T132 Beyond the Numbers: Strategies for Inclusive Education Practices across the Geological Sciences I

Monday, 5 November 2018
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 234

SUPPORTING TRANSFER STUDENTS THROUGH THE LEARNING COMMUNITY APPROACH: THE LBOS-GEOBRIDGE PROGRAM IN OREGON

Paper number: T132-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM

Authors

Abstract

After decades of calls to broaden participation, the geosciences are still struggling to meet this goal. Two-year colleges (2YCs) are one of the main entry points into the geosciences, and the greater diversity at 2YCs offers an important opportunity to broaden participation. However, 2YC students face a unique set of social, academic, and institutional challenges when they transfer to a four-year college or university. Innovative programs designed to support 2YC students in the transfer process and in retention for graduation are then key in increasing diversity in the geosciences.

LBOS-Geobridge is an extracurricular “bridge” program designed to support geoscience students from Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) as they transfer to nearby Oregon State University (OSU). The program is based on the well-known cohort- or learning community model (e.g. Lave and Wenger, 1998). Each year, up to six students are selected primarily based on transfer readiness and interest in geoscience. During the summer between transfer from LBCC to OSU, programming is designed to build a community of geoscience practice in which a cohort of students work collaboratively through related field and laboratory experiences, such as geologic mapping and sample preparation, analysis, and data interpretation. Students participate as geoscience apprentices to learn traits necessary for success in a four-year college or university program. This framework allows students to build relationships that enable them to learn from and support one another, and develop a common practice through problem solving, requesting information, and mapping knowledge/gaps, which are all essential for success as a geoscience student and professional. Our initial findings, through student interviews of two cohorts, suggest that this framework builds transfer students’ metacognition, self-efficacy, science-identity, and community.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 50, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2018AM-318756

© Copyright 2018 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.