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

大气科学专业的色彩学者数量相对较少，更糟糕的是，呈下降趋势，这凸显了吸引、留住和毕业更多大气科学色彩专业学生的强烈需求。北卡罗来纳农业与技术州立大学(N.C.A&amp；T)寻求加强其大气科学与气象学(ASME)本科课程，以增加大气科学专业来自历史上被排除在外的社区的学生的招生、留住和毕业人数，特别是非裔美国人。这一努力将有助于使STEM劳动力多样化，并支持一个STEM文化社会。该项目旨在通过将创新实践注入北卡罗来纳州A&A；T的ASME项目来解决劳动力短缺的问题，从而为实现多样化并进一步加强未来大气科学家和气象学家队伍的发展奠定坚实的基础。拟议的活动不仅将确保项目的成功完成，还将具有以下学术价值：1)加强地球科学的普通教育，这将帮助学生更多地认识到地球科学跨学科性质下的环境可持续性挑战；2)接触研究人员在广泛主题-大气化学、山地气象学、热带气象学和极地气象学-的专业知识；3)通过专业发展活动增强学生对学术和职业机会的认识。为了实现这个项目的总体目标，即加强在北卡罗来纳州农工大学大气科学专业的少数族裔的招聘和留住，PI团队将采用以下做法：1)吸引--加强本科生在地球科学方面的一般教育，并开展K12外展活动，以吸引学生参加ASME项目；2)衔接--为被ASME项目录取的学生建立夏季桥梁项目，以弥补任何知识或技能差距，特别是数学方面的差距，从而为ASME课程的学生做好准备；3)CB学习--适当地采用以群体为基础的(CB)教育实践，以加强学生学习并最大限度地保持学生的记忆力；4)RB培训-利用基于研究的(RB)教育实践积极地让学生参与各种研究项目，并提高学生在口头交流、技术写作和研究方面的技能；以及5)服务学习-通过志愿者天气观察员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NSF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 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.