103-1 From a traditional teaching style to an engagement-focused approach, benefits and drawbacks: The Student Experience Project in Geosciences Classrooms

Session: Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Evolving Geoscience Curricula for a Changing World (Posters)

Presenting Author:

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Abstract:

In this paper, I share my personal experience of shifts in teaching style in geoscience courses during the spring 2025 semester as I was a part of Student Experience Project (SEP). The SEP is built on seven key learning conditions (Belonging certainty, identity safety, Institutional growth mindset, self-efficacy, social belonging, social connectedness, and trust and fairness) that explore innovative ways to enhance the learning environment for students. As part of this project, we administered anonymous surveys three times in the semester to assess the seven conditions. The SEP surveys and feedback provided valuable data-driven insights into the student experiences and learning conditions, and enabled faculty to improve teaching practices and learning environment by utilizing the feedback and real-time readjustment of course policies as the course progresses.

I implemented the SEP in my lower-division classes third planet (two classes) and fundamentals of GIS (one class). The first two third of the semester typically involved a lecture-based teaching method. Teaching format was then modified to a fully student-engagement method for the last third of the semester that aligned with the pillars of the SEP. Here, I document my participation in SEP and student outcomes to demonstrate how these two methods and the shift impacted the SEP learning factors. I also report course modifications and enhancements in design and delivery. Survey 1, which was administered in week 3 and was mostly influenced by how students felt or thought, showed that, students in my classes scored low in Belonging Certainty, Self-Efficacy and Social Connectedness, and high in Trust and Fairness. Utilizing survey feedback, we switched to a student-centered cooperative teaching and learning style (student presentations), and added the option of group assignments. There were notable changes in Belonging Certainty and Social Connectedness (after Surveys 2 and 3) but not necessarily in Self-Efficacy.

Student learning and performance during the class and outcomes were tracked to evaluate the effectiveness of the student engagement-focused approach. Student’s presentation skills, lack of a comprehensive information coverage, coupled with the need to integrate various spoken and visual information, made it difficult for some students to effectively capture and organize key points. This highlights the crucial role of instructors in effective learning experiences, emphasizing that their active involvement, guidance and support are essential for students to thrive.

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

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