locally in Orange County, CA
Orange County’s paleontologic collection does not have a permanent home,
though CSUF has volunteered to lead an broad-based effort to develop a
research/curation/display facility
Assessment: a 3-5 page paper with figures describing how vertebrate fossils are found,
removed from the field, prepared and displayed
students reflected on their personal involvement with fossil preparation.
100
Objective: To help students better understand the
environmental pressures on one of southern California’s most
popular recreational communities: Big Bear and Big Bear Lake.
Question: To what degree have natural and anthropogenic
forcings affected the health of Big Bear Lake?
Approach: students divided into 3 teams focused on
geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere
each group will approach the question from their
individual system perspective
appropriate data collected and analyzed
lake core; water samples; historical climate data
3 groups integrate their observations/interpretations
students make several trips to site to study the
setting, collect data, and to present findings to the Big
Bear Municipal Water District
Assessment: reflection journals; field reports; group poster
and oral presentations