The prot�eg�e effect in the retention of underrepresented minorityundergraduate teaching assistants in geoscience: Preliminaryindications from Newark, New Jersey

Alexander Gates

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102

ABSTRACTA summer scholars institute to introduce urban underrepresented minority (URM) highschool students to applied geosciences at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, hadthe unanticipated effect of markedly increasing (a) retention of undergraduate URMgeoscience majors who served as teaching assistants in the institute and (b) recruitment ofURM college students to the geoscience program. A study of the URM teaching assistantsshows that they felt responsible to serve as positive role models for the URM high schoolstudents. As a result, the teaching assistants became committed to succeeding in collegeand in careers in the geosciences. This attitude is attributed to the prot�eg�e effect. Thecamaraderie of the teaching assistants formed the basis of a self-supporting learning/socialcommunity of URM geoscience majors within the Department of Earth and EnvironmentalSciences at Rutgers University that attracted URM students from other majors. The recruit-ment of high school students had no impact on department enrollment until at least 3 yearslater. As a result of this retention and recruitment, the percentage of URM students in thedepartment increased to approximately 50% and enrollment doubled in 3 years. Usingthe prot�eg�e effect is a potential best practice for increasing diversity in the geosciences,especially in urban areas.

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 09 September 2018Revised 18 January 2019, 07June 2019, and 26 August2019Accepted 27 August 2019Published online30 September 2019

KEYWORDSProt�eg�e effect; urbanunderrepresented minoritystudents; role models

Introduction

The geosciences have traditionally been the leastracially diverse of all the science, technology, engin-eering, and math (STEM) disciplines (Bernard &Cooperdock, 2018; Czujko, Ivie, & Stith, 2008;Huntoon & Lane, 2007; Karsten, 2003). Even afterdecades of educational enrichment and interventionprograms to enhance diversity and inclusion, still amere 9% of graduates with geoscience degrees arefrom minority groups that are underrepresented(URM) in sciences (American Geological Institute[AGI], 2014; Sidder, 2017). Any increase in URM per-centages simply reflect the increase of proportion ofHispanic/Latino Americans in the U.S. population(APS, 2018). The percentage of these students earninggeoscience degrees relative to the U.S. population hasremained essentially constant as it has for AfricanAmericans (APS, 2018; Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018;Sidder, 2017).

Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, hasbeen ranked the most diverse research university in

the United States by US News & World Report for18 consecutive years, ever since the category existed(US News & World Report, 2018). As such, theDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences(DEES) has had a number of URM majors over theyears. However, success in retaining URM majors andplacing them into careers was inconsistent over the1987–2007 period. The drop-out rate was typicallyabout 50% and ranged as high as 100%, commonlytriggered by the first weak performance in a scienceor math class. Of the 20 underrepresented minoritystudents who graduated over this interval, only oneearned a graduate (master’s) degree in geology. Threefound careers in the environmental industry and twoteach geology. The rest found careers outside of thegeoscience profession, a 25% success rate of retainingURM geoscientists.

In 2007, a program to increase the participation ofURM students in geosciences in the Newark area wasinitiated through funding from the Opportunities toEnhance Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) programof the National Science Foundation. The program

CONTACT Alexander Gates agates@rutgers.edu Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/ujge.� 2019 National Association of Geoscience Teachers

JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION2019, VOL. 67, NO. 4, 417–426https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2019.1661760

addressed Newark residents and college students, but itwas primarily designed to enhance interest in ninth-and 10th-grade students by placing geoscience in anapplied context with a career orientation. Such anapplied focus has been successful in other geosciencediversity projects (Adetunji et al., 2012; Blake, Liou-Mark, & Lansiquot, 2015). The Rutgers University pro-gram included hands-on analogue exercises (e.g., Gates,2017; Gates & Kalczynski, 2016) that supplementedregular Earth science lesson plans in middle and highschool classes in the Newark area, a summer geosciencescholars institute, professional development in geo-sciences for middle and high school teachers, weekendand afterschool enrichment programs for students, anda geoscience day festival (Dinosaur Day) at a localmuseum for Newark residents, among other activities.The goals of the project were not only to entice ninth-and 10th-grade students to geosciences but also tochange the culture of their families and communitiesto support that interest.

Considering that these activities were primarilygeared toward ninth- and tenth-grade students, it wasexpected that the project would have no impact onthe enrollment of URM geoscience majors at RutgersUniversity, Newark, for at least three to four years(until about 2011), especially because Rutgers studentsare not able to declare a major until their sophomoreyear. However, this was not the case. The enrollmentof declared geoscience majors at Rutgers Newarkincreased sharply from relatively constant levels priorto 2008 until at least 2017 (Figure 1). In the first twoto three years, this increase could not have been theresult of recruitment of those high school students

directly impacted by the program but, instead, itincreased primarily through retention of current stu-dents, which increased to 100% for URM studentsover the next four to five years. Even URM studentswho performed poorly remained in the program, andthere were cases of students being suspended for pooracademic performance and attending community col-leges just to get back into the program. The othersource of improved enrollment was through currentURM geoscience majors who reportedly recruitedtheir friends into the program.

The OEDG geoscience project led to the develop-ment of the Garden State Louis Stokes Alliance forMinority Participation (LSAMP; NSF, 2014), whichfurther contributed to the support of URM studentsin geosciences. These combined efforts ultimatelyresulted in the more than tripling of the number ofdeclared geoscience majors, 45% to 60% of whom arefrom URM groups (Figure 1). These URM studentsgraduated and began earning graduate degrees in geo-sciences and obtaining careers in industry. Stokes,Levine, Flessa, Gates, and Gray (2015) studied URMstudents in DEES to determine which critical inci-dents encouraged them to pursue geosciences as anarea of interest. Based on the results of the interviewsand surveys, they determined that serving as teachingassistants in the summer geoscience institute was acritical incident in the participants’ success and perse-verance in geosciences (P. Stokes, personal communi-cation, 2018), a completely unanticipated result. Thecurrent study was carried out to investigate (a)whether serving as a teaching assistant was a criticalincident in the retention of the URM students as

Figure 1. Graph of total declared and URM majors in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark, NewJersey, 2004–2017.

418 ALEXANDER GATES

majors, (b) the reasons why serving as a teachingassistant was viewed as a critical incident, and (c) thedegree of impact this experience had on the teachingassistants. This study is meant more as a reconnais-sance investigation rather than a definitive assessment.

Conceptual framework

Mentors and role models have been shown to beimportant in encouraging the success of mentees inmany cases from adolescents (Sipe, 2002) to industryprofessionals (Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima,2004). The impact on the mentors and role models ofhaving served these roles was less well known(Beltman & Schaeben, 2012). Bjerkedal and colleagues(2007) observed that older siblings in a single familycould be impacted by their position in the family andinfluence on younger siblings. They felt a responsibil-ity to their younger siblings to act in a respectablemanner and even to achieve success simply to set agood example. Bjerkedal et al. (2007) termed this phe-nomenon the prot�eg�e effect because it impacts themore experienced and influential person for havingserved as a prot�eg�e.

Aspects of the prot�eg�e effect have been shown to beapplicable to other situations (Chase, Chin, Oppezzo, &Schwartz, 2009; Paul, 2011), especially in education.Learning by teaching (Cortese, 2005) of others hasbeen documented to enhance student understandingand success from peer mentoring to computer-basedlearning environments (Biswas, Segedy, &Bunchongchit, 2016; Leelawong & Biswas, 2008; Park& Kim, 2016). Students improve their understandingand commitment if they teach or explain the materialto someone else, even if it is to a computer (Park &Kim, 2016). Graduate teaching assistants were found tobenefit as a result of the prot�eg�e effect through interac-tions with the classes they taught (Chase et al., 2009).They experienced improved self-efficacy (Bandura,1986) through their position as an authority figure andsource of knowledge. It gave the graduate teachingassistants improved confidence in their knowledge,their ability in STEM, and their motivation to succeed.

Several mentoring projects involving undergraduatestudents also showed promising results (Beltman &Schaeben, 2012; Hughes, Boyd, & Dykstra, 2010). Alarge-scale peer mentoring project involving 858 men-tors at a university in Australia found that, in additionto improved academic success, mentors benefited from“altruistic, cognitive, and personal growth” from theirexperiences (Beltman & Schaeben, 2012). Mentoringhas also been shown to improve the performance and

attitude toward education of URM students in biomed-ical and behavioral sciences (Chang, Cerna, Han, &Saenz, 2008). Upper-division URM engineering majorswere similarly found to improve academic performanceas well as their confidence and “sense of purpose” ifthey mentored URM freshmen in engineering (Good,Halpin, & Halpin, 2000). These studies show the poten-tial of mentoring and the prot�eg�e effect as a best prac-tice in a variety of situations for undergraduate andURM students. For the current study, the prot�eg�e effectis defined as the result of a person feeling the responsi-bility to achieve success in order to set an example fora person or group who looks up to him or her (Chaseet al., 2009; Paul, 2011).

Although the projects involving graduate students(Chase et al., 2009) and whole universities (Beltman &Schaeben, 2012) may have included geoscience stu-dents, and geoscience students have likely experiencedthese benefits, the prot�eg�e effect has yet to beobserved specifically in a project in the geosciences.Furthermore, studies documenting benefits to under-graduate students as the result of mentoring highschool students in geosciences or any other STEM dis-cipline have yet to be reported. Finally, evaluating ifthe prot�eg�e effect may be effective in encouragingURM students from urban areas through the benefitsrealized in the previous studies might have potentialfor improving diversity and inclusiveness in the geo-sciences. This preliminary study reports on the poten-tial effectiveness of the prot�eg�e effect in a singleproject as a catalyst for further investigations.

Geoscience Summer Scholars Institute

There are numerous studies showing the benefit ofsummer programs in geoscience on influencing stu-dents, including URM students, to consider pursuingcareers in the geosciences (Carrick, Miller, Hagedorn,Smith-Konter, & Velasco, 2016; Houser, Garcia, &Torres, 2015; Levine, Gonzalez, Cole, Fuhrman, &LeFloch, 2007; Miller et al., 2007; Sherman-Morris,Clary, McNeal, Diaz-Ramirez, & Brown, 2017; Yilmaz,Ren, Custer, & Coleman, 2010). Reasons for their suc-cess include such activities as research experiences, fieldexperiences, student interactions, and STEM pathways.Summer geoscience institutes are considered a bestpractice as the result of these efforts and results(Carrick et al., 2016; Houser et al., 2015).

The Geoscience Summer Scholars Institute atRutgers University in Newark is a four-week modularprogram in applied geosciences that has been offeredannually since 2007. Relating geosciences to industrial

JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION 67, 417–426 (2019) 419

and other applied areas has been identified as a bestpractice to attract URM students (Adetunji et al.,2012; Blake et al., 2015). Modules are one week eachin the areas of energy, minerals and mining, environ-mental geosciences, and surface processes and engin-eering. The program includes seven field trips to localsites, four presentations by industry representatives,hands-on activities and exercises in applied geoscien-ces, geoscience games, a research project, and stipendsfor the participating students. Field trips includemines, the beach, a cave, an oil refinery, a hydroelec-tric plant, and a glass studio to experience lava simu-lation using molten glass (Gates, 2017), among others.Activities include rock and mineral identification asapplied to everyday and industrial use, seismic refrac-tion profiling, radioactivity of rocks and radon in soil,assaying magnetite ore, gauging stations and floodingon a stream table, geothermal energy, and manyothers. The games included The Oil Game (Gates &Kalczynski, 2016); Festival of Disasters, including atsunami tank and earthquake table; and GeoscienceJeopardy. The activities and games can be viewed athttp://andromeda.rutgers.edu/�oedgro.

The research project involves collecting water andsoil samples in a local city park using GPS for location.The samples are analyzed in the lab using wet chemicaltechniques and Inductively Coupled Plasma-OpticalEmission Spectroscopy, and the results are plotted on abase map using geographic information systems. Themapped data are analyzed by the high school studentsto determine the pollutants, their source, and the rela-tive safety of these parks to the residents. A poster ofthe study is produced and displayed at the participatingschools to disseminate the results of the study and toencourage recruitment for the following year.

The summer institute is overseen by Rutgers facultyand staff, but it is run by four middle and high schoolscience teachers from the Newark area assisted by upto 10 undergraduate students from Rutgers Universityand adjacent Essex County College. Between 65 and 90students from Newark area schools are recruited eachsummer primarily by the participating teachers andother cooperating programs. The institute begins withan orientation for students and their parents at RutgersUniversity, and the first day begins during the week fol-lowing Independence Day. Students register each dayand are divided into groups headed by a teacher andassisted by college student teaching assistants whoenhance the high school students’ learning experienceby helping them to understand activities and theoriesusing small group instruction (Springer, Stanne, &Donovan, 1999). They help students make key

observations, complete exercises, and perform proce-dures. Each teaching assistant oversees a group of six tonine students for field trips and activities, and developsa personal rapport with them (Figure 2). There are nogrades or evaluations of the high school students, sothe relationship is purely instructional and mentoring.

Teaching assistants are recruited from DEESthrough recommendations from faculty and from EssexCounty College through recommendations fromGarden State LSAMP administrators. Assistants arechosen from the applicants based on interest, grades,and results of an interview with the project administra-tors. Preference is given to URM students and espe-cially those from the Newark area. Because students arerecommended to the program, most applicants areaccepted as teaching assistants. The ideal teaching assis-tants have similar experiences in education, commu-nity, and socioeconomic status to the high schoolstudents, who are essentially in the same situation thatthe teaching assistants were a few years earlier. Theassistants overcame the same social and economicobstacles to education the high school students are cur-rently facing and therefore can relate to them.

The chosen teaching assistants undergo a back-ground check and receive Rutgers University protectionof minors (POM) training prior to employment. Theyreceive a full day of teacher training on (a) how toassist the high school students in completing exercises,(b) how to handle student concerns, (c) leading studentgroups in the field, (d) moving students between loca-tions, (e) keeping track of students, (f) documentationof attendance and effort, and (g) handling emergencysituations. They are also encouraged to share their per-sonal journeys through school and into college as wellas their motivations with the high school students.They are required to be present one hour before andafter the program each day for set up and break downof the activities. The teaching assistants receive a salaryof $1,500 for the four-week program.

Methods

Surveys were distributed in 2012 to 12 former teach-ing assistants of the summer institute who agreed toparticipate in the study on a voluntary basis. The year2012 was chosen to undertake this study in responseto the findings of Stokes et al. (2015), which wereobtained that year. A Rutgers University institutionalreview board (IRB) was obtained for the investigation.Of the 21 teaching assistants to that point, only the 14assistants from URM groups were solicited. Many ofthe participants (10) served as teaching assistants at

420 ALEXANDER GATES

least twice, and some (two) served three times ormore. Only two students who could have participatedin the survey did not. It is for this reason that thenumbers are relatively small.

The demographics of the teaching assistants sur-veyed were seven African Americans and fiveHispanic/Latino Americans. The gender was eightmales and four females. Five of the 12 were first-gen-eration Americans. Eight of the respondents weregeology majors, one was an environmental sciencemajor, two were geoscience engineering majors, andone was a double major in environmental science andgeology. Three of the 12 had their first assistantshippositions while at Essex County College, but all trans-ferred to Rutgers University when they graduated.Eventually, 11 of the 12 graduated and the 12th hadacademic issues and is currently returning to Rutgersafter obtaining strong grades in STEM courses at acommunity college. Eight of the students graduated infour years, and four required at least one extra year.Two of the 12 have earned doctoral degrees and onehas earned a terminal master’s degree to date; twoothers are intent on returning to graduate school.

The demographics of the high school students varyby year. Gates and Kalczynski (2016) contained demo-graphic information on Newark students who partici-pated in OEDG activities. In general, the demographicsof the participating students reflects that of the city ofNewark (Table 1), which is overwhelmingly AfricanAmerican and Hispanic/Latino. Some cohorts con-tained no other ethnic/racial groups.

The surveys consist of six open-ended questionsdeveloped by the OEDG project team, which weretreated as primarily qualitative but viewed semiquanti-tatively where possible as well.

1. Do you enjoy working with K–12 students? Why?2. How do you think the K–12 students view you?3. Does your participation in the program improve

your knowledge of geosciences?4. How does working with K–12 students affect

your perception of yourself as a geoscientist/environmental scientist? Why?

5. Would you recommend other students to partici-pate in education programs? Why?

6. Do you think your experience in the educationprogram encouraged or discouraged you to con-tinue pursuing your education? Why?

Surveys were sent to the participants by email, andthey were given one week to complete them. The par-ticipants were encouraged to write as much or as littleas they wished. They returned completed surveys to

Figure 2. A teaching assistant from the study explaining one of the labs activities to a small group of high school students. Thehigh school students rely on the expertise of the teaching assistant and look to her as a mentor and a role model.

Table 1. Demographics of Newark, New Jersey, and theUnited States.Category Newark New Jersey National

Hispanic/Latino 36.8% 20.0% 17.8%African American 52.4% 14.8% 13.3%Non-English homes 46.3% 30.7% 21.1%Below poverty line 29.1% 10.4% 12.7%High school graduates 73.3% 88.9% 87.0%BA/BS graduates (25þ) 13.7% 37.5% 30.3%

JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION 67, 417–426 (2019) 421

the study and the data were compiled. The responseswere qualitatively coded as positive, neutral, ornegative based on general inspection and the opinionof three readers from the OEDG program in orderto produce a graphical illustration of the attitudes(Figure 3). To be coded as positive, respondents eitherresponded with an affirmative or used only positivedescriptors. Questions 1, 3, 5, and 6 were objective,and responses were clearly positive or negative.Question 2 was more subjective, and responses werecoded as positive if they contained the phrases “rolemodel,” “teacher,” or “authority.” Question 4 wasalso more subjective, and any terms that denote animprovement in perception was considered a positiveresponse. All readers agreed on all responses, whichmade coding easier, and there was no disagreementon the outcomes. The responses to the questionsthat request opinions of the teaching assistantswere subjectively generalized as positive or negativeby the readers and grouped for ease of presentation.Representative responses were also collected from thesurveys for analysis. The reason for this approach isthat there are too few respondents for a quantitativeanalysis that is statistically valid. The rate of accumu-lation of appropriate respondents and ability to con-tact them and have them reflect on their experiencemakes such an effort impossible at this time.

Results

Figure 3 shows the compiled results of the survey.The results are definitively positive. Only Questions 3and 6 were not completely positive. There were noappreciable differences in responses between male and

female, different majors, or students who began atEssex County College. Qualitative results are discussedbelow with the quantitative interpretations.

Question 1

All 12 participants reported that they enjoyed workingwith K–12 students. Responses were enthusiasticand reasons for enthusiasm were similar. The teachingassistants reported that it was rewarding to shareknowledge with these inner-city youths, to inspirethe young students, and to share their passion for geo-sciences with students who knew nothing about thesubject. They enjoyed opening the eyes of the studentsto the wonders of geosciences and encouraging themto pursue college education and geology as a career.

Question 2

The teaching assistants varied in their perception of howthe high school students viewed them. The most prevalentopinion was that they were viewed as a role model (seven)followed by an authority figure (four), but one did notfollow either view. This perception of being viewedas a role model was not just based on the advancededucational standing or age difference of the teachingassistants. The teaching assistants were also quite awareof their race, ethnicity, and background in how they wereviewed, as exemplified in the following excerpts:

[They] view me as someone who they can relatebecause just like them I grew up in the inner city.

[They] see me as someone they can relate to becauseI am a “minority” like them.

Figure 3. Summary of the positive experiences of the 12 respondents to the open-ended questions.

422 ALEXANDER GATES

This perception also carried some responsibility forthe teaching assistants as role models both by theiradvanced standing and by race.

[Y]ou are helping students realize who they are andat the same time giving them a glimpse of who theycan become.

[T]here are not many role models of color in thesciences, especially the geosciences. Seeing a youngblack body in the role of educator may help reinforcethat they could do well in higher education.

Question 3

Ten of 12 teaching assistants felt that their participa-tion in the program improved their knowledge of geo-sciences. Of the two assistants who did not think ithelped, one was a very strong student who went on toearn a doctorate, whereas the other was a moderatestudent who did not pursue graduate education. Mostanswers to this question were positive without reser-vation, and many claimed that explaining techniquesand concepts to the high school students reinforcedtheir understanding and self-confidence.

Question 4

All 12 agreed that the experience as a teaching assistanthad a positive impact on their perception of themselvesas a geoscientist or environmental scientist. The pri-mary change in perception was that it improved confi-dence (seven) and, second, that the assistants viewedthemselves as teachers in addition to geoscientists(four). Part of this response was about improving skillsand dedication, as illustrated by the following excerpts:

They encourage me to make information more visibleand understandable to the public.

I feel more versatile as a scientist. I can do science,but now I can also step into a classroom and talkabout science to young students.

However, the experience clearly improved theirperception of themselves personally. Many alsoreported that their self-confidence and dedicationwere transformed by the experience.

[W]orking with such young students has had a majorimpact in my life.

It gives me the much-needed confidence in anacademic world where criticism can be harsh.

It reassures me that I do know what I’m talking about,that I am an expert (or emerging expert) in my field.

[It] helped me believe in myself more.

Question 5

All teaching assistants would recommend that otherundergraduate students in Earth and environmentalsciences should participate in programs like this. Mostof the responses were positive without reservation.One even suggested that it should be required of allundergraduates in the program. Reasons supportingthe positive responses varied but generally repeatedthose found in the other questions.

Question 6

The experience of being a teaching assistant encour-aged 10 of the 12 students to continue pursuingtheir education. The remaining two did not answerthe question. Examples of responses are these:

[I am] more than encouraged and excited to earnmy undergraduate degree and possibly even agraduate degree.

Truthfully, I almost feel obligated to continue becauseI am a role model.

The second response is critical because it reflects agained responsibility through the experience.

Of the 10, four specifically mentioned attendinggraduate school. Of this group, two went on to earnPh.D.s, one earned a master’s degree, and one is cur-rently in graduate school. Others are planning toreturn to school but have yet to do so. For example,

[P]articipating in education programs encouraged meto continue on to get my Ph.D.

Several of the respondents took the opportunity toaddress other issues with this question. Four took theopportunity to report that the experience hadincreased their motivation to pursue a career in geo-sciences. For example,

This program has encouraged me now more thanever to continue pursuing a career in this field.

I am now involved in the field as a professional as well,and I hope others can look up to me too, so I caninspire them to choose a career that is so rewarding.

The second quote also speaks of setting an exampleand serving as a role model.

Others also took the opportunity with this questionto reflect on the personal gains this experience brought.In several cases, students spoke about enhancing theircommitment to pursuing the geosciences. For example,

[It] rekindled my passion for geology.

Working with K–12 students helped me believe inmyself more and also made me realize that geology isthe right choice for me.

JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION 67, 417–426 (2019) 423

One student expanded on this personal impact in astronger statement:

I gave a speech on the importance of education at mychurch home in Baltimore: As a Black American, Ihave to help pave the way for those that come behindme so that my people can continue to obtain success,happiness, and freedom.

Discussion

The results show a positive response of the URMundergraduate teaching assistants to the experience ofteaching in the summer institute and serving as rolemodels to the high school students without reserva-tion. Four of the six questions were 100% positive,and the remaining two questions had 10 of 12 positiveresponses (Figure 3). The wording of some of theresponses indicates that teaching assistance was morethan just a job for the students. It reflects that theexperience might have changed the priorities of thestudents and their outlook on their education andcareers. Although critical incidents typically refer tointroductory experiences (Stokes et al., 2015), thesemidstream experiences also qualify. Many of thestudents in the Stokes et al. (2015) study were currentor previous teaching assistants. They identified servingas teaching assistants as a critical incident in theirdecision to pursue and remain in the geosciences(P. Stokes, personal communication, 2018).

The success of these students in the geosciencesafter their experience further supports its impact.Eleven of the 12 assistants have graduated. Their finalGPAs have a mean of 3.2 (mode 3.2), which is higherthan the department average of 2.9 to 3.1, dependingon the year. Two of 11 have earned doctoral degrees(18%), which is impressive considering that only <5%of Ph.D.s in geosciences are from URM groups (AGI,2014). Even more impressive were the changes tothe department as described (Figure 1), which sawa greater than three-fold increase in URM majorsfrom 2008 to 2011.

Many of the critical changes in the attitudes of theteaching assistants and resulting changes to thedepartment are attributed to the prot�eg�e effect.Although the importance of mentors and role modelsin STEM is well-documented (Chang et al., 2008), theprot�eg�e effect has not been proposed to increasediversity in the geosciences before this example.Clearly, the effect would have taken place in theteaching assistants regardless of their race or socioeco-nomic situation by its very nature. However, in thiscase, it took on new meaning for urban URM

students. It has been shown that Hispanic Americanscan be drawn to the geosciences through a field campexperience (Miller et al., 2007), but the prot�eg�e effectcould be more broadly applicable to increasing diver-sity in the geosciences.

The prot�eg�e effect and the responsibility it pro-duced may have been the reason that the teachingassistants continued in geosciences, but there are con-tributing reasons for their success, and it does notcompletely explain the benefit for the department.The improvement in the academic performance bythe assistants may have been enhanced through learn-ing by teaching (Leelawong & Biswas, 2008) the highschool students. The statements indicate that the self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) of the assistants wasimproved as a result of the prot�eg�e effect, although itwas not directly measured. The affect it had on otherstudents in the program could have resulted from theteaching assistants acting as role models for theirpeers. These teaching assistants formed the nucleus ofa learning community (Tinto, 1993) within DEES.This community of URM students had not existed priorto the summer institute, and the community was bothsocial and academic. It has been shown that peers con-tribute to persistence in STEM (Ost, 2010), and thatappears to have been the case within DEES. This com-munity also attracted other even peripherally interestedstudents to the major. The reason for this is likelythat—unlike many geoscience programs, in which URMstudents might be on their own or one of a few—students may have felt more confident in the establishedURM learning community. Even after 10 years, DEESstill retains a URM component of >50%.

Limitations and future work

In order to evaluate the viability of the prot�eg�e effectto enhance diversity in the geoscience profession, add-itional and more rigorous studies are required. Themain limitation of the current study is that the sam-pling size of teaching assistants is small. By the natureof the teaching assistant experience in the GeoscienceSummer Scholars Institute, it cannot easily beexpanded to a larger sampling. However, the prot�eg�eeffect could be adapted to other situations, such aspeer-to-peer mentoring at the undergraduate level, asdescribed by Good et al. (2000), instead of the men-toring of high school students.

The second major limitation is that this study wasnot designed in advance but, rather, was designed toinvestigate an unanticipated phenomenon from thepast. Many factors were not accounted for, such as

424 ALEXANDER GATES

the amount of experience of the teaching assistants,the level of education, gender, a subdivision of race,location of their homes (urban vs. suburban), socioe-conomic status, first-generation college status, andothers. All of these could be contributing factors tothe responses. In addition to accounting for these var-iations, a control group of students with similardemographics but who did not serve as teaching assis-tants would be required for comparison.

The method of assessment was also not effectivelydesigned. Although there were significant limitationson the survey, because a number of the students hadgraduated and were not readily available, a more com-prehensive and specific assessment tool could havebeen designed and implemented. Collecting informa-tion on all of the characteristics of the former assis-tants would have allowed a more detailed correlation.The questions are also relatively general, which pre-cludes detailed analysis of specific points. Interviewsand other qualitative evaluations would also have beeninstructive but were not readily obtained with theavailability of the teaching assistants.

Another uncertainty is the amount of influence theGarden State LSAMP (NSF, 2014) had on the URMcommunity in geosciences. This program began dur-ing the evaluation period of the project and providedsupport to the URM students in geosciences as well asthose in other STEM fields. It aided the students withacademic interventions and provided an additionallearning community that may have interfaced withthat developed by the teaching assistants. This mayhave been another contributing factor to the persist-ence and success, even if it was not identified in theStokes et al. (2015) study.

The current study provides the first indications of apotentially effective practice to improve diversity andinclusion in the geosciences. A well-designed, expandedstudy appears warranted. The prot�eg�e effect could beapplied to peer mentoring programs, student clubs,REU projects, and others.

Conclusions

Two unanticipated results of a geoscience summerscholars institute for high school students executed atRutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, were (a)the retention of current URM geoscience majors atRutgers and (b) growth of the URM major populationfrom current students rather than those directlyimpacted by the program. Surveying the URM under-graduate teaching assistants from the summer institute

showed that the experience had an impact on theirdedication to the geosciences. The reason for thisimproved outlook and view of themselves could bethe result of the prot�eg�e effect they experiencedthrough assisting the urban URM high schoolstudents in the program. These former teachingassistants formed the nucleus of a URM learningcommunity within the department that fueled therecruitment and retention. In order for this effect tobe verified, a larger sampling and more rigorous studywill be required. This study is therefore viewedas a benchmark study to a possible best practice.

Acknowledgments

A full IRB was approved by Rutgers University for this study.Suggestions from four anonymous reviewers and two editorsimproved the manuscript and are greatly appreciated.

Funding

This work was supported by the National ScienceFoundation under grant OEDG-0703673 to Gates and others.

References

Adetunji, O. O., Ba, J. M., Ghebreab, W., Joseph, J. F.,Mayer, L. P., & Levine, R. (2012). Geosciences awarenessprogram: A program for broadening participation ofstudents in Geosciences. Journal of Geoscience Education,60(3), 234–240. doi:10.5408/10-208.1

Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L.(2004). career benefits associated with mentoring forproteges: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology,89(1), 127–136. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.127

American Geological Institute (AGI). (2014). The challengesof comparing data on minorities in the geosciences.Geoscience Currents 83. Retrieved from https://www.ameri-cangeosciences.org/workforce/currents/challenges-compar-ing-data-minorities-geosciences (Accessed 8 August 2018).

American Physical Society (APS). (2018). Minority phys-ics statistics. Retrieved from https://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/resources/statistics.cfm (Accessed12 August 2018).

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought andaction: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.

Beltman, S., & Schaeben, M. (2012). Institution-wide peermentoring: Benefits for mentors. The InternationalJournal of the First Year in Higher Education, 3 (2),33–44. doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.v3i2.124

Bernard, R. E., & Cooperdock, E. H. G. (2018). No progresson diversity in 40 years. Nature Geoscience, 11(5),292–295. doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0116-6

Biswas, G., Segedy, J. R., & Bunchongchit, K. (2016).From design to implementation to practice a learning byteaching system: Betty’s brain. International Journal of

JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION 67, 417–426 (2019) 425

Artificial Intelligence in Education, 26(1), 350–364. doi:10.1007/s40593-015-0057-9

Bjerkedal, T., Kristensen, P., Skjeret, G. A., & Brevik, J. I.(2007). Intelligence test scores and birth order amongyoung Norwegian men (conscripts) analyzed within andbetween families. Intelligence, 35(5), 503–514. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2007.01.004

Blake, R. A., Liou-Mark, J., & Lansiquot, R. D. (2015).Promoting the geosciences among grades 8-12 minoritystudents in the urban coastal environment of New YorkCity. Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(1), 29–40. doi:10.5408/13-101.1

Carrick, T. L., Miller, K. C., Hagedorn, E. A., Smith-Konter,B. R., & Velasco, A. A. (2016). Pathways to the geoscien-ces summer high school program: A ten-year evaluation.Journal of Geoscience Education, 64(1), 87–97. doi:10.5408/15-088.1

Chang, M. J., Cerna, O., Han, J., & Saenz, V. (2008).The contradictory roles of institutional status inretaining underrepresented minorities in biomedicaland behavioral science majors. Review of HigherEducation, 31(4), 433–464.

Chase, C. C., Chin, D. B., Oppezzo, M. A., & Schwartz,D. L. (2009). Teachable agents and the prot�eg�e effect:Increasing the effort towards learning. Journal of ScienceEducation and Technology, 18(4), 334–352. doi:10.1007/s10956-009-9180-4

Cortese, C. G. (2005). Learning through teaching. ManagementLearning, 36(1), 87–115. doi:10.1177/1350507605049905

Czujko, R., Ivie, R., & Stith, J. H. (2008). Untapped talent:The African American presence in physics and thegeosciences. AIP Report, Pub, R-444, 22.

Gates, A. E. (2017). Benefits of a STEAM collaboration inNewark, NJ: Volcano simulation through a glass-makingexperience. Journal of Geoscience Education, 65(1), 4–11.doi: doi:10.5408/16-188.1

Gates, A. E., & Kalczynski, M. J. (2016). The oil game:Generating enthusiasm for geosciences in urban youthin Newark, NJ. Journal of Geoscience Education,64(1), 17–23. doi:10.5408/10-164.1

Good, J. M., Halpin, G., & Halpin, G. (2000). A promisingprospect for minority retention: Students becoming peermentors. The Journal of Negro Education, 69(4), 375–383.doi:10.2307/2696252

Houser, C., Garcia, S., & Torres, J. (2015). Effectivenessof geosciences exploration summer program (GeoX)for increasing awareness and knowledge of geosciences.Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(2), 116–126. doi:10.5408/14-016.1

Hughes, C., Boyd, E., & Dykstra, S. J. (2010). Evaluationof a University-based mentoring program: Mentors’perspectives on a service-learning experience. Mentoring& Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18(4), 361–382. doi:10.1080/13611267.2010.511844

Huntoon, J. E., & Lane, M. J. (2007). Diversity in thegeosciences and successful strategies for increasingdiversity. Journal of Geoscience Education, 55(6), 447–457.doi:10.5408/1089-9995-55.6.447

Karsten, J. (2003). A unified approach to diversifying theearth sciences. Geotimes, http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/sept03/feature_diversity.html

Leelawong, K., & Biswas, G. (2008). Designing learning byteaching agents: The Betty’s brain system. InternationalJournal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 18(3),181–208.

Levine, R., Gonzalez, R., Cole, S., Fuhrman, M., & LeFloch,K. C. (2007). The geoscience pipeline: A conceptualframework. Journal of Geoscience Education, 56, 458–468.doi:10.5408/1089-9995-55.6.458

Miller, K. C., Carrick, T., Mart�ınez-Sussmann, C., Levine,R., Andronicos, C. L., & Langford, R. P. (2007).Effectiveness of a summer experience for inspiring inter-est in geoscience among Hispanic-American high schoolstudents. Journal of Geoscience Education, 55(6), 596–603.doi:10.5408/1089-9995-55.6.596

National Science Foundation (NSF). (2014, November 12).Forging the path: Geoscience program blossomsinto statewide effort to broaden participation in scienceand engineering, Discovery Magazine. Retrieved fromhttp://nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=133316&org=NSF

Ost, B. (2010). The role of peers and grades in deter-mining major persistence in the sciences. Economicsof Education Review, 29(6), 923–934. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.06.011

Park, S. W., & Kim, C. M. (2016). The effects of a virtual tuteesystem on academic reading engagement in a college class-room. Educational Technology Research and Development,64(2), 195–218. doi:10.1007/s11423-015-9416-3

Paul, A. M. (2011, November 30). The prot�eg�e effect.Time Magazine.

Sherman-Morris, K., Clary, R. M., McNeal, K. S.,Diaz-Ramirez, J., & Brown, M. E. (2017). An earthhazards camp to encourage minority participationin the geosciences. Journal of Geoscience Education, 65(1),12–22. doi:10.5408/16-192.1

Sidder, A. (2017). Geosciences make modest gainsbut still struggle with diversity. Eos, 98, 7. doi:10.1029/2017EO071093

Sipe, C. L. (2002). Mentoring programs for adolescents:A research summary. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(6),251–260. doi:10.1016/S1054-139X(02)00498-6

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1999).Effects of small-group learning on undergraduatesin science, mathematics, engineering, and technology:A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(1),21–51. doi:10.2307/1170643

Stokes, P. J., Levine, R., Flessa, K. W., Gates, A. E., & Gray,F. (2015). From research to practice: Steering urbanyouth into geoscience. Geological Society of America,Abstracts with Programs, 47, 7.

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and curesof student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

US News & World Report. (2018). Campus ethnic diversity,National universities. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity (Accessed 12 August 2018).

Yilmaz, M., Ren, J., Custer, S., & Coleman, J. (2010).Hands-on summer camp to attract K–12 students toengineering fields. IEEE Transactions on Education, 53(1),144–151. doi:10.1109/TE.2009.2026366

426 ALEXANDER GATES

Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproductionprohibited without permission.