GP-GO: Fostering a learning ecosystem for interdisciplinary Earth scientists through service learning and conservation in Jamaica

大多数本科生没有被介绍到植根于地球科学的各种科学领域，因此很少选择地球科学作为学习或职业目标的领域。这个GEOPaths：GO项目旨在招募和留住具有不同背景的地球科学新生，并为他们在全球范围内工作做好准备。研究目标是在牙买加建立一个以社区为重点的多年保护网络。该研究小组领导正在进行的地球科学不同方面的研究（例如，环境保护局还与西印度群岛大学和牙买加非政府组织的当地专家合作，在牙买加建立了多个相互关联的保护研究项目。牙买加是美国和加勒比科学家和学生之间合作的理想地点，因为它是许多重要而复杂的生态系统的所在地，如热带雨林，红树林，珊瑚礁和海草床。从历史上看，这些生态系统的稳定性和动态没有得到积极的监测，或者科学家在没有当地社区或专家参与的情况下进行研究。在这个项目中，本科生和研究生将选择和领导对他们有意义的研究项目，以及牙买加当地社区（即，文化相关的服务学习经验）。这项基础研究将通过多个地球科学学科之间的合作，支持岛屿景观，生物多样性和文化的保护。该项目将促进建立有效、公平的国际合作的良好做法，迫切需要招收和留住地球科学专业的学生。该项目将创建一个以保护为基础的计划，重点是地球科学发现，培养广泛的学习者社区。该项目旨在通过参与服务学习来招募学生进入地球科学，涉及古生物学，生态学，化学，水文学，文化历史以及陆地，海岸线和海洋的社区参与等方面。德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校是一所研究密集型的公立西班牙裔大学，将与其他少数民族服务机构合作招收非地球科学专业的学生。整个夏天，项目小组将展示研究人员及其项目，向学生介绍（a）地球科学中不同的、相互关联的要素;（B）合作促进保护的社区和人民;以及（c）团结起来保护自然世界和面临风险的社区的不同学者群体。学生将建立一个故事地图或虚拟实地考察，分享他们在牙买加的经验和研究。这些项目将成为一个保护网络的基础，该网络将不同的地球科学学科结合起来，以了解土地和海洋的长期和短期变化。对服务学习的关注将帮助学生参与材料，并提高他们成为（地球）科学家的动机。为了评估项目是否达到了招聘和留住人才的目标，评估将采取全面的案例研究方法，以了解参与者在整个项目中的经历（例如，该奖项反映了NSF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。

Most undergraduate students are not introduced to the diverse scientific fields rooted in Earth science and thus rarely choose the geosciences as a field of study or career goal. This GEOPaths:GO project aims to recruit and retain new students with diverse backgrounds to the Earth sciences and prepare them to work in a global context. The research goal is to establish a community-focused multi-year conservation network in Jamaica. The research team lead ongoing studies of different aspects of Earth science (e.g., ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, paleontology, and geoscience education) and have established multiple, connected conservation research projects in Jamaica, in collaboration with local experts at the University of the West Indies and Jamaican non-governmental organizations. Jamaica is an ideal location for this collaboration between US and Caribbean scientists and students as it is home to many vital and complex ecosystems such as rainforests, mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. Historically, the stability and dynamics of these ecosystems have not been actively monitored, or scientists conducted their research without involving local communities or experts. In this project, undergraduate and graduate students will select and lead research projects that are meaningful to them, as well as the local communities in Jamaica (i.e., culturally relevant, service-learning experiences). This foundational research will support conservation of island landscapes, biodiversity, and culture through collaborations amongst multiple Earth science disciplines. This project will foster the establishment of promising practices for effective, equitable international collaborations.There is a profound need to recruit and retain students in the Earth sciences. This project will create a conservation-based program focused on Earth science discovery that fosters a broad community of learners. The project aims to recruit students to the geosciences through engagement in service learning that touches on aspects of paleontology, ecology, chemistry, hydrology, cultural history, and community engagement across the land, coastline, and ocean. University of Texas at Austin is a research intensive public, Hispanic-serving university and will partner with other minority-serving institutions to recruit non-geoscience students. Over the summer, the project team will showcase researchers and their projects to introduce students to (a) the different, connected elements of Earth sciences; (b) the communities and people that collaborate to promote conservation; and (c) the diverse community of scholars uniting to preserve the natural world and at-risk communities. Students will build a story map or virtual field trip to share their experiences and research in Jamaica. The projects will be the foundation of a conservation network that integrates different Earth science disciplines to understand long-term and short-term changes to the land and ocean. The focus on service-learning will help students engage with the material and improve their motivation to become (geo)scientists. To evaluate whether the project has met the recruitment and retention goals, the assessment will take a holistic, case study approach to understand participants’ experiences throughout the project (e.g., assessing personal achievements, perception of the geosciences, interest in pursuing 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.