GP-IN: Engaging High School STEM Educators and Special Education Teachers in Innovative Geoscience Teaching, Learning, and Research Environments

该项目的目标是通过向高中教育工作者提供教育地球科学内容、培训和研究，增加对地球科学知识和教育的了解。随后，该项目将使数千名高中生接触到地球科学内容及其在现实世界中的应用，其中包括历史上被排斥群体的学生、残疾学生、英语学习者和第一代学生。这些项目将开发基于项目的综合学习内容，以促进STEM和特殊教育教师的知识和获得的地球科学技能的应用，以及学生在高中接触地球科学内容和其职业机会。教师和学生将为格鲁吉亚的地质数据库和虚拟实地指南作出贡献，这将与格鲁吉亚的其他地球科学家共享，促进虚拟对话。地理数据库和虚拟现场指南具有扩展其他信息的潜力，并且可以用作其他州和地区的地理数据库和虚拟现场指南的模型。通过提供特定地质研究技术的教育，促进实地和实验室研究，学生将获得知识、经验和动力，在进入大学后过渡到地球科学专业。该项目的目标是增加至少1200名高中生接触地球科学教育和就业机会，其中包括历史上被排斥的群体，如英语学习者、第一代学生和残疾学生。通过将地球科学内容和技术整合到现有的高中必修科学课程中，拟议的工作将弥合学生最初接触地球科学内容的中学与大学之间的差距。拟议的活动将促进劳动力发展，与导师的密切互动，为高中水平的学生创造无缝的下一步教育，评估集体努力对学生学习的影响，共享和协作，以及产品和服务的可持续性。这个项目产生的教学内容可以作为其他机构的一个模型，以吸引来自不同背景的地球科学学生。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 objective of this project will be to increase exposure to geoscience literacy and education by providing high school educators with educational geoscience content, training, and research. This project will subsequently expose thousands of high school students to geoscience content and its applications in the real world, including students from historically excluded groups, students with disabilities, English learners, and first generation students. The PIs will develop Integrative Project-Based Learning Content to facilitate STEM and Special Education teachers’ knowledge and application of acquired geoscience skills, as well as students’ exposure to geoscience content and its career opportunities in high school. Teachers and students will contribute to a geological database and virtual field guide of Georgia, which will be shared with other geoscientists in Georgia, facilitating a virtual dialogue. The geodatabase and virtual field guide has the potential to be expanded with additional information, and can be used as a model for geodatabases and virtual field guides in other states and regions. By providing education in specific geological research technologies and facilitating field and lab research, students will acquire the knowledge, experience, and motivation to transition to geoscience programs when they enter college. The goals of this project are to increase exposure of geoscience educational and career opportunities to at least 1,200 high school students, including students from historically excluded groups such as English learners, first generation students, and students with disabilities. By integrating geoscience content and techniques into already existing required high school science courses, the proposed work will bridge the gap between middle school, where students are initially exposed to Earth Science content, and college. Proposed activities will foster workforce development, close interaction with mentors, creation of a seamless educational next step for high school level students, assessment of the impact of collective efforts on student learning, sharing and collaboration, and sustainability of products and services. The instructional content produced from this project can be used as a model for other institutions to engage students from diverse backgrounds in the geosciences.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.