Vision and Change for Geoscience Undergraduate Education: Report and Toolkit

在过去的二十年里，地球科学研究和地球科学职业机会发生了重大变化，而在很大程度上，本科地球科学课程和项目并没有跟上这些变化。因此，许多学院和大学的学生离开本科课程时，没有获得必要的教育产品，无法成功地从事地球科学工作或进入研究生院。经过多年对本科地球科学教育未来（Futures）的努力，学生在当前和未来劳动力中取得成功所需的技能、能力和概念已经被地球科学界的学术和雇主部门定义并达成一致。除了达成共识之外，Futures的工作还调查了向学生传授这些核心需求的最佳实践，并在全国范围内的地球科学部门实施了变革。当前的项目将为地球科学开发一份“愿景与变革”文件和工具包，其中包含“未来”项目的所有成果和成果。系主任、主席和其他管理人员、教师、学生和雇主将可以访问该文件和工具包，以指导美国本科阶段地球科学教育的系统变革。在成功发展其专业的院系中，对本科生的教育将大大加强，这些学生将为研究生学习和/或未来的就业做好更好的准备。更广泛的地球科学学术和就业社区推荐的体验式学习也最有利于代表性不足的群体的学习和他们未来的成功。《展望与变革》文件将说明机构变革的迫切需要，并就不同规模和机构类型的部门实现这些变革的最佳做法提供指导。目前的项目将产生一套信息产品，作为院长、系主任和教师评估现有课程的工具集，并指导项目现代化的优先事项和战略，以满足当前和新出现的需求。《愿景与变革》文件和相关产品将提供本科地球科学教育所需的技能、概念和能力的关键数据，以及更新本科课程和项目的有效策略，以及确定常见障碍或路障和解决方案的关键数据。以往在不同院校类型和教员水平进行的试点研究的结果将会被展示出来，以帮助各院系确定最有利于他们的方法。培养学生成为成功的未来地球科学家需要对当前和未来的劳动力需求以及课程和项目的发展有深入的了解，以跟上地球科学研究和技术的变化。推动院系的变革，尤其是本科课程的变革，可能是一项挑战，能够设计出成功的策略来改变不同类型院校的本科课程，将是一项重大进步。愿景和变革文件将成为变革的催化剂，并为成功的途径提供路线图。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Significant changes in geoscience research and geoscience career opportunities have occurred over the past two decades, and for the most part, undergraduate geoscience curricula and programs have not kept up with these changes. Thus, students from many colleges and universities leave undergraduate programs without the necessary educational products to successfully engage in geoscience employment or for attending graduate school. As a result of the multi-year effort on the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education (Futures), the skills competencies and concepts that students need to be successful in the current and future workforce have been defined and agreed on by both the academic and employer components of the geoscience community. In addition to developing a consensus, the Futures effort investigated best practices for imparting these core needs to students and implementing changes within geoscience departments across the country. The current project will develop a Vision and Change document and toolkit for the geosciences that encapsulates all of the results and outcomes from the Futures effort. Department heads, chairs, and other administrators, faculty, students and employers will have access to the document and toolkit to guide systematic changes in geoscience education at the undergraduate level in the United States. The education of undergraduate students in departments that successfully evolve their programs will be greatly enhanced, and those students will be better prepared for graduate school and/or future employment. The experiential learning recommended by the wider geoscience academic and employment community is also most conducive to learning by underrepresented groups and to their future success.The Vision and Change document will make the case for the critical need for institutional change and provide guidance on best practices for achieving these changes for departments of different sizes and institution types. The current project will produce a suite of information products to be used as a tool set for deans, department chairs, and faculty in assessing their existing curriculum and guiding the priorities and strategies for modernizing their program to meet current and emerging needs. The Vision and Change document and associated products will provide critical data on the skills, concepts and competencies needed for undergraduate geoscience education and on effective strategies for updating undergraduate curricula and programs and in identifying common obstacles or roadblocks and solutions. Results from previous pilot studies at different institution types and faculty levels will be presented to help departments identify the approaches that would be most beneficial to them. Preparing students to be successful future geoscientists requires a solid understanding of current and future workforce needs and the evolution of curricula and programs to keep in step with the changes in geoscience research and technology. Fomenting change in departments, particularly with respect to undergraduate curricula, can be a challenge and being able to design successful strategies for changing undergraduate programs in different types of institutions will be a significant advancement. The Vision and Change document will be a catalyst for change and provide a roadmap for proven pathways to success.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.