Demonstration Project: Arkansas Minority Cyberinfrastructure Training, Education Consortium (AMC-TEC)

位于派恩布拉夫的阿肯色大学和菲兰德史密斯学院成立了阿肯色网络基础设施少数民族培训教育联盟（AMC-TEC），以在阿肯色发展一个独特的跨学科网络基础设施（CI）教育社区。该联盟在该项目区域的以教学为导向的传统黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）中，为大多数少数民族学生和教师提供面向网络基础设施的概念、理论、实践和原则，这些概念、理论、实践和原则涉及科学技术、数学和工程（STEM）。这是一个示范项目，重点发展参与机构在三个核心领域的能力，因为它们与网络基础设施资源有关，(1)机构教师发展(2)有形的基于网络的学生活动(3)CI课程增强。这些活动正在产生可以在全国范围内部署的战略，通过资源和专业知识的共享，通过引入网络基础设施资源来改变STEM教育和研究，使以学生为中心的大学的STEM教育复兴制度化。该项目正在建立新的地方和国家伙伴关系，以便分享教学模式、最佳做法和课程，以实现最大程度的区域和迅速的国家影响。所列hbcu、阿肯色大学（UARK）高性能计算中心、阿肯色研究与教育光网络（ARE-ON）、俄克拉荷马大学（OU）教育与研究超级计算中心（OSCER）、索德教育基金会和少数族裔服务机构-网络基础设施授权联盟（MSI-CIEC）之间的独特合作关系已经形成。合作伙伴正在提供资源、专业知识和支持服务，这些在HBCUs校园以前是不存在的。该项目正在创建一个由多数少数民族学生和STEM教师组成的学习者社区，以解决在STEM中吸引代表性不足的人群利用网络基础设施研究和教育资源的国家挑战。美国面临的巨大挑战是，通过生产能够利用当地、国家和国际网络基础设施资源进行严肃科学研究的劳动力，确保其在STEM研究和创新中保持其智力能力，这需要STEM领域所有有能力的个人在智力话语中发挥积极作用。拟议的项目提供了一种可复制的方法，以增加历史上代表性不足的社区和地区在面向网络基础设施的研究和教育中的参与。该项目通过与成熟的网络基础设施社区、当地资源合作，将面向网络基础设施的材料注入现有课程，并扩大阿肯色州hbcu教师的专业知识和实践技能，实现了这些目标。更广泛的影响本项目的更广泛的影响包括：(1)扩大网络基础设施研究和教育领域的劳动力的新合作，包括更多历史上未被充分代表的少数民族和妇女；(2)在网络基础设施研究领域发生创新时，开发共享知识和资源的途径；教育(3)扩大从事面向网络基础设施的研究和教学的教师的多样性。(4)增加对STEM领域特别是计算机领域的网络基础设施导向职业感兴趣的学生的入学人数。

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Philander Smith College has formed the Arkansas Cyberinfrastructure Minority Training, Education Consortium (AMC-TEC) to develop a unique interdisciplinary cyberinfrastructure (CI) educational community within Arkansas. This consortium is educating a majority minority student population, and faculty in cyberinfrastructure-oriented concepts, theories, practices, and principles within Science Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering (STEM) at the teaching-oriented Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the area of the project. This is a demonstration project focused on developing the capacity of the participant institutions within three core areas as they relate to cyberinfrastructure resources, (1) institutional faculty development (2) tangible cyber-based student activities (3) CI curriculum enhancement. These activities are producing strategies that can be deployed on a national scale to institutionalize a renaissance in STEM education at student-focused universities, through the sharing of resources and expertise to transform STEM education and research through the introduction of cyberinfrastructure resources. The project is creating new local, national partnerships to enable the sharing of pedagogical models, best practices, and curricula to achieve maximum regional and rapid national impact. Distinct partnerships between the listed HBCUs, the University ofArkansas (UARK) High Performance Computing Center, Arkansas Research and EducationOptical Network (ARE-ON), the Supercomputing Center for Education & Research (OSCER) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), the Shoder Education Foundation, and the Minority ServingInstitutions-Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment Coalition (MSI-CIEC) have been formed. The partners are providing resources, expertise, and support services, that did not previously exist at the HBCUs campuses.Intellectual MeritThis project is creating a community of learners composed of a majority minority student population, and STEM faculty to address the national challenge of engaging an underrepresented population within STEM to utilize cyberinfrastructure research, and educational resources. The magnitude of the challenge that the U.S. faces with respect to ensuring that it retains its intellectual capacity within STEM research and innovation through the production of a workforce that is capable of serious science using both local, national and international cyberinfrastructure resources requires all capable individuals within STEM to take an active role in the intellectual discourse. The proposed project offers a replicable approach to increasing the participation of historically underrepresented communities and regions withinCyberinfrastructure oriented research and education. The project achieves these goals by partnering mature cyberinfrastructure communities, local resources to inject cyberinfrastructureoriented materials into existing curriculum and to expand the expertise of faculty with practical skills at HBCUs in Arkansas.Broader ImpactsThe broader impacts of this project include:(1) new collaborations to expand the workforce within the domains of cyberinfrastructure research and education to include greater numbers of historically underrepresented minorities, and women, (2) developing avenues for sharing knowledge and resources as innovation takes place within the domains of cyberinfrastructure research, and education (3) expanding the diversity of faculty members engaged in cyberinfrastructure-oriented research and teaching. (4) Increasing the enrollment of students interested in cyberinfrastructure-oriented careers within STEM particularly within the computing fields.