Collaborative Research: Partnerships for Geoscience Education: Bridging Shared Waters for Geoscience Studies

部落学院和大学计划（TCUP）的一个目标是提高为美国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教学和研究能力。在这些机构扩大STEM课程的范围，可以扩大学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性、回报丰厚的职业的机会，为可能具有文化意义的领域提供研究，并鼓励社区和世代对科学和数学教育的欣赏。该项目与这一目标直接一致，而且将告知有关本科和研究生研究经验在招募和留住代表性不足的个人进入STEM研究中的重要性和行为的知识体系，并为下一代STEM专业人员做好准备。将教师与研究联系起来，从而将学生与文化和地理相关的研究联系起来，是培养更有可能追求更高学位的留校学生的重要一步。对于那些直接从部落学院进入劳动力市场的学生来说，同样重要的是，他们在数学、科学和技术方面拥有明确的技能，以便进入STEM劳动力市场。西北印度学院（NWIC）和西华盛顿大学（WWU）将合作增加和修改部落学院的地球科学课程，建立一个教育连续系统，促进NWIC毕业生融入WWU的研究生地球科学课程，并在两所机构之间制定一个共享的研究议程，将贝灵汉湾的生态系统作为学术研究和实地教学的主题。这两所大学的行政改革将包括学生指导、衔接协议、共同列出的课程以及跨文化教师发展。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will inform the body of knowledge about the importance and conduct of undergraduate and graduate research experiences in recruiting and retaining underrepresented individuals into STEM studies, and preparing the next generation of STEM professionals. The connection of faculty to research and thereby the students to culturally and geographically relevant research is an important step in producing retained students who are more likely to pursue advanced degrees. For those students entering the workforce directly from a tribal college it is equally important that they have a well-defined skill set in mathematics, science, and technology for entry into the STEM workforce. Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and Western Washington University (WWU) will collaborate to increase and modify the geosciences curriculum at the tribal college, establish an educational continuum that will facilitate the articulation of NWIC graduates into the graduate geoscience curriculum at WWU, and develop a shared research agenda between the two institutions that uses the ecosystem of the Bellingham Bay as a theme for scholarly studies and place-based instruction. Administrative changes at both institutions will include student mentoring, articulation agreements, co-listing courses, and cross-cultural faculty development.