GP EXTRA: Geoscience Educational Opportunities and Career-Oriented Research Experiences (GEOCORE)

尽管地区和国家对所有劳动力起点的地球科学毕业生都有需求，但教育机构一直在努力增加招生人数，导致在全国约28,000名注册本科生中，只有240人获得了大专学位，只有3,800人获得了学士学位(美国地球科学研究所，2013年新近毕业的地球科学毕业生的状况)。社区大学目前占全国本科生人口的50%以上，是通向地球科学劳动力的重要渠道。然而，社区学院地学专业的招生、保留和毕业面临几个障碍，包括学生在学业准备、经济地位、支持感和对职业机会的认识方面的多样性--这使得招生和坚持对两年制地球科学课程构成了挑战。为了满足就业需求，越来越多的学生必须注册、坚持并从两年制地球科学专业毕业。萨福克县社区学院(SCCC)建议通过一个名为GEO CORE(地球科学教育机会和面向职业的研究经验)的新项目来解决进入地球科学职业生涯的障碍，该项目将把基于证据的教学概念扩展到课外活动，以便让地质学、海洋和大气科学专业和未来的专业更多地参与进来。该项目将通过将社区学院与三所地区高中--石溪大学、美国国家海洋与大气管理局、美国地质调查局和私营行业合作伙伴--联合起来，建立在持续合作的基础上。该项目旨在通过改善学生的学习体验，增加转化率和工作安置，以支持区域劳动力需求，从而提高地球科学的入学率和学生的成就率，特别是对该学科代表性不足的学生。萨福克县社区学院(SCCC)正在开发一项名为GEO CORE(地球科学教育机会和面向职业的研究经验)的新项目。该项目将建立在STEM正在进行的合作的基础上，该合作是通过SCCC非常成功的、国家资助的科技进入和自由伙伴计划以及其国家科学基金会S-STEM学者计划建立起来的，通过将三所地区高中、石溪大学地球科学系及其海洋和大气科学学院、国家海洋和大气管理局、美国地质调查局-水资源司和私营行业合作伙伴聚集在一起，提供从高中到大学和进入地球科学劳动力的途径。地球观测组织核心项目的目标是：1)增加地球科学专业的招生人数，特别是在各学科任职人数不足的学生；2)改善学生的学习经验和成果；3)提高转业率和工作安置，以支持区域劳动力需求。通过GEO核心计划，SCCC正在开展以下合作活动：1)在地球科学专业人士和学者的带领下，为高中和一年级的社区大学毕业生设立一个暑期学院，其中融合了以研究为导向的实地工作经验，突出了地球科学与区域环境和经济问题之间的相互联系；2)创建了一个GEO核心学生大使计划，该计划准备和支持担任同行导师和学术导师的二年级地球科学学生，以促进一年级学生的成功；3)建立以职业为基础的培训计划，其中包括危险材料培训和认证，以确保即将毕业的地球科学专业学生在转到四年制学院和大学后拥有立即就业和/或成功所需的技能；4)在政府机构、行业、高等教育机构和高中之间形成专业和同行网络机会的实践社区；以及5)鼓励将地球观测组织的核心活动整合到高中课堂中，作为中学和社区学院之间的桥梁，帮助扩大地球科学教育渠道。通过将学生成果与既定基线进行比较，并跟踪GEO CORE服务的每个年度队列的学术成功、毕业、转学、研究经验和职业发展，来衡量项目成功与否。

Despite regional and national demand for geoscience graduates at all workforce entry points, educational institutions have struggled to increase enrollment, leading to only 240 individuals earning an associate's and only 3,800 earning a bachelor's degree out of roughly 28,000 enrolled undergraduates nationwide (American Geoscience Institute, Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates 2013). Currently accounting for over 50% of the nation's undergraduate population, community colleges are a crucial pipeline to the geosciences workforce. However, several barriers impact the recruitment, retention, and graduation of community college geosciences majors, including the diverse nature of students with respect to academic preparedness, economic standing, sense of support and awareness of career opportunities - making recruitment and persistence challenging for two-year geoscience programs. To meet the employment demand, an increased number of students must enroll, persist and graduate from two-year geosciences programs. Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) proposes to address barriers to entry to geoscience careers through a new program, entitled GEO CORE (Geoscience Educational Opportunities & Career-Oriented Research Experiences), which will expand evidence-based pedagogical concepts to extracurricular activities in order to allow greater participation for majors and prospective majors of geology, marine, and atmospheric sciences. This project will build on ongoing collaborations by bringing the community college together with three regional high schools, Stony Brook University, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey and private industry partners. This project seeks to increase enrollment and student success in geosciences, particularly for students underrepresented in the discipline, by enhancing student learning experiences, and increasing transfer rates and job placements to support the regional workforce needs. Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is developing a new program entitled GEO CORE (Geoscience Educational Opportunities & Career-Oriented Research Experiences). This GEOPATH: EXTRA project will build on ongoing STEM collaborations established through SCCC's highly successful, state-funded Science & Technology Entry and Liberty Partnerships programs, and its NSF S-STEM Scholars Program, by bringing together three regional high schools, Stony Brook University's Department of Geosciences and its School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey - Water Resources Division and private industry partners to provide a pathways from high school to college and into the geoscience workforce. The goals of the GEO CORE project are to: 1) increase enrollment within the geosciences, particularly for students underrepresented in the disciplines; 2) enhance student learning experiences and outcomes; and 3) increase transfer rates and job placements to support regional workforce needs. Through the GEO CORE program, SCCC is instituting the following collaborative activities: 1) implementation of a summer institute for graduating high school and first-year community college students led by geoscience professionals and academics that incorporates research-oriented fieldwork experiences that highlight the interconnection between the geosciences and the regional environmental and economic concerns; 2) creating a GEO CORE Student Ambassador Program which prepares and supports second-year geoscience students who serve as peer mentors and academic tutors to foster success among first-year students; 3) establishing a career-based training program that includes hazardous materials training and certification to ensure that graduating geoscience students have the skills necessary for immediate employment and/or success upon transfer to four-year colleges and universities; 4) forming a community of practice for professional and peer networking opportunities among government agencies, industry, higher education institutions and high schools; and 5) encouraging the integration of GEO CORE activities into high school classrooms to serve as a bridge between secondary schools and the community college to help grow the geoscience education pipeline. Project success is being measured by comparing student outcomes to established baselines, and tracking the academic success, graduation, transfer, research experiences and career advancement of each annual cohort served by GEO CORE.