Using Small-Group Research Projects to Build Data Analytic Skills in High School Seniors

Session: Quantitative and Data Analysis Skills in Geoscience Education: Supporting Student, Course, and Program Outcomes, Part II

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Abstract:

The GeoFORCE Texas program invites rising high school seniors to The University of Texas at Austin’s campus at the end of each summer to participate in a week-long research project with faculty, researchers, and grad students across various geoscience subdisciplines. These projects range from seismology, glaciology, paleontology, geoscience communication, and much more. Students are given the autonomy of choice to select their favorite project topic, then are placed in a small project group of 3-5. This collaborative effort pushes students to learn team-building and problem-solving skills. In this single week, students are introduced to the subdiscipline, come up with a research question under their research mentor’s guidance, collect data, analyze it, and then create and present a professional research poster to present at the GeoFORCE Symposium event. Winning posters are then invited to come present their research at AGU’s annual meeting. Since beginning this research-based 12^th grade academy, GeoFORCE has seen an average of 20% of our students go on to major in the geosciences. I will discuss how this research academy has changed over the years and the successes we’ve seen through our post-survey and alumni program since, specifically with regards to the building of confidence in quantitative and data analysis skills.