stem4equity-banner image

GEOL 126: Environmental Field Methods

Equitable group work, Collaboration, Student-led research

Reflection on Instructional Change for Equity-Minded Instruction:

Equitable group work: A large portion of my course grade is earned through a student-led group research project. Doing well on the group research project is necessary to succeed in the course, but in the past the groups did not always collaborate well and some students struggled with the project and thus the class overall. To encourage more effective collaboration and peer-instruction, I structured the course to have students engage in their group work in a more deliberate manner.

I modified the grading of the group research project to include a new group work grade. These grades are determined through "Group Work Exit Tickets" where each student rates their group's performance each day that they work together in class, as well as a peer-evaluation at the end of the project where each student rates their group members in terms of their effort and contributions to the project. I also focused lecture sessions on effective group work. Students reflected on their prior group work experiences and made suggestions for how to make group work successful in this class. Students brainstormed about why group work is necessary in the real world and made the connection to why it is incorporated into class.

Students were very receptive to the discussion about group work. They had animated conversations relaying their good and bad past experiences, and made good suggestions for how to make group work successful in the future that often mirrored the best practices published in the literature. Students appreciated maintaining an individual grading aspect of the project as they were concerned about relying on other students for their grades, but they liked that the group work grade made their fellow group members more accountable.

This project contributes to student success in STEM by having students learn to collaborate effectively. Most work in STEM involves collaboration, but group work is a skill that is generally not explicitly taught. Working together more thoughtfully allowed students to learn to trust each other and develop a learning community that will help them succeed in future STEM courses.

**Evidence of Instructional Change**
Instruction on Effective Group Work	Group work Exit Ticket
Tuckman's stages of group development - introduced to prepare students for the often rocky road of group work and encourage them to push on to the next and better stage	Group Work Exit Ticket - Students filled these out after each group work session in class to remind themselves of best practices and provide feedback.

Changes in Course Syllabus and Schedules:

Pre Minigrant - Syllabus and Schedule

Post Minigrant - Syllabus and Schedule

Minigrant Impact Data:

Pre Minigrant - DFW rate, Equity gap data

Graph of DFW rates in GEOL 126 from 2019-2022.

Post Minigrant - DFW rate, Equity gap data

**Faculty Bio**
Faculty Picture	Bio
	Hello, I'm pleased to meet you! We geologists operate on a first name basis, so please call me Amelia. I am an Associate Professor in the Geology Department and have been teaching at Sacramento State for 9 years. I grew up in the Napa Valley, where my family has been farming for 5 generations. I grew to love the Earth while planting and tending our garden. I am passionate about protecting the environment and working to live sustainably with the world around us. My research specialty is groundwater quality, and I use a combination of field work, lab experiments and analysis, and computer simulations to help protect California's groundwater supply and to combat global warming by taking the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide out of the air and storing it in the form of carbonate rocks. I look forward to working with you!

STEM4Equity: US Dept. of Education STEMHSI P031C210012
*Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sacramento State.