4 Building the Pipeline - 4th Grade through 2-Year Colleges

Sunday, 21 April 2024
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Kalahari Room, Oasis Hotel

YES, YOU CAN MAKE A CAREER OUT OF THIS: OUTREACH PROGRAMS TO INCREASE YOUNG PEOPLE’S INTEREST IN GEOLOGY AS A PROFESSION

Paper number: 4-9
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 4:05 PM – 4:25 PM

Authors

Abstract

Every kid is a geologist until well-meaning adults tell them they cannot make a career of it. Their love of geology becomes a lifelong hobby at that point, but it does not have to be that way. Missouri State University (MSU) is doing some cool things to attract kids, help teachers meet learning objectives, and show kids they can have the career of their dreams. Exciting outreach programs targeted at grades 2-4 assist teachers in meeting the Earth Science strands of the Next Generation Science Standards and Missouri Learning Standards, such as using information to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly. Topics include earthquakes, volcanic explosions, and erosional processes. Activities include investigating rocks, minerals, and fossils that reveal Earth’s past. Popcorn popper volcanoes illustrate shield and stratovolcano characteristics. Eroding Nerds demonstrates the chemical and physical weathering processes. A modified game of tag enables the students to experience the impact of vegetation on erosional processes. Students build simple models to demonstrate liquefaction. These activities help students relate to geologic processes and meet the teacher’s goals, but the programs have another purpose. Blickenstaff (2005) proposed a metaphor of a leaky pipeline to illustrate the decline of women in STEM at each level of education and professional level. This metaphor could describe the loss of young people who enter the field of geology. The MSU program’s long-term goal is to increase the number of young people pursuing a geology career. From managing and conserving caves to studying volcanoes. How about working with fossils in a museum? Geologists can look inside the ground to help people determine a suitable place to build houses. These and other exciting possibilities are included in the programs. Young people are interested in geology; if we want to increase the number who continue with their passion, we must ensure they know they can have a job they love.

Blickenstaff, C. J. (2005). Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? Gender Education, 17, 369–386. doi: 10.1080/09540250500145072

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024NC-398764

© Copyright 2024 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.