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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
States Requiring Specific Course or Content for
GraduationLife Science
PhysicalScience
ESSConcepts
ESS/ENVSCourse
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
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)
Decision Points for Majoringin the Geosciences
Wilson, C., 2013,Status of Recent
Geoscience Graduates: AGI
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
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 SurveyN = 168
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
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
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)
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
Pennsylvania Case Study Findings
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)
548,000
43,0003,000
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.
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
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
Acknowledgements
• ESOP Teachers and Students
• SUNY Oneonta President Nancy
Kleniewski
• NSF – Award # 1035062