GP-EXTRA: Engaging Students in Inclusive Geoscience Field Experiences via Onsite-Remote Partnerships

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The importance of field-based learning experiences in geoscience education is well-documented. However, learning in the field is not entirely accessible for students with physical disabilities. This collaborative project will engage students with disabilities (SWD) in authentic field experiences via a peer instruction approach that pairs SWD with more physically capable students in collaborative field-based exercises. The overarching philosophy is that partnerships of students with diverse physical abilities, as well as student-instructor pairs, constitute a collective set of human senses and perspectives that can be as effective as individuals with no physical limitations. Outcomes from this work should apply to a wide variety of barriers to onsite field investigations that SWD and others may face during the course of their geoscience careers. This work is anticipated to increase the probability of retaining and graduating geoscience SWD and other collaborating students, and encourage and empower them to pursue geoscience careers, thereby broadening participation of underrepresented minorities in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.Investigators at James Madison University (JMU) are collaborating with colleagues at the University of Cinncinatti, Old Dominion University, and Central Connecticut State University to pilot and test innovative approaches for enabling SWD to gain meaningful exposure to field-based activities relevant to the geosciences. The project is designed to work with two cohorts of undergraduate geoscience students: one with mobility disabilities (SWD) and another without. Students (primarily sophomores) are being recruited from a national pool of undergraduate geoscience majors. Students from each cohort are paired in a variety of field experiences, and collaborate both on-site in the field and through remote connections. Field data collection and analyses occurs in real-time via web-linked tablets and other interactive mobile devices. Real-time video and audio communication, both student-student and student-faculty, are facilitated through cutting-edge wearable technologies. The field program incorporates a range of experiences that are traditionally included within an undergraduate geoscience curriculum. These include: day-long field trips that focus on a specific set of field skills, such as generating strip logs for stratigraphic analyses; measuring structural orientations using a geologic compass; and, mineralogical and petrologic analyses using a hand lens. Field experiences in the second year of the project are focused on more advanced, multi-day exercises that require student teams to synthesize geologic field data collected into maps and reports that summarize the tectonic history of a region. Assessment of project activities by an external evaluator is being used to inform continuous improvements to the project design; summative evaluation and synthesis of the impacts of the project are expected to contribute to the evidence base regarding best practices for working with SWD in field settings. Results and experiences from this project are being disseminated via presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and a capstone field trip for geoscience students, faculty, and professionals.