8 Building Connections Between Educators and Geoscientists to Foster the Future Workforce (Posters)

Join us in sharing effective educational outreach practices and opportunities to connect geoscience researchers, educators, and outreach professionals. Topics include using data in the classroom, place-based and experiential learning, co-developing educational resources, and community engagement.

Monday, 9 March 2026
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
RCC, Lower Level Hall

An Environmental Humanities Curriculum to Engage Students in the Value of Geoscience Knowledge and Methods

Paper number: 8-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

To improve student engagement in geoscience courses, we have applied theories and methods in environmental humanities to service-learning projects in collaborations between communications curriculum and general education geoscience curriculum. The desired outcome for geoscience students is to improve student perspectives about the value of geoscience knowledge and methods to human life. Projects were developed by a communications faculty member with deep experience in service-learning projects partnering with community-based organizations in collaboration with a geoscience faculty member. An example project was to develop public relations materials that support ecocultural values of urban parks to increase community engagement with the parks. We identified sustainability, education, and recreation/health, chosen from ecocultural literature, as relevant values for the parks. Ecological components, and human social and cultural aspects were chosen as relevant attributes of park environments. Based on the ecocultural values of sustainability, education, and recreation/health, we developed an assessment for the geoscience students to identify relevant ecological components from individual parks. Leaders of the community-based organization spoke to students to explain the needs of the organization and their community. Students in the earth systems science class developed environmental information for the communication class, including scientific information on certain ecological attributes of the parks under study, and sustainability value of the attributes in each park. Students in a communications capstone course used survey results from park volunteers to learn what components were most valuable to park users. Qualitative student course evaluation and responses to this and other projects will be presented, along with student responses to course sections that did not use an environmental humanities approach will be compared.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026SE-411865

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