Fanning the Flames of Student Interest: Dual Credit Courses and Recruitment of Geoscience Majors

1. Fanning the Flames of Student Interest: Dual Credit Courses andRecruitment of Geoscience Majors James R. EBERT: SUNY Oneonta Nicole D. LADUE: Northern Illinois University Richard W. SCHMIDT: Upper Dublin High School Julie C. LIBARKIN: Michigan State University Todd D. ELLIS: SUNY Oneonta Steve KLUGE: New Milford, CT

2. States Requiring Specific Course or Content for Graduation Life Science Modified from AGI Center for Geoscience Education and Public Understanding, 2013, Earth and Space Sciences Education in U.S. Secondary Schools: Key Indicators and Trends Physical Science ESS Concepts ESS/ENVS Course

3. Why Do Students Choose to Major in the Geosciences? “…there is a strong correlation between the number of people majoring … and the number of courses taken in each field at the high school level.” (Holbrook, 1997)

4. Decision Points for Majoringin the Geosciences Wilson, C., 2013, Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates: AGI

5. SUNY Oneonta’sEarth Science Outreach Program (ESOP) • Dual Credit Geosciences - response to no AP Geoscience • 2003-04: 2 Schools • 2012-13: 15 Schools in NY, PA and VA • Intro Geology: 163 students • Intro Oceanography: 41 students • Intro Meteorology: 36 students • Intro Astronomy: 3 students • 2013-14: 17 Schools in NY, PA, VA, NJ • 4 new schools; 4 schools inactive

6. Why Do Students Choose Dual Credit Courses? Most Important Factors • Interest in Topic : 57% • Interested in Studying Geoscience in College: 23% • Peer Recommendation: 19% • Reputation of ESOP Teacher: 9% Data from 2010 Survey N = 168

7. Post Course Survey • Reasons for taking the ESOP course were not significantly different from the pre-course survey • Dual Credit Geoscience Courses Preserve Student Interest in the Geosciences. Post Course Survey, 2011 N = 47

8. Pennsylvania Case Study • Upper Dublin High School (Montgomery Co.) • Advanced Geosciences courses since 2000 • Dual Credit in 2010 • Study involved 89 students in 2 study groups • Adv. Geoscience (AGS) N=42 • AP science but no AGS N=47 • Asked variety of questions about geoscience perception and academic science experience

9. Pennsylvania Case Study Findings • No statistically significant differences in demographics including: • Grade point average • Post secondary plans • Parents in science fields • Interest in science field(s)

10. Pennsylvania Case Study Findings • Statistically significant differences in several key geoscience perceptions: • AP students view geosciences as lower academic difficulty and reputation • AP students view geosciences as low paying and low prestige • AP students view job market as poor and report not understanding the career field

11. Pennsylvania Case Study Findings

12. PA Geoscience Inventory (2012) • 572 public high schools • 500 districts • 548,000 students • 33 schools with advanced courses (54 courses) • Mostly suburban • ~43,000 students had access (7.8%) • Only 2 schools offered dual credit option (.005% of students) 3,000 43,000 548,000

13. Conclusions • Students’ Choice of a Science Major Correlates with Exposure to that Science in High School. • Most Students Choose a Major before Leaving High School.

14. Conclusions • Most Potential Majors Self-Select out in High School – Impact on Recruiting from On-Campus Intro Courses • Dual Credit Courses Increase the Likelihood that Students Will Choose a Geoscience Major in College. • Dual Credit Geoscience Courses Preserve Student Interest

15. Conclusions • Students in Dual Credit Geoscience Courses are Better Informed Regarding Careers • Students Prefer Dual Credit to AP Courses • Students Likely to Major in Geoscience: 23 % - 38% of Dual Credit vs. 2% of AP Students

16. Acknowledgements • ESOP Teachers and Students • SUNY Oneonta President Nancy Kleniewski • NSF – Award # 1035062