Turning the Tables: Double Benefits Attained from Training HBCU Students to Teach Geosciences in African-American Communities

To make the greatest impact on African-American participation in the geosciences it is most efficient to bring programs designed to recruit future geoscientists to neighborhoods, campuses, and communities where African-Americans are actually in the majority rather than the minority. The "Natural History Interpretation Training Program" sponsored by SE-COSEE (NSF), SSU and SINERR did just that and impacted two generations of students in coastal Georgia in the process. In the first implementation of this program, ten HBCU science majors participated in an intensive week-long training program on coastal ecosystems, outdoor education, and regional internship/employment opportunities. The training session was followed by the planning and implementation of a two-day science camp for the youth of Sapelo Island, GA in which the undergraduates taught 15 children of Gullah/Geechee heritage aged 6 to 14 about the geology and ecology of their barrier island home. Key components to successfully recruiting undergraduate participants were to coordinate training activities around the college schedule to accommodate students who needed to enroll in summer courses and to base acceptance into the training program on interest rather than GPA. We facilitated the participation of campers by holding the camp on Sapelo Island, providing transportation, and charging no fees. Having HBCU students teach younger minority students served multiple purposes. It inspired the undergraduates to further their studies in science, to explore internship opportunities, and to consider careers in science education. For some it provided an opportunity to review and master material from past courses and inspired confidence in their approach to future course work. The program also piqued the curiosity of Sapelo Island youth so that they would further explore the science of their island home and, hopefully, will consider college attendance and majoring in the geosciences a natural path to follow. HBCU/MSI campuses, K-12 schools, community centers and churches with predominantly African-American membership are found throughout the U.S. and this model of one generation of students teaching a younger group can be applied to a broad range of programs and settings.