The InTeGrate project, an NSF-supported initiative, has developed and curated multiple courses and topical modules designed to infuse sustainability into the geoscience curriculum. As part of this project, a Research Team was tasked with significantly revising a course (to include the equivalent of 18 InTeGrate units) in order to assess the impact of InTeGrate materials on students’ geoscience literacy and their attitudes towards and awareness of sustainability issues. This presentation will focus on the impacts of this revision on a large-lecture (~110-seat) introductory physical geology course serving mainly non-STEM freshmen students at the University of West Georgia.

Multiple instruments were used to assess the changes in student success and attitudes resulting from the course transformation across control and implementation semesters. To determine the impact InTeGrate materials had on learning outcomes, 16-question GLE pre-/post-test scores, GLE essays, and InTeGrate module summative questions were scored across all semesters. Additionally, the instructor also collected separate department-generated pre-/post-test scores to compare the achievement of course learning competencies prior to and after implementation of InTeGrate. To assess changes in student attitudes, perceptions, and practices, a pre-/post-course attitudinal survey (IAI) was administered; anonymous student evaluations provided additional insight. Student engagement was tracked via homework completion and attendance records. The course instructor also tracked self-reported student confidence in their abilities through learning concept inventory surveys given prior to each class exam. Insights from specific assessment tools will be highlighted in this presentation; the overall results indicate that although some breadth of topical coverage was lost by the revision, the level of student awareness of sustainability and resource issues and the importance of scientific literacy increased.