257-9 Building geoscience educational resources for parks through collaborative service-learning projects

Session: Diversifying Geoscience Education Across the Academic Playing Field: Using Creative Methods to Foster the Current and Next Generations of Geoscience Professionals (Posters)

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Abstract:

The lack of exposure to geosciences in K-12 curricula limits the public’s understanding of how geoscience plays a critical role in many aspects of their lives, including appreciation for natural parks. We leveraged service-learning projects to engage college students in activities that created educational resources for a park to benefit the community. We hypothesized that developing educational products through participation in a service-learning project would raise the degree of engagement of students by connecting geoscience concepts to their societal relevance.

As part of the NSF-funded GeoEngage program, we partnered with Government Canyon State Natural Area (GCSNA) to develop educational resources that explain geoscience knowledge and principles found in the park to visitors. We designed a workflow to engage four cohorts of students from two Hispanic Serving Institutions in service-learning projects in collaboration with park personnel. First, a pre-project workshop engaged students in activities to learn about the main geoscience concept of their project and gain interpersonal and technical skills. Second, students gathered background knowledge on their concept and delivered a pitch presentation about their educational resource to park personnel to receive feedback and refine their product. Third, a prototype was submitted to faculty advisors and park personnel to receive feedback used to finalize the product before its delivery to park personnel. End products differed by cohort, ranging from an audio tour for a trail, a 3D model of a rock outcrop with embedded explanatory videos, and a board game about the geological timescale.

Evaluation of the program indicates that students’ participation increased their academic and job-related skills, enhanced their resume, and connected their knowledge to a societal need. Networking with peers, faculty, and park personnel increased their motivation to study geoscience and join the geoscience workforce. Students’ participation strongly improved their sense of identity as a geoscientist.

GeoEngage products showcase geological features at GCSNA that had not been the focus of park efforts because of park priorities and limits to financial and staff resources. They complement existing educational resources that address the biological resources of the park to facilitate a wider appreciation of the natural setting of the park by the public and fill a need for geoscience-based resources. Our workflow for project development can be adapted for collaboration between other universities and parks.

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

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