13-6 EarthBridge: Building the Tools and Network to Connect Geoscientists and Educators

Session: Building Connections Between Educators and Geoscientists to Foster the Future Workforce

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Geoscientists play a critical role in addressing society’s most urgent environmental challenges, yet the geosciences remain the least-taught and least-understood STEM field in U.S. schools. Although professional societies and funding agencies increasingly emphasize the importance of outreach and broader impacts, few mechanisms exist to help geoscientists engage with teachers in ways that are sustained, mutually beneficial, and scientifically authentic. In this talk, I introduce the concept behind EarthBridge, a new initiative designed to meet that need by equipping geoscientists with the tools, structure, and support to partner directly with classroom educators on long-term, place-based investigations that connect research and teaching.

The concept grew from a three-year high school geology project I led on McFarland Creek in northeast Ohio, where students collaborated with professional stream-restoration engineers to measure cross-sections, conduct pebble counts, and analyze channel change. What began as a classroom study evolved into a true research partnership which yielded data of interest to local engineers, authentic learning for students, and professional satisfaction for the scientists involved. The experience demonstrated that teachers and geoscientists can work together effectively when given a shared framework, clear roles, and tools for sustained communication.

Building on this model, EarthBridge proposes a national structure that makes such collaboration accessible to all geoscientists. Through an online matching platform, project templates, and training modules, EarthBridge will help scientists integrate authentic investigations into classrooms while meeting professional outreach goals. Each “EarthBridge Pair” will design a year-long citizen-science project relevant to local geology ranging from erosion monitoring to mineral surveys or groundwater studies and supported by data-sharing tools and recognition pathways through professional societies.

This presentation will introduce the EarthBridge framework, share lessons from the McFarland Creek partnership, and invite discussion about how professional geoscientists can make sustained engagement with educators a standard part of their practice. By building bridges between research and education, EarthBridge seeks to strengthen public understanding of Earth systems and inspire the next generation of geoscientists.

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