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。 俄亥俄州州立大学与哥伦布州立社区学院、STEM哥伦布和俄亥俄州STEM学习网络合作，将制定一项地球科学意识计划（GAP），针对五个学术水平的代表性不足的少数民族学生--初中、高中、社区学院和未申报专业的大学新生，以及大学高年级学生。 这最后两个学术水平将只包括在俄亥俄州州立大学注册的学生。 该计划将包括一套讲座，演示文稿，小册子和有关地球科学的教育材料的发展。这些材料将用于培养人数不足的少数民族学生对主修地球科学的兴趣。 开发的教育材料还将用于有针对性地招募具有科学背景的少数民族本科生，参加俄亥俄州地质科学研究生课程。 差距计划将包括向学生传达地球科学职业可能提供的就业机会的材料。 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，许多大学预科生，社区学院的本科生，尚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地质科学专业的少数民族学生人数，从而增加在这一国家重要的STEM教育领域训练有素的专业人员人数。

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.