Collaborative Research GP-EXTRA: Engaging Diverse Two-Year College Geoscience Students: Expanding Opportunities Through Undergraduate Research and Mentoring

促进学生参与地球科学是各级地球科学教育工作者的首要任务，因为更广泛的社区正在经历大规模退休和缺乏合格的个人来接替他们的劳动力。地球科学界也在努力使其员工队伍多样化。许多研究表明，在教育早期接触过地球科学研究的地质学本科生比没有接触过地球科学研究的同龄人更有可能从事地球科学事业。维克技术社区学院(Wake Tech)正在解决这些问题，它为其不同群体的地质学入门学生提供合作机构--北卡罗来纳州立大学(NCSU)和北卡罗来纳自然科学博物馆(NCMNS)--的有偿夏季地球科学研究机会。参加暑期实习的学生还将通过多种机会向各种受众介绍他们的研究项目，包括在专业会议上、向其他本科生、高中生和公众展示他们的研究项目，从而融入正在进行的指导和职业社会化计划。该项目正在为该项目的学生带来更广泛的影响，不仅是直接的研究体验，因为在他们考虑自己的专业选择时，更多样化的学生群体可能会吸引更多来自代表性不足群体的学生。位于北卡罗来纳州罗利市的Wake Tech有一个大型且蓬勃发展的地质学入门课程，由希望转到四年制院校的不同一年级和二年级学生组成。该项目致力于：1)增加学生数量，包括那些在地球科学方面代表性不足的学生，从社区大学转到四年制学院和大学的地球科学专业；2)为三批12名维克科技学生提供在合作机构(NCSU和NCMNS)进行引人入胜的尖端地球科学研究实习经验；3)展示早期研究经验对社区学院学生的有效性；以及4)每年邀请超过1300名维克科技地球科学学生参与基于当前NCSU/NCMNS地球科学研究的更多数量的探究性调查。完成暑期研究实习的学生还将通过参加环境与工程地质学家协会(AEG)的维克技术学生分会以及与当地高中、维克技术学生和NCMNS访问者的接触，促进更广泛的维克县民众对地球科学职业和问题的了解。Wake Tech、NCSU和NCMNS之间的紧密合作确保了最高质量的研究体验和指导，并仔细关注指导学生从最初的兴趣到接受一个四年制大学地球科学项目。

Promoting student involvement in the geosciences is of utmost priority for geoscience educators at all levels, as the broader community is experiencing mass retirement and a shortage of qualified individuals to replace them in the workforce. The geoscience community is also struggling to diversify its workforce. Much research demonstrates that undergraduate geology students who are exposed to geoscience research early in their education are much more likely to pursue geoscience careers than their peers who did not have this exposure. Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) is addressing these issues by providing its diverse population of introductory geology students with paid summer geoscience research opportunities at partner institutions: North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS). Students who participate in the summer internships also are being integrated in an ongoing program of mentoring and professional socialization through multiple opportunities to present their research projects to various audiences, including at professional meetings, to other undergraduates, to high school students, and to the public. The project is creating broader impacts beyond the immediate research experiences for students in the program, because of the potential of outreach by a more diverse group of students for attracting additional students from underrepresented groups as they consider their own choice of major.Wake Tech, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, has a large and flourishing introductory geology program consisting of diverse freshman and sophomore students who are looking to transfer to four-year institutions. This project is working to: 1) increase the number of students, including those from groups underrepresented in geosciences, transferring from community college to geoscience programs at four-year colleges and universities; 2) provide three cohorts of 12 Wake Tech students with engaging, cutting-edge geoscience summer research internship experiences at partner institutions (NCSU and NCMNS); 3) demonstrate the effectiveness of early research experiences for community college students; and 4) engage more than 1300 Wake Tech geoscience students each year in a greater number of inquiry investigations based on current NCSU/NCMNS geoscience research. Students completing the summer research internship are also involved with promoting a better understanding of geoscience careers and issues among the broader population of Wake County through participation in the Wake Tech Student Chapter of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) and outreach to local high schools, Wake Tech students, and NCMNS visitors. The strong partnership between Wake Tech, NCSU, and the NCMNS ensures the highest quality of research experiences and mentoring with careful attention to mentoring students from their initial interest through acceptance in a four-year college geoscience program.