37-25 Working Together: How Student Collaboration Practices Impact Geoscience Identity

Session: Geoscience Research Poster Showcase by 2YC and 4YCU Undergraduate Students

Presenting Author:

Authors:

Abstract:

Students who identify strongly as geoscientists are more persistent in their studies and are more likely to pursue careers within the geosciences. Like geoscience identity, sense of belonging is also a strong predictor of persistence and success. Sense of belonging can be evaluated by measuring the frequency and type of interactions or collaborations students engage in during a course. Students who collaborate with their peers more often and in more ways are more likely to have a strong sense of belonging within their academic community. This pilot study was designed to evaluate if social network analysis methods could be used in combination with a geoscience identity survey to analyze how the frequency and type of student collaborations in and outside of the classroom impact strength of geoscience identity in undergraduate geoscience students. We surveyed students across four courses: Physical Geology, GIS, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, and Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. The survey included three parts. In Part 1, students reported the type and frequency of collaborations they engaged in with other students in class. Collaboration types included: in-class activities, class projects, homework/studying, and “other geology activities.” Part 2 was a 23-item geoscience identity survey, and Part 3 collected demographic information including class standing, major and minor, gender identity, and race/ethnicity. We used social network analysis methods to map geoscience identity scores and demographics onto student collaboration networks. Initial results suggest that strength of geoscience identity is correlated with frequency of collaboration; students who collaborate more frequently with their classmates also identified more strongly as geoscientists.

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