GP-EXTRA: Engaging Students in Inclusive Geoscience Field Experiences via Onsite-Remote Partnerships

GP-EXTRA：通过现场远程合作让学生参与包容性地球科学现场体验

• 批准号: 1540652
• 负责人: Eric Pyle
• 金额: $ 30.84万
• 依托单位: James Madison University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-15 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1540652&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GP; EXTRA; Engaging; Students; Inclusive

The importance of field-based learning experiences in geoscience education is well-documented. However, learning in the field is not entirely accessible for students with physical disabilities. This collaborative project will engage students with disabilities (SWD) in authentic field experiences via a peer instruction approach that pairs SWD with more physically capable students in collaborative field-based exercises. The overarching philosophy is that partnerships of students with diverse physical abilities, as well as student-instructor pairs, constitute a collective set of human senses and perspectives that can be as effective as individuals with no physical limitations. Outcomes from this work should apply to a wide variety of barriers to onsite field investigations that SWD and others may face during the course of their geoscience careers. This work is anticipated to increase the probability of retaining and graduating geoscience SWD and other collaborating students, and encourage and empower them to pursue geoscience careers, thereby broadening participation of underrepresented minorities in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.Investigators at James Madison University (JMU) are collaborating with colleagues at the University of Cinncinatti, Old Dominion University, and Central Connecticut State University to pilot and test innovative approaches for enabling SWD to gain meaningful exposure to field-based activities relevant to the geosciences. The project is designed to work with two cohorts of undergraduate geoscience students: one with mobility disabilities (SWD) and another without. Students (primarily sophomores) are being recruited from a national pool of undergraduate geoscience majors. Students from each cohort are paired in a variety of field experiences, and collaborate both on-site in the field and through remote connections. Field data collection and analyses occurs in real-time via web-linked tablets and other interactive mobile devices. Real-time video and audio communication, both student-student and student-faculty, are facilitated through cutting-edge wearable technologies. The field program incorporates a range of experiences that are traditionally included within an undergraduate geoscience curriculum. These include: day-long field trips that focus on a specific set of field skills, such as generating strip logs for stratigraphic analyses; measuring structural orientations using a geologic compass; and, mineralogical and petrologic analyses using a hand lens. Field experiences in the second year of the project are focused on more advanced, multi-day exercises that require student teams to synthesize geologic field data collected into maps and reports that summarize the tectonic history of a region. Assessment of project activities by an external evaluator is being used to inform continuous improvements to the project design; summative evaluation and synthesis of the impacts of the project are expected to contribute to the evidence base regarding best practices for working with SWD in field settings. Results and experiences from this project are being disseminated via presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and a capstone field trip for geoscience students, faculty, and professionals.

实地学习经验在地球科学教育中的重要性是有据可查的。然而，肢体残疾学生并不完全可以在实地学习。这个合作项目将通过同伴指导的方法，让残疾学生(SWD)参与真实的野外体验，将他们与更有身体能力的学生配对，进行基于现场的协作练习。最重要的理念是，拥有不同身体能力的学生以及学生和教师的合作伙伴关系，构成了一套人类感官和观点的集体，可以与没有身体限制的个人一样有效。这项工作的成果应适用于社会福利署和其他人在其地球科学职业生涯中可能面临的现场实地调查的各种障碍。这项工作预计将增加留住和毕业地球科学社署和其他合作学生的可能性，并鼓励和增强他们追求地球科学事业的能力，从而扩大未被充分代表的少数群体在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科中的参与。詹姆斯·麦迪逊大学(JMU)的研究人员正在与辛西纳蒂大学、老道明大学和中康涅狄格州立大学的同事合作，试验和测试创新方法，使社会福利署能够获得与地球科学相关的实地活动的有意义的接触。该项目旨在与两组地学本科生合作：一组有行动不便(SWD)，另一组没有。学生(主要是大二学生)是从全国本科生地学专业招收的。来自每个队列的学生在不同的现场体验中配对，并通过现场和远程连接进行协作。现场数据收集和分析通过连接网络的平板电脑和其他交互式移动设备实时进行。通过尖端的可穿戴技术，学生与学生和学生与教职员工之间的实时视频和音频交流得到了促进。该实地课程包含了一系列传统上包含在本科地球科学课程中的经验。其中包括：为期一天的实地考察，重点是一套特定的实地技能，如为地层分析生成条带测井；使用地质罗盘测量构造方向；以及使用手持镜头进行矿物学和岩石学分析。该项目第二年的实地经验主要集中在更高级的、为期数天的练习上，这些练习要求学生团队将收集的地质实地数据综合成地图和报告，总结一个地区的构造历史。正在利用外部评估员对项目活动的评估，为项目设计的持续改进提供信息；对项目影响的总结性评估和综合预计将有助于在外地环境中与社会福利署合作的最佳做法的证据基础。这个项目的成果和经验正在通过演讲、同行评议的出版物和为地球科学学生、教师和专业人员进行的顶峰实地考察而传播。