Copper Triangle Pilot Project: Enhancing Opportunities for Geoscience Studies and Careers in a Culturally Diverse, Underserved Rural Mining Area

铜三角试点项目（CTPP）是亚利桑那州州立大学，中央亚利桑那学院，农村高需求学区之间的合作伙伴关系（上级联合学区）和当地产业（决议铜矿公司）开发一个基于研究，为代表性不足的少数族裔学生提供获得地球和环境科学学士学位和职业的可持续途径（大部分是西班牙裔和美洲土著）居住在亚利桑那州中部一个服务不足的农村矿区（“铜三角”）。 CTPP针对的是一种其他促进公平和多样性的方案通常不服务的地理和人口区域：一个人口超过50%的少数民族的农村社区，历史上依赖于自然资源的开采。 CTPP的相互关联的组成部分，通过目前对少数民族学生招聘和保留地球科学的最有效做法的研究，包括有效的利益相关者伙伴关系，同时招生的大学课程，基于场所的教学，从高中到学士学位的顺利衔接的学术课程。和BA，区域夏季STEM实习，指导和支持，以及嵌入式教师专业发展。 地球科学课程是丰富的地方为基础（位于西南景观，地质现象，资源和环境问题），并通过当地社区的多元文化和历史的通知。 每一个组成部分是形成性和总结性评估使用混合方法。 该项目得到了所有社区利益相关者的大力认可和支持，并将通过定期举办课程、矿业公司的持续支持以及新矿山推动的社区和地区的经济多元化和增长持续到未来。

The Copper Triangle Pilot Project (CTPP) is a partnership among Arizona State University, Central Arizona College, a rural high-need school district (Superior Unified School District) and local industry (Resolution Copper Mining Company) to develop a research-based, sustainable pathway to baccalaureate degrees and careers in the Earth and environmental sciences for underrepresented minority students (mostly Hispanic and Native American) who reside in an underserved rural mining area (the "Copper Triangle") of central Arizona. CTPP is directed toward a type of geographic and demographic region not commonly served by other programs to promote equity and diversity: a rural community with a population that is more than 50% underrepresented minorities, and historically dependent on the extraction of natural resources. The interlinked components of CTPP, informed by current research on the most effective practices for minority-student recruitment and retention in the Earth sciences comprise an effective stakeholder partnership, concurrent-enrollment college courses, place-based instruction, a smoothly articulated academic program from high school to the B.S. and B.A., regional summer STEM internships, mentoring and support, and embedded teacher professional development. The Earth science curriculum is richly place-based (situated in Southwest landscapes, geologic phenomena, resources, and environmental issues) and informed by the diverse cultures and history of the local community. Each component is formatively and summatively assessed using mixed methods. The project has received strong endorsement and support from all community stakeholders and will be sustained into the future with regularly scheduled course offerings, continued support by the mining firm, and by the economic diversification and growth of the community and region catalyzed by the new mine.