GP-IN: Promoting and Sustaining geoscience and related disciplines with PSU EnvironMentors for underserved and underrepresented minority NY, NJ, and PA Communities (GEOENV)

在中学后和劳动力领域，STEM的多样性仍然是一个关键问题。在地球、海洋和大气科学的学科中，在吸引、留住和毕业来自历史上代表性不足的本科生和研究生方面，这个问题被放大了，但收效甚微。有几个因素阻碍了这些人参与STEM，包括内容接触、指导、体验式学习以及数学和科学准备。为了抵消这些限制因素的影响，宾夕法尼亚州立大学环境保护计划将增加一个名为GEOENV的重点地球科学部分，该计划通过教师、博士后、研究生和本科生的小组辅导，在整个学年为高中生提供研究体验。GEOENV将为高中生提供更多参与STEM的机会，目的是引导学生进入学院/大学地球科学专业/学科和职业/工作。GEOENV每年将从新泽西州、纽约和宾夕法尼亚州的4个地点招收16名一年级、二年级和初一年级的学生，代表着不同的人口和社会经济地位。在宣布专业或接受大学/学院招生之前启动招聘是向参与者介绍地球科学内容和相关活动的战略时机。高中生被分配到一个研究团队，开发一个研究项目，作为环境管理员计划的一部分，并专注于宾夕法尼亚州立大学地球和矿物科学学院的地球科学学科。在为期一年的研究项目工作中，高中生参与者提交一份研究海报和论文作为最终成果。GEOENV还将在学年期间举办具有交叉主题的研讨会，以增加参与者对地球科学学科的了解。高中教师还将参与加深他们对STEM教育和地球科学学科研究活动的教育知识。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。

Diversity in STEM continues to be a critical issue in postsecondary and workforce realms. In the disciplines of Earth, Oceanic, and Atmospheric Sciences, the problem is amplified with very limited success for attracting, retaining, and graduating students from historically underrepresented groups at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Several factors inhibit STEM engagement for these individuals including content exposure, mentoring, experiential learning, and math and science preparation. To counteract the impact of these limiting factors, a focused geoscience component, designated GEOENV, will be added to the Penn State EnvironMentors program, which provides high school students a research experience throughout the academic year through group mentorship from faculty, postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students. GEOENV will provide additional opportunities for STEM engagement for high school students, with the aim of steering students toward college/university Geoscience majors/disciplines and careers/jobs. GEOENV will recruit 16 freshman, sophomore, and junior year high school students per year from 4 locations located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, representing varied demographic and socioeconomic status. Initiating recruitment prior to declaring majors or accepting enrollment at a university/college is a strategic time to introduce participants to geoscience content and related activities. High school student participants are assigned to a research team and develop a research project as part of the EnvironMentors program and focus on a geoscience discipline in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University. From yearlong work on a research project, high school student participants present a research poster and papers as final products. GEOENV will also include seminars with cross-cutting themes during the academic year to increase exposure of participants to geoscience disciplines. High school teachers will also participate to deepen their knowledge of education of STEM education and research activities in geoscience disciplines.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.