247-7 The “Vision and Change in the Geosciences” Initiatives for Geoscience Education Reform: Accomplishments, Common Insights, and Evolving Challenges

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

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Abstract:

The NSF-funded Vision and Change in the Geosciences projects (“Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education": 2013-2021; “Improving Geoscience Graduate Student Preparedness for the Future Workforce”: 2018-2023) facilitated a ten-year national conversation on improving geoscience education at the Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral levels.  Some 1300 geoscientists, including teaching faculty, Chairs, Deans and other academic leaders; and employers representing a broad range of employment sectors in the earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences participated in these projects at sponsored meetings and workshops, and as respondents to project surveys.  

Faculty and employers came to a consensus on the core concepts, skills and competencies that Bachelor’s level geoscientists should develop during their degrees.  Some of these (e.g., Earth systems thinking, field skills) are geoscience-specific, while others (e.g., quantitative, computational, and data analysis skills; communication, cross-disciplinary teamwork, project management), are broader technical, scientific and professional skills that are often poorly aligned with the typical geoscience degree programs. More fully developing these professional competencies was seen as critical for MS and Ph.D. graduates in earth, oceans and atmospheric sciences, along with the need for students to develop adaptability and a growth-oriented, entrepreneurial mindset to find success in diverse non-academic positions across a rapidly changing employment landscape.

Key insights and challenges recognized across the Vision and Change efforts include:

a)     A general misalignment between the academic preparation of geoscientists and the professional needs of the geoscience workforce, especially in the ability of recent graduates to conduct independent research and communicate their results effectively to diverse audiences.

b)    Academic programs need to become more agile to better meet the rapidly changing nature of the geoscience professions, in particular in “big data” analytics and artificial intelligence.

c)     Students need to be more intentional about their education, through independent development plans and other means, to seek out co-curricular experiences that can help them reach their desired professional ambitions.

d)    The necessity for active partnerships between academic geoscience programs, their employer/alumni networks, and professional geoscience societies to provide both curricular and co-curricular opportunities so graduating students can move successfully into the geoscience professions.

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

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-7269

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