GP EXTRA: MINORITIES STRIVING AND PURSUING HIGHER DEGREES OF SUCCESS in GEO REU (MS PHD?S-GEO REU) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

来自总统科学技术顾问委员会（PCAST）和国家研究委员会（NRC）的大量报告都记录了增加STEM学科多样性的必要性，这对我们国家的创新议程、经济繁荣和全球竞争力至关重要。尽管在扩大一些STEM学科的参与方面进展缓慢，但要让非裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美洲原住民和残疾人在地球科学领域获得学位并从事与其人口代表性相一致的职业，地球科学界还有很长的路要走。要在这一目标上取得进展，既需要招募新的未被充分代表的少数族裔（URM）学生进入STEM专业，也需要留住那些已经在接受教育和就业的学生。德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校（UTA）和扩大参与研究所（IBP）正在实施一项为期3年的计划，为45名参加地球科学相关本科生研究经历（REU）现场项目的德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校学生提供虚拟和现场专业发展、网络、社区建设和指导活动。该项目的目标是留住那些已经表现出对地球科学兴趣的学生，但由于孤立、缺乏榜样和缺乏导师可以帮助指导他们走向下一阶段的专业成功，他们有离开该领域的风险。“少数族裔在GEO REU努力追求更高程度的成功”（MS PHD’s -GEO REU）项目建立在成功的试点努力的基础上，利用以前的NSF投资，为STEM学科中传统代表性不足的学生的招聘、保留和领导力发展建立了示范项目。该计划采用基于情境学习和真实学习理论的循证指导概念。职业曝光和专业社交活动是嵌入的。通过严格的招募、申请和选择过程，从全国REU网站参与者中确定三组学生（每组15名）。该计划包括两个主要阶段：1)现场指导的专业发展与美国地球物理联合会年度秋季会议相结合；2)在特定学科的会议上进行虚拟和面对面的指导和交流，并由正在进行的虚拟专业发展网络研讨会提供支持。项目设计包括形成性和总结性评估部分。影响评估研究将调查参加MS PHD'S-GEO REU项目的学生是否在STEM和地球科学方面表现出更强的毅力，以及与其他未入选该项目的REU学生相比，是否有更明智的职业决策。

Numerous reports from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and the National Research Council (NRC) have documented the need to increase diversity within STEM disciplines as being vital to our nation's innovation agenda, economic prosperity, and global competitiveness. Although slow progress in broadening participation in some STEM disciplines is being made, the geosciences community still has a long way to go before the number of African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and persons with disabilities are earning degrees and pursuing careers in the geosciences at a level that is consistent with their demographic representation. Both recruitment of new underrepresented minority (URM) students into STEM majors and retention of those students who are already in the education and career pipeline are needed to make progress on this goal.The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) are implementing a 3-year program to provide virtual and on-site professional development, networking, community building and mentoring activities to 45 URM students who have participated in geoscience-related Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Site programs. The goals of this program are focused on retention of students who have already demonstrated an interest in the geosciences, but who are at risk of leaving the field because of isolation, lack of role models, and lack of mentors who can help guide them to the next stages of their professional success. The "Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in GEO REU" (MS PHD'S-GEO REU) program builds on a successful pilot effort, leveraging previous NSF investments to build model programs for recruitment, retention, and leadership development of traditionally underrepresented students in STEM disciplines. The program uses evidence-based mentoring concepts that are rooted in the theories of situated learning and authentic learning. Career exposure and professional socialization activities are embedded. A rigorous recruitment, application, and selection process is being used to identify three cohorts (15 each) of students from a national pool of REU Site participants. The program involves two main phases: 1) on-site mentored professional development in conjunction with the annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union; and 2) virtual and face-to-face mentoring and networking at discipline-specific conferences, supported by on-going virtual professional development webinars. Formative and summative evaluation components are included in the project design. Impact evaluation studies will investigate whether students participating in the MS PHD'S-GEO REU program show greater persistence in STEM and the geosciences, as well as more informed career decision-making, compared with other REU students who are not selected for the program.