The Role of Two-year Colleges in Education and Broadening Participation in the Geosciences: A Planning Workshop

两年制学院（TYC）招收了全国约45%的本科生，学生群体高度多样化。鉴于这种多样性，TYCs为扩大参与地球科学提供了一个潜在的丰富渠道。他们还在为地球科学劳动力做出贡献、向学前K-12教师教授科学以及培养具有地球科学素养的公民方面发挥着重要作用。然而，TYC教师面临的挑战包括资源有限、孤立、缺乏来自四年制大学同事的尊重，以及有针对性的地球科学专业发展机会有限。OEDG计划拨款的目标包括确定TYC地学教职员工和学生面临的问题、挑战和机遇，并为加强这一重要组成部分的下一步工作提出建议。2010年夏季将召开一个规划研讨会，讨论如何：1)更好地支持TYC地球科学项目、教师和学生；2)加强对天津理工学院地学专业的专业支持；3)确定以涉及TYC的方式扩大地球科学参与的策略；4)建立地球科学学院网络；5)与四年制学院和大学建立更强有力的合作和联系，以更好地支持通过地球科学管道招收和留住学生；6)考虑专业协会和组织如何支持TYC的教师、学生和项目。在这次研讨会期间，大约25名两年制和四年制的学院和大学教师以及专业协会的代表将聚集在一起制定一项计划，并提出优先建议。一个由卡尔顿学院科学教育资源中心（SERC）主持的联合网站正在开发中，以支持该项目。它将记录讲习班并扩大其影响范围，从讲习班以及讲习班前和讲习班后的贡献中积累资源。它还将提供有关TYC问题的专业协会会议的链接，并作为TYC更广泛的地球科学信息的基础。

Two-year colleges (TYC) enroll approximately 45% of all undergraduate students in the country and have a highly diverse student population. Given this diversity, TYCs provide a potentially rich conduit for broadening participation in the geosciences. They also play an important role in contributing to the geoscience workforce, teaching science to pre-service K-12 teachers, and producing earth-science literate citizens. However, TYC faculty face challenges including limited resources, isolation, lack of respect from four-year college colleagues, and limited opportunities for targeted geoscience professional development. The goals of this OEDG planning grant include identifying issues, challenges, and opportunities for geoscience faculty and students in TYC and making recommendations for next steps in strengthening this important component of the community. A planning workshop is being convened in the Summer of 2010 to strategize how to: 1) better support TYC geoscience programs, faculty, and students; 2) provide more professional support for geoscience faculty in TYC; 3) identify strategies to broaden participation in the geosciences in ways that involve TYC; 4) establish networks among TYC geoscience faculty; 5) build stronger collaborations and connections with four-year colleges and universities, in an effort to better support recruitment and retention of students moving through the geoscience pipeline; and, 6) consider how professional societies and organizations can support TYC faculty, students, and program. During this workshop ~25 two-year and four-year college and university faculty, as well as representatives from professional societies, will be brought together to develop a plan with prioritized recommendations. An associated website, hosted by the Science Education Resources Center (SERC) at Carleton College, is being developed to support the project. It will document the workshop and extend its reach, building resources from the workshop and from pre- and post-workshop contributions. It will also provide links to professional society sessions on TYC issues and serve as a foundation for information about geoscience in TYC more broadly.