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

NSF与NASA、NOAA和美国国务院合作，支持全球学习和观察惠及环境(GLOBAL)计划的活动。GLOBAL是一个国际实践环境/地球科学研究和教育项目，面向112个国家和地区的全球中小学社区。Globe的愿景促进和支持学生、教师和科学家在环境和地球系统的探究式调查方面进行合作。GLOBAL现已进入第19个年头，已为来自24 000所学校的65 000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，并使1000多万名学生参与：学习科学过程；发现他们的环境科学；为支持科学研究贡献了9000多万个基于礼宾的观察。通过GLOBAL接触科学的学生中，有相当数量的人继续获得科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学位，并在STEM追求职业生涯。正如最近几份报告指出的那样，STEM劳动力的健康和活力对国家的繁荣至关重要。人们还注意到，科学、技术和经济研究越来越多地作为一个建立在多种国际合作基础上的全球企业进行。因此，像GLOBAL这样的项目非常重要，这些项目让学生在文化多元和丰富的背景下参与STEM课程。越来越多的前全球计划参与者正在寻求有意义和成本效益的方式来回馈全球计划，并为其努力做出贡献，以支持全球范围内参与科学努力的充满活力和多样化的学生社区。为利用全球校友网络的持续热情和支持制定战略，这是维持和扩大该计划影响的一个重要且具有成本效益的机会。这项建议寻求资金，以召开一次战略规划研讨会，以制定一个协调一致的框架，以激活和雇用由全球科学和教育计划以前的参与者组成的新的校友网络。该研讨会将与在印度新德里举行的年度全球合作伙伴会议和四年一度的全球学习考察(GLE)同时举行(2014年8月3日至8日)，以便利用更多的全球科学家、教育工作者、培训师、学生、合作伙伴和赞助商参加全球学习考察。讲习班议程的重点是分享目前由特定校友社区开展的活动，收集全球教育培训参与者对校友参与最有用的优先领域的意见，制定考虑业务因素的战略计划，为创建全球校友近同行辅导网络奠定基础，以及招募国际参与者参与关于全球校友近同行辅导活动有效性的研究。召集这次研讨会的全球参与者团队已经作为该计划的领导者或培训者参与了多年，他们拥有必要的技能和关系，使这次研讨会成功地实现了其目标。NASA和NSF最近支持了用于通信、数据共享和分析的全球技术基础设施的现代化；这些升级极大地提高了全球参与者使用社交媒体和更复杂的协作软件的能力。伴随着这些升级，全球业务的治理模式也发生了转变，从由美国集中管理转向更多地由社区驱动的管理流程。这些改革使拟议中的有意义地吸引全球校友参与的努力变得尤为及时。GLOBAL项目为新的增长做好了准备；从校友那里获得额外的支持，作为近乎同行的导师和榜样，将有助于GLOBAL实现这一潜力，并为支持其学生的STEM抱负提供新的机制。

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.