Expanding undergraduate access to hands-on geophysics: Connecting Near-Surface Geophysics and Education

Abstract:

Near-surface geophysical studies offer a practical and attractive means for students to acquire and process their own data, or work with data on problems relevant to their local environments. The benefits of such experiences for student learning, for recruitment and retention, and for workforce skill building are borne out in the geoscience education literature.

For introductory courses and courses geared toward non-geophysics students, it is important that the instructor can help students develop connections between their existing knowledge and real data, and to build a framework to understand and meaningfully apply these new connections. Hands-on work and group-based discussions grounded in authentic data collection and interpretation offer ideal active and project-based learning opportunities that help to increase student knowledge and critical thinking skills. These types of student-driven research projects have the potential to enable learners to construct deeper levels of understanding, communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving, and to increase understanding of the nature of science.

In addition to these pedagogical benefits, hands on experiences with near-surface instrumentation also provide affective domain benefits, via a sense of belonging and shared experiences with the larger Earth Science community. These benefits are shown to positively impact not only learning, but also recruitment and retention in STEM fields. IRIS is currently developing a set of geophysics teaching modules (IGUaNA) aimed at introductory students, especially from African American and Hispanic communities, in urban environments.

Finally, facility with near-surface geophysics instrumentation is can be directly applied in the workforce. For example, GPR and EM have widespread use in engineering, construction, cultural resource management, law enforcement, archaeology, natural resources/agriculture, and environmental industries. The authors note that student advisees had an edge in getting a job because they had experience with geophysical instrumentation and the critical thinking skills fostered using these technologies.