Long-term Enhancement of Geoscience Diversity Through Engagement of Preteens

古生物研究所（PRI）和大伊萨卡活动中心（GIAC）正在开展合作，以减少文化偏见的影响，这种偏见使来自不同种族的城市社区的年轻人远离潜在的地球科学职业。该伙伴关系采取了三步走的方法来解决这个问题。(1)在第一步，该项目让不同种族的小学高年级学生参与作为课后计划的科学“研究伙伴关系”；研究伙伴关系有助于使科学过程看起来容易接近和吸引人，从而使参与者认为自己能够从事科学研究。(2)在第二步，PRI的科学家教育工作者吸引那些对进一步的研究机会和相关的博物馆教育特别感兴趣的学生的一部分，并在此过程中帮助学生考虑是否适合他们从事地球科学的职业。(3)在第三步中，学生作为导师参与下一届学生的研究伙伴关系外展，并在学校课堂和课外活动中为同龄人担任口译员。该项目涉及来自纽约州伊萨卡州部分地区的不同种族的小学高年级学生，该地区的少数民族学生比例很高。学生们参加PRI的新教育和展览设施，地球博物馆。该项目使用了PRI现有的几个让学生参与科学的项目，包括泥盆纪海洋项目、乳齿象矩阵项目和收集连接。GIAC的幼稚园-五年级学生参观博物馆的展品，并根据他们的年龄参与研究合作活动；12名4年级和5年级的学生成为初级地球科学家，在一学年中每周两次参观博物馆，参加地球科学活动，帮助创建一个展览，并学习成为讲述者。之后，学生们与学校和GIAC的同龄人进行互动，并帮助培训下一批初级地球科学家。该项目为期两年，目的是测试让第一年的学生教第二年的学生的有效性。该项目正在伊萨卡的城市微观世界中进行测试，之后PRI将在附近的锡拉丘兹和尤蒂卡实施该项目，寻求应用该模型来增强全国地球科学的多样性。

Track 1: Long-term enhancement of geoscience diversity through engagement of preteens The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) are partnering to reduce the impact of cultural biases that pull young people from ethnically diverse urban communities away from potential geoscience careers. The partnership takes a three-step approach to this problem. (1) In the first step the project engages whole groups of ethnically diverse upper elementary school students in science "research partnerships" offered as afterschool programming; research partnerships help make the scientific process seem accessible and engaging, so that participants consider themselves able to do science. (2) In the second step PRI scientist educators engage a subset of those students who are especially interested in further opportunities for research and associated Museum education, and during the process help students consider if a career in the geosciences might be appropriate for them. (3) In the third step students are involved as mentors in research partnership outreach for the next cohort of students and as interpreters for peers in their school classes and afterschool activities. The project involves ethnically diverse upper elementary school students from a part of Ithaca, NY that has a high proportion of minority students. Students participate at PRI's new education and exhibits facility, the Museum of the Earth. The project uses several of PRI's existing initiatives for involving students in science, including the Devonian Seas Project, the Mastodon Matrix Project, and Collections Connections. K-5 students from GIAC visit the Museum exhibits and participate in research partnership activities according to their age level; twelve 4th and 5th graders become Junior Geoscientists and visit the Museum twice a week for the academic year, participating in geoscience activities, helping to create an exhibit, and learning to be docents. Later the students interact with their peers at school and GIAC, and help train the next cohort of Junior Geoscientists. The project runs for two years, in order to test the effectiveness of having students from the first year teach students from the second. The project is being tested in Ithaca's urban microcosm, after which PRI will implement the project in nearby Syracuse and Utica, looking toward application of the model to enhancing diversity in the geosciences nationally.