An OTS LSAMP Program for Native American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic American, and African American Students at two Research Stations in Costa Rica

哥斯达黎加两个研究站为美洲原住民、太平洋岛民、西班牙裔美国人和非洲裔美国学生提供的 OTS LSAMP 项目

• 批准号: 1619683
• 负责人: Pia Paaby
• 金额: $ 62.69万
• 依托单位: Organization for Tropical Studies Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-01 至 2017-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1619683&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OTS; LSAMP; Program; Native; American

Abstract: LSAMP Broadening Participation Project: A REU Program for Native American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic American, and African American Students at Two Research Station in Costa RicaFor the last decade, the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) has offered summer research experiences for LSAMP undergraduates at its Las Cruces Research Station and La Selva Research Station in Costa Rica. The programs combine research and career mentorship from researchers at the OTS field sites, along with home mentors from the students' LSAMP institutions, to ensure the integration of the experience into the student's academic career. OTS will enhance the programs by 1) recruiting students from tribal, HBCUs, and other small two-year LSAMP-affiliated institutions where application and participation rates have been lowest, 2) establishing a cultural component to the program through the addition of cultural mentors and other visiting scholars, 3) initiating science communication and outreach training for students in both programs, and 4) providing the opportunity for students to leverage their research accomplishments through travel awards to attend scientific conferences. Finally, OTS will disseminate the students' achievements through the sponsorship of a symposium and the publication of an anthology. These efforts will showcase the rich experiences and successes LSAMP students have shared as well as expand the impact of the program by communicating strategies, successes, and best practices.The goal of the OTS LSAMP program is to provide hands-on, mentored-research experiences to undergraduate students from groups most underrepresented in the sciences. Specifically, OTS will continue to invite Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic American, and African American students to participate in Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) at the La Selva Research Station in Costa Rica's Caribbean lowland rainforest or the Las Cruces Research Station in southern Costa Rica (students self-select their preferred site). The scientific objectives of the LSAMP REU programs at Las Cruces and La Selva are to: 1) stimulate LSAMP students to pursue careers in biology and the environmental sciences; 2) establish a clear understanding of the scientific method; 3) clarify the importance of biological ecosystems, ecology as a science, and the role of science in conservation; and 4) increase student awareness of the ethical context of research in a local, regional as well as international setting. The Las Cruces and La Selva programs are eight-weeks in length and have evolved to provide LSAMP students with an ideal nurturing environment and scientific community for field research in tropical ecology. Both programs foster daily interactions among students and their researcher mentors. Both empower the students with ownership of their research projects and the confidence to live and work as scientists. In addition, through interactions with Costa Rican researchers, indigenous leaders, and community members, LSAMP students are exposed to different cultural and societal customs and norms as well as international perspectives. Most importantly, these programs require careful assembly of the students' on-campus mentors/faculty advisors who participate in the program and work with the students long after the summer program is over. Frequently, home mentors encourage the students to continue to present their work and even improve upon it during the school year. The active interaction of both research and on-campus mentors on the students' educational and career pathways can be significant and often have been transformational. An alumni survey of the decade-long program conducted in 2015 revealed that, as a direct result of the students' summer experience, 72% of the students gave an oral or poster presentation at a scientific conference, 19% co-authored a paper submitted to a scientific journal, and 13% co-authored a paper that was published in a scientific journal. The survey further documented that 24% had completed a two-year Associate's degree, 67% had completed a four-year a Bachelor's degree, 16% had completed a Master's degree, and 2% had completed a PhD., while two-thirds of alumni were still pursuing degrees in the life sciences or geosciences at the bachelor's level (24%), master's level (24%) or doctoral level (20%). Through the continuation of the OTS program, most-at-risk LSAMP students are receiving the knowledge, skills, confidence, desire, and understanding to build their aspirations into baccalaureate degrees in a STEM field, obtain graduate-level STEM degrees, and/or establish their careers in the biological or environmental sciences.

摘要：LSAMP 扩大参与项目：哥斯达黎加两个研究站针对美洲原住民、太平洋岛民、西班牙裔美国人和非裔美国学生的 REU 项目过去十年，热带研究组织 (OTS) 在哥斯达黎加的拉斯克鲁塞斯研究站和拉塞尔瓦研究站为 LSAMP 本科生提供暑期研究体验。这些项目将 OTS 实地研究人员的研究和职业指导与学生 LSAMP 机构的家庭导师结合起来，以确保将这些经验融入学生的学术生涯中。 OTS 将通过以下方式增强这些项目：1) 从申请率和参与率最低的部落、HBCU 和其他小型两年制 LSAMP 附属机构招收学生，2) 通过增加文化导师和其他访问学者，在该项目中建立文化组成部分，3) 为这两个项目的学生启动科学传播和外展培训，4) 为学生提供机会，通过旅行奖励来利用他们的研究成果参加 科学会议。最后，OTS 将通过赞助研讨会和出版选集来传播学生的成就。这些努力将展示 LSAMP 学生分享的丰富经验和成功，并通过交流策略、成功和最佳实践来扩大该项目的影响。OTS LSAMP 项目的目标是为来自科学领域代表性最不足的群体的本科生提供实践、指导性的研究经验。具体来说，OTS将继续邀请美洲原住民、太平洋岛民、拉美裔和非裔美国学生参加哥斯达黎加加勒比低地雨林拉塞尔瓦研究站或哥斯达黎加南部拉斯克鲁塞斯研究站的本科生研究体验项目（REU）（学生自行选择自己喜欢的地点）。拉斯克鲁塞斯和拉塞尔瓦的 LSAMP REU 项目的科学目标是： 1) 激励 LSAMP 学生从事生物学和环境科学领域的职业； 2）建立对科学方法的清晰理解； 3）阐明生物生态系统的重要性、生态学作为一门科学以及科学在保护中的作用； 4) 提高学生对当地、区域以及国际环境中研究的伦理背景的认识。拉斯克鲁塞斯和拉塞尔瓦项目为期八周，旨在为 LSAMP 学生提供理想的培育环境和科学社区，以进行热带生态学的实地研究。这两个项目都促进学生及其研究导师之间的日常互动。两者都赋予学生对研究项目的所有权以及作为科学家生活和工作的信心。此外，通过与哥斯达黎加研究人员、土著领导人和社区成员的互动，LSAMP学生可以接触到不同的文化和社会习俗和规范以及国际视角。最重要的是，这些项目需要仔细召集学生的校内导师/教职顾问，他们参与该项目并在暑期项目结束后很长时间与学生一起工作。通常，家庭导师鼓励学生继续展示他们的作品，甚至在学年期间对其进行改进。研究和校内导师对学生的教育和职业道路的积极互动可能非常重要，而且往往具有变革性。 2015 年对这个为期十年的项目进行的校友调查显示，作为学生暑期经历的直接结果，72% 的学生在科学会议上进行了口头或海报展示，19% 的学生共同撰写了一篇提交给科学期刊的论文，13% 的学生共同撰写了一篇在科学期刊上发表的论文。调查进一步显示，24%的人完成了两年制副学士学位，67%完成了四年制学士学位，16%完成了硕士学位，2%完成了博士学位，而三分之二的校友仍在攻读生命科学或地球科学学士学位（24%）、硕士学位（24%）或博士学位（20%）。通过继续开展 OTS 计划，高危 LSAMP 学生将获得知识、技能、信心、愿望和理解，以实现他们在 STEM 领域获得学士学位的愿望，获得研究生水平的 STEM 学位，和/或在生物或环境科学领域建立自己的职业生涯。