GP: IMPACT: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS)

科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)劳动力对美国的健康和经济至关重要，但STEM领域的保留率很低，尤其是地球科学界面临着迫在眉睫的劳动力短缺。此外，地球科学界继续缺乏广大人口的多样性。STEM学生船上体验(STEMSEAS)项目是一项为期一年的概念验证倡议，旨在解决三个优先事项：(1)增加攻读地球科学学位和职业的学生的数量和多样性；(2)为学生在地球科学领域所有可能的职业轨迹做好准备；以及(3)促进学生有效参与、学习和保持STEM的证据基础。STEMSEAS项目正在通过利用联邦资助的研究船网络--大学国家海洋实验室系统(UNLS)提供的未使用的靠泊能力来实现这些目标，因为船只在美国港口之间过境，为他们的下一次科学考察做准备。这些短期(约5-7天)的过渡提供了一个流动的课堂环境，本科生可以在这里接触到地球科学专业的专业实践和职业探索。通过与联合国志愿人员组织和大学的校园“冠军”合作，包括少数群体服务机构(MSI)和历史上的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)，该项目正在将不同的学生队列与一个由地球科学教师和导师组成的小组一起送往海洋。为这项试点研究招募了三个队列(每个约10名本科生)，以证明STEMSEAS模式的后勤可行性和潜在影响。在海上，学生们参与各种实践活动，包括地球科学内容、实验室练习、数据收集/分析、职业探索和讨论/反思。在完成过境后，每个参与者都被要求完成一个过境后项目，他们将该项目介绍给他们的家乡机构，写一篇关于他们的经验的短文，并参加过境后与其他队列成员的电话会议。应用材料和评估调查正在提供数据，以评估STEMSEAS项目对学生对地球科学和地球科学职业的知识和态度的影响。STEMSEAS项目旨在增加关于哪些经验和干预措施有助于提高地球科学相关专业的保留率和持久性，以及在增加进入地球科学劳动力管道的学生数量和多样性方面最有效的战略的证据基础。通过在富有魅力的研究船上创造创新的学习体验，STEMSEAS正在收集有关新方法的有效性的数据，这些方法可以吸引可能从未将地球科学作为学习或职业领域的学生，对地球科学感兴趣但不确定方向的学生，以及对STEM感兴趣的学生，他们可能没有考虑过地球科学的细节。通过这些身临其境的体验，STEMSEAS正在探索短期但密集的学习活动的有效性。

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is crucial to the U.S. health and economy, yet retention rates in STEM fields are poor, and the Geoscience community in particular is faced with a looming workforce shortage. Moreover, the Geoscience community continues to lack the diversity of the population at large. The STEM Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS) project is a 1-year proof-of-concept initiative aimed at addressing three priorities: (1) increasing the number and diversity of students pursuing degrees and careers in geosciences; (2) preparing students for all possible career trajectories in the geosciences; and, (3) contributing to the evidence base for effective student engagement, learning and retention in STEM. The STEMSEAS project is achieving these goals by taking advantage of unused berthing capacity available through the federally funded research vessel network, the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), as ships transit between U.S. ports in preparation for their next scientific expedition. These short (~5-7 days) transits offer a mobile classroom setting where undergraduate non-STEM, undecided-STEM, and geoscience majors can be exposed to geoscience professional practice and career exploration. By partnering with UNOLS and campus "champions" at universities, including minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), the project is sending diverse cohorts of students to sea with a small team of geoscience faculty and mentors. Three cohorts (~10 undergraduate students each) are being recruited for this pilot study to document both the logistical feasibility and potential impact of the STEMSEAS model. While at sea, the students engage in a variety of hands-on activities that incorporate geoscience content, lab exercises, data collection/analysis, career exploration, and discussion/reflection. Upon completion of the transits, each participant is required to complete a post-transit project, which they present back at their home institution, write a short article about their experiences, and participate in post-transit teleconferences with other cohort members. Application materials and evaluation surveys are providing data to assess the impact of the STEMSEAS project on student knowledge of and attitudes toward the geosciences and geoscience careers. The STEMSEAS project is designed to add to the evidence base regarding what kinds of experiences and interventions help to increase retention and persistence in geoscience-related majors, and what strategies are most effective at increasing the number and diversity of students entering the geoscience workforce pipeline. By creating innovative learning experiences on board charismatic research vessels, STEMSEAS is gathering data on the effectiveness of novel approaches for engaging students who may never have considered the geosciences as a field of study or career, students who are interested in the geosciences but are unsure of what direction to go, and STEM-interested students who may not have considered the specifics of the geosciences. Through these immersive experiences, STEMSEAS is exploring the effectiveness of short-term but intense learning activities.