An NSF Geopaths Funded Combined Summer and Fall Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience to Attract and Retain a Diverse Group of Students Into a New Environmental Geology Program.

Twenty-six students participated in an NSF GEOPATHs funded undergraduate research experience. This experience consisted of a two-week field-based summer research course and a follow-up 15-week course-based undergraduate research experience. The goal of this project was to attract, retain, and graduate a diverse group of students into a new Environmental Geology BS program. Hispanic and female students were targeted for the cohorts. 58% of our cohort were female, 27% were Hispanic, and 8% were black. The students were split into two groups. One group focused on barrier island groundwater in Southwest Florida and the other group studied calcite from Southwest Florida. Students in the groundwater cohort learned how to install temporary groundwater wells, collect groundwater and surface water samples, use probes and laboratory methods to measure water quality. Students in the calcite group learned how to collect and prepare samples for analytical work and use advanced instrumentation to determine the calcite's unit cells, atomic bonding, and classification.

Summative assessments based on Creative Exercises of Lewis et al. (2010) were given as pre- and post-tests during the summer field courses and again at the end of the fall course. A combined mean score for the summer pre-tests was 45%, while the fall post-tests score was 68%. A paired samples t-test for the combined summer assessment suggests a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores (t-score = 2.06; P = 2.55 x 10-6).

An attitude assessment was based on Lopatto (2010) CURE survey and was given at the end of both courses. The students indicated this research experience increased their confidence to: conduct more research, and research with an outdoor component; help them identify as a scientist; and, positively influenced their decision to major in environmental geology. The students also indicated the location of the research experiences in Southwest Florida caused them to be more invested in the research. This suggests sense of place was impactful to the students' positive experiences during this project.