RCN-UBE Incubator: Building the San Francisco Bay Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research to enhance STEM education and assess urban impacts on avian ecology

该项目将把一群教职员工、学生和志愿者聚集在一起，设计一个专注于鸟类及其栖息地研究的体验式学习和研究计划。该计划将向本科生，特别是那些来自服务不足的社区的本科生，介绍现场和实验室的STEM活动。这对于揭示南旧金山湾鸟类种群的动态将是有价值的，南旧金山湾是每年在南北半球之间迁徙的鸟类南北“空中高速公路”的重要组成部分。该项目将通过为目前无法在户外环境中进行这种体验式学习的学生提供实践实地研究和后续实验室活动的机会来促进生物教育。它将通过揭示人类如何影响自然生态系统，以及这些影响是有益的还是有害的来推进基础知识。该项目将为一个新的研究协调网络奠定基础：旧金山湾研究协调网络，学生在鸟类研究中的机会。新的网络将由来自三所大学(斯坦福大学、圣何塞州立大学和圣克拉拉大学)、一所社区学院(西谷社区学院)和一个非政府组织(旧金山湾鸟类观测站)的研究人员组成。计划的产品是规划研讨会、户外学习模块的原型，以及发展和维持该计划的详细路线图。户外学习模块的原型将把学生和教职员工带到现场，共同学习如何监测和分析与了解两个野外区域--Jasper Ridge生物保护区和旧金山湾鸟类观测站--郊狼溪野站的鸟类种群动态相关的数据。在网络参与者的实验室进行的后续研究将包括对学生收集的数据进行分析，并从两个实地地点获得三十年的鸟类普查数据。学生还将学习应用尖端分析技术，如基因组测序和地理信息系统工具。该网络将汇集各参与机构的资源，以便更好地为该区域的多文化和不同经济成分提供服务。它将展示环境科学职业道路的必要性、价值和机会。让学生接触到这些职业道路将使他们的就业前景多样化，并培养他们成为国家最终依赖的国家和全球资源的有效管家。该项目由生物科学局生物基础设施司和教育与人力资源局本科教育司共同资助，作为他们应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》中提出的挑战的努力的一部分(http://visionandchange/finalreport/).This奖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智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估被认为值得支持。

The project will bring together a group of faculty, students, and volunteers to design an experiential learning and research program focused on the study of birds and their habitats. The program will introduce undergraduate students, especially those from underserved communities, to STEM activities in both the field and laboratory. It will be valuable in shedding light on the dynamics of bird populations in the South San Francisco Bay, which is an important portion of a north-south “highway in the sky” for birds that annually migrate between the northern and southern hemispheres. The project will advance biology education by providing opportunities for hands-on field research and follow-up lab activities for students who do not presently have access to such experiential learning in outdoor settings. It will advance fundamental knowledge by revealing how humans are influencing natural ecological systems, and whether those influences are beneficial or detrimental.This project will create the foundation for a new Research Coordination Network: the San Francisco Bay Research Coordination Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research. The new network will be composed of investigators from three universities (Stanford University, San Jose State University, and Santa Clara University), a community college (West Valley Community College), and a non-governmental organization (San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory). The intended products are planning workshops, prototypes of outdoor learning modules, and a detailed roadmap for growing and sustaining the program. Prototypes of outdoor learning modules will bring students and faculty into the field to collaboratively learn how to monitor and analyze data pertinent to understanding avian population dynamics in two field areas, Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory Coyote Creek Field Station. Follow-up studies in the laboratories of the network participants will include analyses of data the students collect augmented by three decades of bird-census data available from both field sites. Students will also learn to apply cutting-edge analytical techniques such as genome sequencing and GIS tools. The network will bring together resources from the participating institutions to better serve the multicultural and economically disparate constituents of the region. It will demonstrate the need, value, and opportunities for career paths in environmental sciences. Exposure of students to these career paths will diversify their job prospects and train them to be effective stewards of the national and global resources upon which nations ultimately depend. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).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.