2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

High School Student Sentiments and Outcomes in Geoscience App Learning Activities

The Geoscience Application (Geoscience App) was developed to address the lack of resources in undergraduate education for micropaleontology, that is the study of microfossils used to understand past environments and aid in oil and gas exploration. Traditionally, training for micropaleontology requires specialized equipment, such as microscopes and fossil materials, instructor feedback, and significant time. Geoscience App was developed to overcome these hurdles by providing accessible and engaging activities for learning this topic. Such features include videos, step-by-step exercises, interactive mini-games, and real-time feedback, enabling independent learning while offering instructors tools to manage and track progress. For this study, we introduced the Geoscience App to high school students during an outreach program, i.e., [REDACTED]. We collected data on various aspects of students' outcomes, such as students' outcomes in different activities and their perceptions about their engagement with activities. Students expressed their sentiments towards applying and learning micropaleontology concepts within their perceptions. In this paper, we investigated how [REDACTED] participants' engagement with the application affected their perception of the subject, answering the research question: What aspects of students' learning outcomes from the Geoscience App activities shaped their attitudes and sentiments toward studying micropaleontology? Data analysis based on the results of Spearman’s correlation and XGBoost's feature importance values showed that the total average score of all activities influenced the students' sentiments towards micropaleontology. The results of this study are novel and timely as they provide information on the effectiveness of the Geoscience App from the perspectives of high school students. Also, the results guided towards the improvements that could be included in such applications for better student engagement and interest.

Authors

Mr. Sung Je Bang Texas A&M University [biography]

Sung Je Bang is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University, within the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering. He serves as a graduate research assistant on multiple projects, where he focuses on user experience and psychological aspects of technology. His research interests include artificial intelligence, large language models, user experience design, and engineering education.
Anna Stepanova http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5927-6536 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Anna Stepanova is a researcher at the Sketch Recognition Lab at Texas A&M University. She holds a Ph.D., Master’s and Bachelor’s in geology. Anna’s research interests are in geosciences, micropaleontology and education.
Syeda Fizza Ali Texas A&M University [biography]

Syeda Fizza Ali is currently pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University. She works as a graduate research assistant at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, where her work focuses on educational technology tools and student engagement. Her research is shaped by a commitment to broadening participation in engineering and fostering learning environments that prioritize student well-being.
Christina Belanger Texas A&M University
Dr. Tracy Anne Hammond http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-7272-0507 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Hammond is Director of the Texas A&M University Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation and also the chair of the Engineering Education Faculty. She is also Director of the Sketch Recognition Lab and Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering. She is a member of the Center for Population and Aging, the Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems as well as the Institute for Data Science. Hammond is a PI for over 13 million in funded research, from NSF, DARPA, Google, Microsoft, and others. Hammond holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and FTO (Finance Technology Option) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and four degrees from Columbia University: an M.S in Anthropology, an M.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in Mathematics, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics. Hammond advised 17 UG theses, 29 MS theses, and 10 Ph.D. dissertations. Hammond is the 2020 recipient of the TEES Faculty Fellows Award and the 2011 recipient of the Charles H. Barclay, Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow Award. Hammond has been featured on the Discovery Channel and other news sources. Hammond is dedicated to diversity and equity, which is reflected in her publications, research, teaching, service, and mentoring. More at http://srl.tamu.edu and http://ieei.tamu.edu.
Dr. Saira Anwar http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6947-3226 Texas A&M University [biography]

Saira Anwar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, USA. The Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and industry sponsors fund her research. Her research potential and the implication of her work are recognized through national and international awards, including the 2023 NSTA/NARST Research Worth Reading award for her publication in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2023 New Faculty Fellow award by IEEE ASEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2022 Apprentice Faculty Grant award by the ERM Division, ASEE, and 2020 outstanding researcher award by the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. Dr. Anwar has over 20 years of teaching experience at various national and international universities, including the Texas A and M University - USA, University of Florida - USA, and Forman Christian College University - Pakistan. She also received outstanding teacher awards in 2013 and 2006. Also, she received the "President of Pakistan Merit and Talent Scholarship" for her undergraduate studies.

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The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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