Collaborative Proposal: GP EXTRA: Field based professional development for Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) undergraduates

培养科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科的未来劳动力对我们国家的经济繁荣至关重要。鉴于地球科学劳动力老龄化，与其他STEM领域相比，缺乏种族多样性，地球科学界必须为职业前和职业早期人员开发新的指导模式，以建立和维持劳动力的技能、多样性和规模。现有的STEM保留和多样性计划承认，获得实地和专业经验对于帮助学生识别为科学家、形成网络并获得在各种公共和私营部门就业所需的重要技能至关重要。这个项目的目标是让不同的环境-STEM(ESTEM)跟踪本科生在四年制大学(4YCU)和社区学院(2YC)获得实践的、适用于职业的经验，这将使学生进入地球科学工作队伍。该项目将传统的地质学野外课程重新设想为一种专业发展经验，以应对在许多4YCU出现的新的“环境”地球科学轨道。来自旧金山大学、圣安东尼奥山学院和大西洋学院的教职员工正在与来自学术界、公共机构、咨询和非营利组织的环境地球科学专业人员合作，以确定关键的地球科学职业技能，并开发一种“徽章”系统，以表彰对这些技能的掌握。暑期实习课程和实习后研讨会为参与的本科生提供了与利益相关者接触的机会，学习和练习获得徽章的技能。此外，该项目正在展示一种新技术(数字徽章)在学生评估中的潜在用途。徽章为学生、教师和利益相关者之间的对话创造了空间，所有学生都可以适应和使用徽章，而不仅仅是那些能够或倾向于参与给定项目的学生。徽章还为学生和雇主提供了透明的技能掌握记录，为学生提供了一种新的方式来了解和推广通过环境地球科学课程获得的技能、能力、概念和学习成果(SCCL)。评估被用来确保利益相关者确定的技能、徽章和实地课程保持一致，并解决该计划在留住学生方面在地球科学管道中的有效性。该课程以环境地球科学专业学生为对象，结合该领域的利益相关者，并通过机构合作将不同的学习者群体团结在一起，作为本科生水平地球科学专业发展的典范。通过网络研讨会、讲习班和项目网站向更广泛的社区提供通过该项目学到的经验教训。

Preparing a future workforce in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines is vital to the economic prosperity of our nation. In light of an aging geoscience workforce that exhibits a lack of ethnic diversity when compared with other STEM fields, the geoscience community must develop new models of mentorship for pre-career and early career personnel to build and sustain the skills, diversity, and size of the workforce. Existing STEM retention and diversity programs have recognized access to field and professional experiences as critical to helping students identify as scientists, form networks, and gain important skills necessary for employment in a variety of public and private sectors. The goal of this project is to engage a diverse cohort of Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) track undergraduates at 4-year colleges and universities (4YCUs) and community colleges (2YCs) in hands-on, career-applicable experiences that will launch students into the geoscience workforce.This project reimagines the traditional geology field course as a professional development experience to address the emergence of new "environmental" geoscience tracks at many 4YCUs. Faculty from the University of San Francisco, Mount San Antonio College, and the College of the Atlantic are working with environmental geoscience professionals from academia, public agencies, consulting, and non-profit organizations to identify key geoscience career skills and develop a "badge" system to recognize mastery of these skills. A summer field course and post-field seminar provides participating undergraduate students with opportunities to engage with stakeholders, learn and practice skills in the pursuit of earning badges. Further, this program is demonstrating the potential uses of a new technology (digital badges) for student assessment. Badges create space for dialog between students, faculty, and stakeholders and are adaptable and accessible by all students, not just those able or apt to participate in a given program. Badges also enable transparent documentation of skill mastery for students and employers, providing a new way for students to understand and market the skills, competencies, concepts, and learning outcomes (SCCLs) gained through environmental geoscience courses. Assessments are being used to ensure alignment of stakeholder-identified skills, badges, and field curriculum, and address the efficacy of the program in student retention in the geoscience pipeline. With a new model of field course that targets environmental geoscience students, engages stakeholders in the field, and unites a diverse group of learners through institutional collaboration, this program serves as a model for geoscience professional development at the undergraduate level. Lessons learned through this project are being made accessible to the wider community through webinars, workshops, and a project website.