GP-UP: Building a GeoFORCE Learning Community to Attract, Prepare, and Retain Rural, Alaska Native, and First-Generation STEM Majors

GP-UP：建立 GeoFORCE 学习社区，以吸引、准备和留住农村、阿拉斯加原住民和第一代 STEM 专业学生

• 批准号: 2023300
• 负责人: Sarah Fowell
• 金额: $ 30.94万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-15 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2023300&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GP; UP; Building; GeoFORCE; Learning

GeoFORCE Alaska is a four-year, field-based, summer geoscience program with a record of attracting underrepresented students to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The program is supported by industry sponsors and Alaska Native Corporations with interests or shareholders in northern and interior Alaska. As we prepare to welcome an unprecedented number of GeoFORCE Alaska graduates to UAF, we seek to increase both preparation and retention by incorporating digital mapping and Language Arts into the summer program and building an undergraduate learning community at UAF. This GeoFORCE Alumni Learning Community will provide opportunities for supplemental instruction, social networking, and financial support in order to increase college retention and graduation rates and realize the goal of workforce diversification in Alaska.The goals of GeoFORCE Alaska are: 1) Promote high school graduation; 2) Increase the number of rural students attending college and pursuing STEM degrees; and 3) Diversify Alaska’s technical workforce. Results of the first two cohorts indicate that GeoFORCE Alaska is highly effective as a means of raising high school graduation rates in remote Alaskan villages and increasing the participation of rural, Alaska Native, female, and first-generation college students in STEM majors. However, GeoFORCE has yet to accomplish goal 3. Alumni tracking reveals significant barriers to degree completion, including: 1) lack of preparation, leading to placement in developmental Math and Writing courses; 2) difficulty adapting to campus life; and 3) financial struggles. To forge a strong learning community among GeoFORCE alumni, we will employ common course construction, near-peer mentoring, scholarships, and social activities. Freshman and Sophomores will enroll in blocks of Math, Writing, and introductory Geoscience courses. As upperclassmen, these students will be eligible to serve as GeoFORCE counselors and mentor the next wave of rural Geoscience majors. Trained counselors and a high school English teacher will assist students with technological and narrative elements of project construction. Rural Alaskan students with STEM degrees bring valuable perspectives to decisions regarding land management and resource extraction. Enhancing student preparation and building an integrated academic, social, and financial support system for GeoFORCE alumni has the potential to increase college success among Alaska Native, female, and first-generation students from rural communities.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.

GeoFORCE阿拉斯加是一个为期四年的，基于实地的，夏季地球科学计划，吸引了代表性不足的学生到阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学（UAF）的记录。该计划得到了行业赞助商和在阿拉斯加北方和内陆拥有利益或股东的阿拉斯加土著公司的支持。当我们准备欢迎前所未有数量的GeoFORCE阿拉斯加毕业生到UAF时，我们寻求通过将数字地图和语言艺术纳入暑期课程并在UAF建立本科学习社区来增加准备和保留。这个GeoFORCE校友学习社区将提供补充指导、社交网络和财政支持的机会，以提高大学保留率和毕业率，实现阿拉斯加劳动力多样化的目标。GeoFORCE阿拉斯加的目标是：1）促进高中毕业; 2）增加农村学生上大学和攻读STEM学位的人数; 3）使阿拉斯加的技术劳动力多样化。前两个队列的结果表明，GeoFORCE Alaska是一种非常有效的手段，可以提高阿拉斯加偏远村庄的高中毕业率，提高农村、阿拉斯加原住民、女性和第一代大学生在STEM专业的参与度。然而，GeoFORCE尚未实现目标3。校友跟踪揭示了完成学位的重大障碍，包括：1）缺乏准备，导致放置在发展数学和写作课程; 2）难以适应校园生活;和3）财政斗争。为了在GeoFORCE校友中建立一个强大的学习社区，我们将采用共同的课程建设，近同行指导，奖学金和社会活动。大一和大二学生将报名参加数学，写作和介绍地球科学课程。作为高年级学生，这些学生将有资格担任GeoFORCE辅导员，并指导下一波农村地球科学专业。训练有素的辅导员和高中英语教师将协助学生与项目建设的技术和叙事元素。拥有STEM学位的阿拉斯加农村学生为有关土地管理和资源开采的决策带来了宝贵的观点。加强学生的准备和建立一个综合的学术，社会和财政支持系统的GeoFORCE校友有可能提高阿拉斯加土著，女性和第一代学生从农村社区的大学成功。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准的支持。