GP-UP: Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Atmospheric Sciences at NCAT

大气科学领域的有色人种学者数量相对较少，甚至呈下降趋势，这凸显了大气科学专业对吸引、留住和毕业更多有色人种学生的强烈需求。北卡罗来纳农业和技术州立大学（N.C. A&amp；T）寻求加强其本科生大气科学和气象学（ASME）计划，以增加招收，保留和毕业的学生从历史上被排斥的社区，特别是非洲裔美国人，在大气科学。这一努力将有助于实现STEM劳动力的多样化，并支持一个精通STEM的社会。该项目旨在通过将创新实践注入北卡罗来纳州a&&t的ASME计划来解决这一劳动力短缺问题，从而为未来大气科学家和气象学家队伍的多样化和进一步加强奠定坚实的基础。拟议的活动不仅将确保项目的成功完成，而且具有以下智力优势：1)加强地球科学的通识教育，这将帮助学生在地球科学跨学科性质的背景下提高对环境可持续性挑战的认识；2)接触研究教师在广泛主题上的专业知识——大气化学、山地气象学、热带气象学和极地气象学；3)通过专业发展活动提高学生对学术和就业机会的认识。为了实现该项目的总体目标，即加强北卡罗来纳理工大学大气科学专业少数族裔的招募和保留，项目团队将采取以下措施：1)吸引-加强本科生在地球科学方面的通识教育，并开展K12外展活动，以吸引学生参加ASME项目；2)搭建桥梁——为进入美国机械工程师协会项目的学生建立一个暑期桥梁项目，以弥合任何知识或技能差距，特别是在数学方面，从而为学生进入美国机械工程师协会课程做准备；3)群体学习-适当采用群体为基础的教育实践，以加强学生的学习和最大限度地提高学生的保留率；4) RB训练-利用研究型教育实践，让学生积极参与各种研究项目，提高学生的口头沟通、技术写作和研究技能；5)服务学习——通过志愿天气观测者计划让学生参与服务学习，将学习目标与社区参与结合起来。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。

The number of scholars of color in Atmospheric Sciences is relatively low, and even worse, shows a decreasing trend, highlighting the strong need to attract, retain, and graduate larger numbers of students of color majoring in the Atmospheric Sciences. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) seeks to strengthen its undergraduate Atmospheric Science and Meteorology (ASME) program to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation of students from historically excluded communities, particularly African Americans, in the Atmospheric Sciences. This effort will contribute to diversifying the STEM workforce and supporting a STEM-literate society. This project seeks to address this workforce shortfall by infusing innovative practices into N.C. A&T’s ASME program, thus building a solid foundation for the pathway that will diversify and further strengthen the future atmospheric scientist and meteorologist workforce. The proposed activities will not only ensure the project’s successful accomplishment but also have the following intellectual merits: 1) enhanced general education in the Geosciences, which will help students gain an increasing awareness of environmental sustainability challenges within the context of the Geosciences’ interdisciplinary nature; 2) exposure to research faculty expertise over a wide range of topics—atmosphere chemistry, mountain meteorology, tropical meteorology, and polar meteorology; 3) enhanced student awareness of academic and career opportunities through professional development activities. To achieve this project’s overarching goal of Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Atmospheric Sciences at N.C. A&T, the PI team will adopt the following practices: 1) Attracting – enhancing undergraduate students’ general education in geosciences and conducting a K12 outreach activity to attract students to the ASME program; 2) Bridging – establishing a summer bridge program for students admitted to the ASME program to bridge any knowledge or skills gaps, particularly in math, thereby preparing students for the ASME curriculum; 3) CB learning – adopting Cohort-Based (CB) educational practices as appropriate to enhance student learning and maximize student retention; 4) RB training – utilizing Research-Based (RB) educational practices to actively involve students in various research projects and enhance students’ skills in oral communication, technical writing, and research; and 5) Service learning – engaging students in service learning through the Volunteer Weather Observer Program to combine learning goals with community engagement.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.