Sparking Conversations About Graduate Programs in Geoscience Education Research*

ABSTRACT

The calls for a college-educated science and technology workforce, as well as a scientifically literate citizenry, have led to a demand for higher education faculty prepared in discipline-based education research (DBER). These faculty members conduct research on teaching and learning in the context of a specific discipline, including the geosciences. Historically, faculty have become active in geoscience education research (GER) after completing a graduate degree in a “traditional” geoscience discipline such as geomorphology, paleontology, or structural geology. Increasing demand for GER faculty has led to the growth of graduate programs specializing in GER. We explore the current state of GER graduate preparation in the United States and the issues moving forward in establishing and advancing GER graduate programs. We hope to spark discussion in the GER community about what GER graduate preparation entails, as programs grow and proliferate, to assist the community in being intentional in the preparation of future professionals. We make key recommendations for the GER community, including: (1) hold community-wide discussions about GER graduate training, (2) investigate methodological training as a shared graduate training experience in GER, (3) embed authentic teaching and research opportunities in graduate programs that mirror a student's planned career trajectory and assist them in becoming reflective teachers, (4) encourage GER faculty to continue to inform their colleagues and administrators about GER and what it is (and is not), and (5) look beyond GER to how other DBER fields design and implement graduate programs.

Key words: :

• graduate preparation
• geoscience education research

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their valuable feedback in improving the manuscript during the review process. We would also like to thank the NSF for their support of the Geoscience Education Research workshop held at the Earth Educator's Rendezvous meetings in 2015–2017 and the participants who helped to inform aspects of this manuscript. Specifically, we would like to thank Leilani Arthurs, Eric Riggs, Steve Semken, and David McConnell for their insights, as well as the members of the “Navigating a Career in GER” working group.

Notes

* Commentary for Journal of Geoscience Education Special Issue on Synthesizing Results and Defining Future Directions of Geoscience Education Research.