GP-EXTRA: Engaging and retaining students in the geosciences at two-year colleges (2YC) through undergraduate research

尽管研究被认为是吸引和留住本科生的一种高影响力的探究式实践，但在教学的头两年，它基本上没有得到充分利用。尤其是在两年制大学，学生参与真实研究项目的机会更少。奥斯汀社区学院(ACC)项目包括：开发和实施暑期本科生研究体验课程(SUREC)和一项实地活动，让学生在接受高等教育的头两年参与以科学海洋钻探为重点的研究体验。该项目的意义在于，它将吸引即将入学的本科生的注意力，让他们在学年期间参与以研究为基础的实地活动，并在暑期通过密集的探究式学习进一步促进他们的研究经验。这将推进国家科学基金会改善本科生科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育的使命-GEOPATHS计划，通过促进和支持学生在关键时刻继续从事地球科学。通过与奥斯汀德克萨斯大学的合作，SUREC计划将向二年级学生开放。ACC学生将在石油和地球系统工程系(UT PGE)的一个实验室进行研究。研究经验将从指导性的科学海洋钻探调查开始，辅以课堂讲解、小组会议和相关的科学阅读作业。随着学生确定研究课题、实验室设备和程序，学生团队将更加独立地进行研究。学生将代替期末考试展示他们的研究成果，并有机会在当地和/或全国会议上展示他们的研究成果。SUREC及其评估材料将在八个月内编写，随后将进行两年的执行和评估。实地考察活动将向ACC理科和非理科专业的一年级或二年级学生开放。通过与德克萨斯农工大学的合作，注册了地球科学入门课程的学生将对墨西哥湾沿岸储存库进行实地考察，那里有来自太平洋、加勒比海和墨西哥湾以及南大洋的100多公里的岩芯。在活动之前，学生将完成实地考察前的活动，包括阅读科学期刊上的文章和与储存库相关的练习。访问结束后，学生将综合调查结果，撰写一份学期报告。实地活动将包括四个月的练习和评估材料的编写，然后是两年的执行和评估。到项目结束时，至少有24名二年级学生参加了SUREC计划，150名非理科和理科专业一年级/二年级学生参加了实地活动。

Though research has been recognized as a high impact, inquiry-based practice to engage and retain undergraduate students, it is largely underutilized in the first two years of instruction. At two-year colleges in particular, students have even fewer opportunities to participate in authentic research projects. The Austin Community College (ACC) project includes the development and implementation of: a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Course (SUREC) and a field activity that engages students in research experience focused on scientific ocean drilling in their first two years of higher education. The significance of the project is that it will capture the attention of incoming undergraduate students by engaging them in a research-based field activity during the school year and further their research experience through an intense inquiry-based learning in the summer. This will advance the mission of the National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Education - GEOPATHS program by promoting and supporting students to continue in geosciences at the critical junctures.Through a partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, the SUREC program will be open to students in their second year of study. ACC students will conduct research at a laboratory in the department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (UT PGE). The research experience will begin with guided scientific ocean drilling investigations supported by class explanation, group meetings and related scientific reading assignments. As students identify research topics, lab equipment and procedures, student teams will research more independently. Students will present their research in-lieu of a final exam and also have opportunities to present their work at a local and/or national conference. SUREC and its evaluation materials will be developed over eight months, followed by two years of implementation and evaluation. The field activity will be open to both ACC science and non-science majors in their first or second year of higher education. Through a partnership with Texas A&M University, students enrolled in introductory geoscience courses will take a field trip to the Gulf Coast Repository, where over 100 kilometers of core from the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and the Southern Ocean are located. Prior to the activity, students will complete pre-field activities including reading articles from scientific journals and exercises that related to the repository. After the visit, students will integrate findings to produce a term paper. The field activity will include four months for development of exercises and evaluation material, followed by two years of implementation and evaluation. By the end of the project, at least 24 second year students will have participated in the SUREC program and 150 first/second year non-science and science majors will have participated in the field activity.