The impact of inclusion: A student’s perspective of

participating in a fully-accessible geoscience field course

Paradis, C., Atchison, C.L., Feig, A.D., Gilley, B.H., & Stokes, A.Earth Educator’s Rendezvous

Boulder, CO, July 14, 2015

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Introduction & Questions• Disabled students form a significant/under

represented minority in higher education-participation is low in disciplines w/fieldwork component (Hall et al. 2002)

• Are the geosciences underserving a potentially important population? (Cooke et al. 1997; Stokes and Boyle 2009; Atchison and Feig 2011)

• How can geoscience educators provide accessible and inclusive fieldwork courses? (GSA Tech. Pres. YouTube)

• How do participants feel before and after participating in an accessible and inclusive fieldwork course?

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Objectives

• Conduct a fully accessible and inclusive field-based geoscience workshop for students and faculty• GSA Field Trip #416 “Full Access to the Geology of the

Sea to Sky Highway, Vancouver, BC”

• This talk: Tell the story of participants to make a personal connection with geoscience educators

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Field Trip Summary

• Participants: 30 participants, 18 w/physical, sensory or cognitive disability• Field Trip Route: Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver

to Whistler• Geologic Features (Observe and Discuss): Wave &

landslide hazards, coastal, glacial & volcanic processes• Learning Tools: Tactile maps, field-scouts, hand lens,

rock hammers • GSA Field Trip #416 on You Tube• GSA Technical Session Presentation on You Tube

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Field Trip Route

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Field Trip Group Picture

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Pre-trip Comments: General• “I think anybody that gets into geoscience,

regardless of their age or limitations, should have the opportunity to be able to learn and not be judged on like, ‘oh well, they can’t take their backpack up this hill because of their problems’, or that they’re seen to be the weakest link – which is kind of how I’ve felt on most of my trips.”

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Pre-trip Comments: General• “One of the things that I find being autistic is that…I

can see things, or I can hear things, but I can’t process those two pieces of sensory information simultaneously.”• “It’s hard when so many geologists are these

athletic rock climbers, hikers, that kind of thing. Trying, like – being in a situation where you might be the only one that has a mobility issue that nobody can understand.”

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All Pre-trip Comments: Word Cloud

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Post-trip Comments: Community• “I think the most important thing is….the overall

chemistry, you could say, of the group. All the camaraderie – that’s the most important thing when you do a field exercise, or field camp, or fieldwork – is, from the slowest person to the weakest person, everybody gets their job done and we all arrive at the same time, and we all leave at the same time.”

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Post-trip Comments: Positive experiences

• “I think part of what made the process successful was giving people a wide range of options for how they could experience geology.…. That I think made it more accessible, because you picked your path, but there were so many options and your experience and observations were just as valuable as everyone else’s.”

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Post-trip Participants Comments: General

• “It was emotional to go back into the field.” (From a mobility-impaired individual who had not been in the field for several years.)• “I was able to break through that barrier, and just

be open to being an observational scientist without having that cloud of anxiety, with all the questions of: Will I be judged? Will people think I’m playing up my disability? Will they think I’m lazy? How am I going to access this?”• “It seemed like a ‘normal’ field trip.”

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Group 1: Community and social aspects

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Group 2: Limitations around disability

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Group 3: Issues around fieldwork and field camp

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Conclusions

• Inclusive geoscience field work can produce STRONG and POSITIVE emotional sense of community and camaraderie• Accessible geoscience field work can allow for

scientific observation WITHOUT NEGATIVE emotions of anxiety, insecurity and fear

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Make Your Field Work Accessible• International Association for Geoscience Diversity

(IAGD)• Organization advocating for students with disabilities• Establishing accessible course for field-based learning

requirements of undergraduate geoscience degree program• Can help you plan your accessible field course• Design a new course• Retrofit an existing one• Contact the IAGD at info@theiagd.org.

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Sponsor & Resources

• National Science Foundation (NSF)• IAGD Website: http://www.theiagd.org/ • IAGD News:

http://www.theiagd.org/assets/IAGD-Newsletter-January-2015.pdf • GSA TV Promotion: https

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12H0Bwr-pQ&feature=youtu.be• AGI GeoSpectrum:

http://www.theiagd.org/assets/GeoSpectrum-Fall-2014.pdf • Full article here:

http://www.americangeosciences.org/sites/default/files/14NOV2014_FallGeoSpectrum03.pdf

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References

• Atchison CL, Feig AD (2011) Theoretical perspectives on constructing experience through alternative field-based learning environments for students with mobility impairments. Qualitative Inquiry in Geoscience Education Research 474:11-21. doi:10.1130/2011.2474(02)

• Cooke ML, Anderson KS, Forrest SE (1997) Creating accessible introductory geology field trips. Journal of Geoscience Education 45:4-9

• Hall T, Healey M, Harrison M (2002) Fieldwork and disabled students: discourses of exclusion and inclusion. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 27 (2):213-231. doi:10.1111/1475-5661.00050

• Stokes A, Boyle AP (2009) The undergraduate geoscience fieldwork experience: Influencing factors and implications for learning. Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches 461:291-311. doi:10.1130/2009.2461(23)