Incorporating Ethics in College Geoscience Education through Community Engagement

Solving today’s environmental challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration, cultural understanding, and community engagement. We present a model framework designed to integrate these critical elements into sustainability-focused education, tested through immersive projects in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. This framework connects students with real-world challenges, empowering them to co-create actionable, community-driven solutions.The model framework consists of three core components:Interdisciplinary Teamwork: Students collaborate across disciplines to analyze sites, develop master plans, and design context-specific solutions. Cross-Cultural Learning: Through site visits, shared projects, and dialogue, students deepen their understanding of how social, economic, political, and environmental factors shape sustainability decision-making. Civic Engagement: Partnerships with local organizations and community members ensure that student designs align with lived experiences, priorities, and pressing local challenges. This model framework emphasizes cultural responsiveness, teamwork, and real-world application, preparing students to address complex environmental challenges with creativity and inclusivity. By adopting this framework, educators can foster interdisciplinary collaboration, enhance cultural understanding, and strengthen community connections within environmental and geoscience education.

Current science education efforts emphasise the need to train students to understand the nature of scientific work. In geosciences, training students to understand how science works does not only promote their interest and community engagement in the field, but also has the potential to promote awareness and ethics. However, instructional activities using an explicit and reflective approach to promote students’ learning of the nature of science concepts remain scant. In this paper, a two-class unit intervention using an explicit reflective approach to the teaching of nature of science was used in an undergraduate lesson on the history of plate tectonics. We measured the influence of the lesson on students’ nature of science knowledge using the Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry instrument. We collected parallel quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-intervention data from 37 community college students involved in a physical geology course. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis indicated that students’ nature of science knowledge related to the tentativeness of scientific theories and the role of society and culture in science improved after the intervention unit. Results imply that geoscience educators should consider using explicit and reflective approaches when using the history of science to teach about the nature of science.

Geotourism is one of the fastest growing areas of thematic tourism worldwide. Geology interpretation centers and trails (so-called ‘geotrails’) are often used as a tool to implement geotourism activities, also contributing to the sustainable development of a region. Well-designed interpretation centers and geotrails play indeed a significant role in linking geoheritage with informal geoscience education and diversifying tourism. Furthermore, the use of “citizen science” in Earth Science experienced a substantial rise in the last decade, with the goals of making research more relevant to society and increasing public awareness of environmental issues.As part of this effort, a study was conducted on geotourism opportunities in the French Alps. Specifically, this case study includes (i) the "Glaciorium” interpretation centers at Montenvers / Mer de Glace in Chamonix (Mont-Blanc massif), a historical tourist attraction (the first visits by tourists to the Mer de Glace date back to the year 1741) which focuses on the history and the functioning of the main French glacier in the Alps; and (ii) the "Sentier des Maîtres du Mont Déserté" and "Sentier des Tannes et Glacières" in the Bauges massif (within the Massif de Bauges UNESCO Global Geopark), which focus on geohazards and deal with the effects of climate change on iced caves respectively.The study evaluates the synergy between popular and scientific knowledge along these interpretation center and geotrails. This integration is particularly noticeable at the geotrail stops and within the interpretation center, where the significance of the various geosites is explained to visitors. The consistent integration of vernacular wisdom and scientific knowledge offers visitors a richer experience and enhances their understanding of the take-home messages.Simultaneously, this research investigates the use of participatory approaches throughout the development of the geotrails, covering design, monitoring, and the creation of interpretive panels. A comprehensive examination of participatory methods reveals their effectiveness in enhancing community engagement and communicating geological insights to local residents, ultimately improving the dissemination of the key message to tourists.This dual analysis highlights the importance of public participation in sustainable geotourism initiatives and provides a model for the development of a new participatory Geotrail (“The path to sustainability”) situated at the base of Monte Rosa within the Sesia Val Grande UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy). The geotrail will connect alpine landscape viewpoints, scientific observatories, geosites and cultural sites to the Walser culture interpretation center. The initiative will integrate popular and scientific knowledge, as well as active community participation. Consequently, studying existing geotrails not only serves as a valuable point of reference, but also facilitates international cooperation and networking, thus preparing the ground for the development of new and effective research initiatives.

This study asks the important question What is happening in the digital world of groundwater geoscience? This is the first systematic, interdisciplinary study investigating how the Internet is enabling the uptake of geoscience information in Southern Ontario groundwater risk management decisionmaking. It follows on three earlier projects: 1) Groundwater Resources and Risks in Canada - presented at the 2016 Annual meeting of the Geological Association of Canada/ Mineralogical Association of Canada. 2) Canadian Hazard Risk Land Use Plans - presented at the 2016 World Conference on Disaster Management Research. 3) Desktop research completed for the Ontario Geological Survey 2016 Ontario Geohazards Program Framework (Reviewed: 22 international principles, guidelines and standards; 35 Reports and Statements on Open Data Interconnectivity; and 21 Canadian Provincial Geoscience Provider's Geohazards Programs and Projects). Our research identifies that the Internet is a resource available to an increasing number of Southern Ontario citizens. However, a lack of groundwater information seeking research in the Southern Ontario context means that the potential of the Internet as a source of geoscience-based aquifer hazard risk information for land use planning may not be fully understood. The purpose of this project is to build civil society's capacity and capability in geoscience based hazard risk identification and management. This project is being completed in collaboration with the University of Waterloo, the National Research Council, Health Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Defence Research and Development Canada. It seeks to develop a concept map for the digital delivery of groundwater geoscience, detailing how to innovate with information and communication technology (ICT) to engage communities in geoscience-based aquifer hazard risk assessments. In this presentation, we present preliminary research results: A critical review of user access to online Southern Ontario groundwater geoscience studies (2006 to 2016). Completed through linking the information science literature with the post Walkerton Inquiry policy changes to determine if these websites profile the potential of the Internet as a source of geoscience-based aquifer hazard risk information. Our community engagement concept map for the digital delivery of groundwater geoscience, developed for the purpose of building capacity in community focused aquifer hazard risk assessments. New questions raised for further study on stakeholders seeking ICT options for groundwater geoscience research, practice, and uptake. Emphasising that such questions may have implications for future research and practice in groundwater geoscience, especially in the subfields of: 1. New groundwater resource exploration economic cost and benefit analysis 2. Community based groundwater geoscience education and outreach capacity building activities 3. Location specific indicators for community based groundwater hazard risk assessments (i.e. carbonate fissures and conduits, geochemical anomalies and some anthropogenic activities).