247-4 Incorporating Dispositions into Geoscience Curricula for Workforce Preparation

Session: Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Evolving Geoscience Curricula for a Changing World, Part I

Presenting Author:

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Abstract:

One goal of geoscience degree programs is to prepare students to enter the workforce, which necessitates an understanding of the skills and dispositions students will need to be hired into geoscience jobs. Previous studies of geoscience workforce needs, including an analysis of entry-level job advertisements, identified dispositions including attention to detail, desire to learn, initiative, and professionalism as important to workforce success. 

We conducted 12 interviews with geoscience employers from three broad sectors (government, extractive industries, scientific and technical services) to identify the most valued skills and candidate assessment strategies. Not surprisingly, interview participants valued a broad geoscience background and skills including communication, especially technical writing, field skills, basic computer skills, and experience using GIS. Participants also placed high value on dispositions, especially desire to learn, flexibility, and collaboration, mentioning these dispositions as frequently as communication and field skills. This result is in contrast to the relatively low frequency with which dispositions appear in entry-level job advertisements. Participants assessed applicants’ dispositions by looking for evidence of them in formal application materials (e.g., organization and attention to detail in a resume) and by using behavioral interview questions during applicant interviews.

We also conducted interviews with 13 geoscience instructors from a single department to investigate the strategies instructors use to help students develop dispositions. Instructors reported using a variety of strategies including modeling behaviors, course structures such as deadlines and opportunities to revise work, and use of group activities and projects. Reported strategies were categorized based on two criteria (active/passive and direct/indirect), with most of the described strategies falling in the active and indirect category. Instructors reported doing little to assess students’ disposition development. While instructors are mostly not using evidence-based strategies including transparency, active engagement, and assessment, many recognize that subtle adjustments to their teaching could better emphasize dispositions.

Results of these two studies highlight the importance of curricular adjustments to emphasize the development of students’ dispositions, and students’ abilities to demonstrate those dispositions to potential employers. Such curricular adjustments could include being more explicit about when and how students are developing dispositions, what expectations are with respect to the practice or exhibition of dispositions, and how those classroom or degree program expectations are aligned with those of the workforce.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-8341

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