Understanding student motivations to attend and experience an optional geoscience field trip at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

This study aimed to use self-determination theory to examine the motivations of a sample of diverse undergraduate students attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the benefits they experienced on a field trip to southeastern New Mexico, USA, in the winter of 2023. We used a qualitative, single case study. The case comprised a field trip for undergraduate students—geology majors and non-majors. The field trip was a low-stakes opportunity for students interested in STEM and geoscience to experience fieldwork and explore new terrain at little to no cost to students. We recruited 17 undergraduate students attending the trip to participate in the study. We collected data <i>via</i> one-on-one online interviews prior to and after the field trip, and daily journaling during the trip. We used iterative cycles of coding to analyze the data as a team. We found that students had a mix of motivations to attend the field trip, including enjoyment, prior experiences, a desire to make new and deepen existing relationships, and an interest in learning more about geoscience and camping. We also found that their experiences mirrored their motivations—they benefited from the new knowledge about camping and geoscience, the new relationships they forged, and the enjoyment they derived from being outdoors with friends, looking at and for rocks. Our findings suggest that programs capitalize on students’ curiosity to motivate them to attend field trips, universities offer K-12 programming, and field trip organizers prepare students for the conditions they will encounter on field trips.