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

部落学院和大学方案(TCUP)的一个目标是提高为本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领域追求富有挑战性和回报的职业的机会，提供在可能具有文化意义的领域进行研究的机会，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，而且将使整个知识体系了解本科生和研究生在招聘和留住未被充分代表的个人参加STEM研究以及培养下一代STEM专业人员方面的重要性和开展研究工作的经验。教师与研究的联系，以及学生与文化和地理相关的研究的联系，是培养更有可能攻读更高学位的留学生的重要一步。对于那些直接从部落大学进入劳动力市场的学生来说，同样重要的是，他们拥有进入STEM劳动力市场的明确的数学、科学和技术技能。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，建立一个教育连续体，促进NWIC毕业生进入WWU的研究生地球科学课程，并在两所机构之间制定共同的研究议程，将贝灵汉湾生态系统作为学术研究和基于地点的教学的主题。这两个机构的行政改革将包括学生指导、衔接协议、联合上市课程和跨文化教师发展。

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.