247-5 Rethinking Geoscience Education Through Online Communities

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

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Abstract:

Geoscience education increasingly occurs within digital spaces where environmental, technological, and societal themes converge. Geoscience is crucial for addressing sustainability challenges related to climate change, natural resources management, and natural hazards. While traditional pedagogical models emphasize classroom-based instruction and using Geographic Information System (GIS) as the primary tool and framework, a parallel ecosystem of community-driven learning has emerged on social media platforms. This study examines geoscience communities on Reddit, where students, educators, and professionals engage in knowledge exchange, experience sharing, and mutual support beyond institutional boundaries.

We have developed a mixed-methods research pipeline which combines social media data extraction with natural language processing (NLP) techniques to investigate the educational patterns and academic engagement for geoscience careers, realizations of career expectations, and the impact of the knowledge sharing community (KSC) on the geoscience workforce and higher education. Using Reddit’s API (PRAW), we collected 15370 posts from 40 geoscience-focused subreddits, including geology careers, geoscience, environmental science and GIS. Our dataset involved 24 unique subreddit combinations and contributions from a wide range of users. We applied topic modeling using spaCy and NLTK libraries to uncover thematic structures in discussions. Sentiment analysis and pattern recognition were used to examine emotional tone and identify recurring concerns such as GIS tool accessibility, fieldwork challenges, academic credentials, and career transitions.

Results demonstrate that Reddit operates as a decentralized learning environment where users actively seek mentorship, discuss academic pathways, and exchange practical advice regarding geoscience skills and career development. Unlike other platforms that emphasize brevity, Reddit's threaded, long-form discussion format enables nuanced, collaborative exploration of geoscientific topics. This peer-to-peer knowledge sharing model both supplements formal instruction and creates inclusive pathways for broader geoscience education participation.

Our findings highlight the significant yet underutilized potential of social media platforms for science communication, outreach, community building and to inform needs for transformative change in university geoscience curricula. We advocate for increased academic recognition and strategic engagement with these virtual communities to bridge gaps between formal education and practical geoscience experiences. By integrating geospatial research methodologies with digital ethnography and NLP-driven analysis, this work contributes to evolving discussions on democratizing STEM education through digital engagement strategies.

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

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-8295

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