Geosciences Awareness Programs-Bridging the Pathway-Track 1

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。俄亥俄州立大学将与哥伦布州立社区学院、STEMColumbus和俄亥俄STEM学习网络合作，开发一个地球科学意识计划（GAP），目标是在五个学术水平上——初中、高中、社区学院、未申报专业的大学新生和大学高年级学生——代表性不足的少数民族学生。这最后两个学术水平将只包括在俄亥俄州立大学注册的学生。该计划将包括开发一系列关于地球科学的讲座、演示、小册子和教育材料。这些材料将用于培养少数民族学生对主修地球科学的兴趣。开发的教育材料也将用于有针对性地招募代表性不足的具有科学背景的少数民族本科生参加俄亥俄州立大学地质科学研究生课程。GAP项目将包括向学生介绍从事地球科学工作可能提供的工作机会的材料。最终，GAP的模式可以在其他机构和社区复制，以促进地质科学作为STEM领域的教育选择，面向许多大学预科学生、社区学院本科生、未决定的大学生和大学高年级学生，无论学生的种族或背景如何。该项目的最终结果将是增加主修地质科学的少数民族学生的数量，从而增加在这个国家重要的STEM教育领域训练有素的专业人员的数量。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Ohio State University, in partnership with Columbus State Community College, STEMColumbus, and the Ohio STEM Learning Network, will develop a Geoscience Awareness Program (GAP) targeted at underrepresented minority students at five academic levels - middle school, high school, community college, and university freshmen with undeclared majors, and university seniors. These last two academic levels will include only students enrolled at The Ohio State University. The program will include development of a package of lectures, presentations, brochures, and educational material about geosciences. These materials will be used to develop underrepresented minority students' interest in majoring in geosciences. The educational materials developed will also be used for targeted recruitment of underrepresented minority undergraduate students with science backgrounds to Ohio State's graduate program in geological sciences. The GAP program will include materials to communicate to students the job opportunities that a career in geosciences could offer. Ultimately, GAP's model can be replicated at other institutions and communities to promote geological sciences as an educational option in the STEM fields to many pre-college students, undergraduates at community colleges, undecided college students, and college senior students, whatever the students' ethnicity or background. The eventual outcome of this project will be to increase the number of minority students majoring in the geological sciences and thereby increase the numbers of trained professionals in this nationally important area of STEM education.