Collaborative Project Track 2, METALS: Minority Education Through Traveling and Learning in the Sciences

Metals(通过旅行和在科学中学习进行少数民族教育)是一项多机构合作，旨在通过在地球科学中代表性较低的群体之间创造有意义的地球科学经验，扩大对STEM领域的参与，并激励这些群体在地球科学领域选择学术和职业道路。金属项目将四所大学与强大的野外地质学项目、重视地球科学教学和指导的机构历史以及致力于为人数较少的少数族裔提供进入大学的机会相结合。旧金山州立大学、德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校、新奥尔良大学和普渡大学的活跃的地球科学多样性项目的战略联盟正被用来通过实地环境让少数族裔高中生获得体验式学习机会。项目活动包括：(1)四次为期10天的教学实地考察，每次为从四个大学地区挑选的40名高中生。实地考察每年在不同的地区进行：加利福尼亚州和太平洋海岸，科罗拉多高原和西南部，落基山脉北部和大平原，以及墨西哥湾海岸。(2)由教授和研究生领导的实地研讨会和座谈会，旨在让未被充分代表的学生更深入地了解地球科学过程如何影响当地社区，如何以地点为基础了解不同文化对景观的理解，以及美国的地质结构。(3)在大学之间建立途径和支持系统，首先是通过学生在地球科学领域的旅行和学习，其次是通过社交网络和学年期间的“虚拟”共享，从而扩大导师朋友网络，并与系外教师建立更广泛的联系，这将鼓励和支持学生在整个职业生涯中的努力。(4)通过实地考察和研究项目吸引少数族裔研究生和本科生参与该项目，这些项目来自暑期项目期间收集的数据。金属项目预计将：显著影响少数族裔学生的学术选择，因为它与他们在大学中的专业选择和课程选择有关；在实地环境中促进对地质学的兴奋，同时在不同种族的个人之间获得相互尊重、相互依赖和信任；以及加强合作伙伴之间的合作和知识库，以鼓励地球科学的多样性。

The METALS (Minority Education Through Traveling and Learning in the Sciences) represents a multi-institution collaboration to broaden participation in STEM fields by creating meaningful geoscience experiences among groups typically underrepresented in the geosciences and to motivate these groups to choose academic and career paths in the geosciences. The METALS program aligns four universities with strong field geology programs, an institutional history of emphasizing teaching and mentoring in the geosciences, and a commitment to providing access to college for large populations of underrepresented minorities. A strategic alliance of active geoscience diversity programs at San Francisco State University, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of New Orleans, and Purdue University is being used to engage minority high school students in experiential learning opportunities through field-based settings. Project activities include: (1) Four 10-day instructional field trips, each for 40 high school students selected from each of the four university regions. The field trips take place in a different region each year: California and the Pacific Coast, the Colorado Plateau and Southwest, the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, and the Gulf Coast. (2) Professor and graduate student-led field seminars and colloquia designed to connect underrepresented students with a deeper understanding of how Earth science processes impact local communities, how place-based understanding of landscapes varies among cultures, and the geological configuration of the U.S. (3) The building of pathways and support systems among the universities, first through students traveling and learning together in the geosciences, and second through social networking and 'virtual' sharing during the academic year resulting in an expanded network of mentor friends and a broader connection to faculty outside their department that will encourage and support student effort throughout their careers. (4) Engagement of minority graduate and undergraduate students in the program through field and research projects that grow out of data collected during the summer programs. The METALS program is expected to: significantly affect the academic choices of minority students as it relates to their choice of major and course selection in college; promote excitement about geology in a field setting while gaining a mutual respect, interdependence and trust among individuals of different ethnicities; and, strengthen the collaboration and knowledge base among partners toward encouraging diversity in the geosciences.