HR: 11:50h
AN: ED42A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Inquiry-Driven Field-Based (IDFB) Ocean Science Classes: an Important Role in College Students' Development as Scientists, and Student Retention in the Geo-science Pipeline.
AU: * Crane, N L
EM: ncrane@mpc.edu
AF: Nicole Crane, Monterey Peninsula College 980 Fremont St., Monterey, Ca 95076
AB: Experiential learning, engaging students in the process of science, can not only teach students important skills and knowledge, it can also help them become connected with the process on a personal level. This study investigates the role that Inquiry-Driven Field-Based (IDFB) experiences (primarily field classes) in ocean science have on undergraduate science students' development as ocean scientists. Both cognitive (knowledge-based) and affective (motivation and attitude) measures most important to students were used as indicators of development. Major themes will be presented to illustrate how IDFB science experiences can enhance the academic and personal development of students of science. Through their active engagement in the process of science, students gain important skills and knowledge as well as increased confidence, motivation, and ability to plan for their future (in particular their career and educational pathways). This growth is an important part of their development as scientists; the IDFB experience provides them a way to build a relationship with the world of science, and to better understand what science is, what scientists do, and their own future role as scientists. IDFB experiences have a particularly important role in affective measures of development: students develop an important personal connection to science. By doing science, students learn to be scientists and to understand science and science concepts in context. Many underrepresented students do not have the opportunity to take IDFB classes, and addressing this access issue could be an important step towards engaging more underrepresented students in the field. The nature of IDFB experiences and their impact on students makes them a potentially important mechanism for retaining students in the geo-science `pipeline'.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting