US -Thailand, Czech Republic, Norway, South Africa Workshop: Catalyzing GLOBE Alumni International Near-peer Mentoring (CGAIN)

美国国家科学基金会与美国国家航空航天局、美国国家海洋和大气管理局和美国国务院合作，支持全球学习和观测以造福环境（GLOBE）计划的活动。GLOBE是一项国际实践环境/地球科学研究和教育计划，参与112个国家的全球中小学社区。GLOBE的愿景是促进和支持学生、教师和科学家在环境和地球系统的探究式调查中进行合作。GLOBE现已进入第19个年头，为来自2.4万所学校的6.5万多名教师提供了环境科学内容和技能方面的专业发展和培训，并吸引了1000多万名学生：学习科学过程；发现环境科学；并提供了9000多万份基于协议的观测资料，以支持科学研究。大量通过GLOBE接触科学的学生继续获得科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学位，并从事STEM领域的职业。正如最近几份报告所指出的那样，STEM劳动力的健康和活力对国家的繁荣至关重要。还可以观察到，STEM研究越来越多地作为建立在多个国际合作基础上的全球企业进行。因此，像GLOBE这样的项目，让学生在多元文化和丰富的背景下参与STEM道路，是极其重要的。越来越多的前GLOBE参与者正在寻找有意义和具有成本效益的方式来回馈GLOBE项目，并为其努力做出贡献，以支持一个充满活力和多样化的学生社区，他们在全球范围内从事科学研究。制定战略，以利用全球校友网络持续的热情和支持，是维持和扩大该计划影响的一个重要和具有成本效益的机会。本提案寻求资金来召开一个战略规划研讨会，以发展一个连贯的框架，以激活和雇用一个由GLOBE科学与教育计划以前的参与者组成的新的校友网络。本次研讨会将与GLOBE年度合作伙伴会议和四年一次的全球学习考察（GLE）（2014年8月3日至8日）在印度新德里同时举行，以便利用更多的GLOBE科学家、教育工作者、培训师、学生、合作伙伴和赞助商参加GLE的机会。研讨会议程的重点是分享特定校友社区目前正在开展的活动，从GLE参与者那里收集校友参与最有用的优先领域的意见，制定考虑到操作因素的战略计划，为创建全球校友近同伴指导网络奠定基础。以及招募国际参与者研究全球校友近同伴指导活动的有效性。召开这次讲习班的全球环境小组的参与者多年来一直以领导或培训人员的身份参与该方案，他们具有必要的技能和联系，使讲习班成功地实现其目标。NASA和NSF最近支持了用于通信、数据共享和分析的GLOBE技术基础设施的现代化；这些升级极大地提高了GLOBE参与者使用社交媒体和更复杂的协作软件的能力。这些升级伴随着GLOBE操作的治理模式的转变，从在美国集中管理到更多的社区驱动的管理过程。这些改革使得有意义地吸引GLOBE校友的提议显得尤为及时。GLOBE项目为新的增长做好了准备；从校友那里获得额外的支持，无论是作为同行导师还是榜样，都将有助于GLOBE实现这一潜力，并为支持学生的STEM抱负提供新机制。

In collaboration with NASA, NOAA, and the US State Department, NSF supports the activities of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. GLOBE is an international hands-on environmental/earth science research and education program for a global community of elementary and secondary schools participating in 112 countries. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system. Now in its 19th year, GLOBE has provided professional development and training in the content and skills of environmental science for over 65,000 teachers from 24,000 schools and engaged more than 10 million students in: learning about the scientific process; discovering the science of their environment; and, contributing more than 90 million protocol-based observations in support of scientific research. A significant number of students who have been introduced to science through GLOBE have continued on to obtain degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and pursue careers in STEM. As noted in several recent reports, the health and vitality of the STEM workforce is critical to the Nation's prosperity. It is also observed that STEM research is increasingly conducted as a global enterprise built on multiple international collaborations. As such, programs like GLOBE, which engage students in STEM pathways within a culturally diverse and rich context, are extremely important. A growing community of former GLOBE participants is seeking to find meaningful and cost-effective ways to give back to the GLOBE program and contribute to its efforts to support a vibrant and diverse community of students engaged in scientific endeavors worldwide. Defining strategies for leveraging the ongoing enthusiasm and support of a global network of GLOBE alumni is an important and cost-effective opportunity for sustaining and expanding the impact of the program.This proposal seeks funds to convene a strategic planning workshop to develop a coherent framework for activating and employing a new alumni network comprised of previous participants in the GLOBE science and education program. This workshop will be held in parallel with the annual GLOBE partner meeting and quadrennial Global Learning Expedition (GLE) in New Delhi, India (August 3-8, 2014), in order to leverage the availability of a larger community of GLOBE scientists, educators, trainers, students, partners, and sponsors attending the GLE. The workshop agenda is focused on sharing of current activities being undertaken by specific alumni communities, collecting input from the GLE participants regarding priority areas where alumni involvement can be most useful, developing a strategic plan that considers operational factors, laying a foundation for creation of a GLOBE alumni near-peer mentoring network, and recruitment of international participants in research on the effectiveness of the GLOBE alumni near-peer mentoring activities. The team of GLOBE participants convening this workshop has been involved as leaders or trainers within the program for several years and they have the necessary skills and connections to make this workshop succeed in achieving its goals. NASA and NSF have supported a recent modernization of the GLOBE technical infrastructure used for communication, data sharing, and analysis; these upgrades have dramatically improved the ability of GLOBE participants to use social media and more sophisticated collaboration software. These upgrades have been accompanied by a shift in the governance model for GLOBE operations, from being centrally managed in the United States to a more community-driven management process. These reforms make the proposed effort to meaningfully engage the GLOBE alumni especially timely. The GLOBE program is well-positioned for new growth; having additional support from alumni as both near-peer mentors and role models will both help GLOBE realize this potential and provide new mechanisms for supporting the STEM ambitions of its students.