IRES: Student-led social-ecological research in the drylands of Kenya and Colorado

这项IRES提案将为总共15名学生（3年内每年5名）提供机会，对旱地进行社会生态研究，比较科罗拉多州和肯尼亚的系统。该项目将在大二开始时招收学生，每批学生的活动将包括在科罗拉多州立大学（Colorado State University）进行三个学期的课程和研究，外加在肯尼亚与内罗毕大学（University of Nairobi）的导师一起工作五周。学生的个人项目将是“探究驱动”的研究问题，由学生与科罗拉多州立大学自然资源生态学实验室和内罗毕大学可持续旱地生态系统和社会中心的导师合作开发，美国研究人员与他们有着长期的合作历史。将景观视为相互作用元素的系统，其中人类是不可分割的组成部分，这一需求得到了广泛的尊重，该项目包括一个优秀的矩阵和指导计划，以确保开展强有力的个人研究活动。重要的是，探究驱动模式已被证明可以为学生提供强大的教育发展成果，这将提供专业发展，促进学生在批判性思维的基础上进行自我激励和独立工作的能力。该计划包括四个阶段。学生们将首先花整整两个学期的时间进行实地研究的培训和准备。这一阶段将包括旱地研讨会课程，科罗拉多州立大学的SUPER（本科生参与生态研究技能）项目的培训，以及与教师和同行导师合作，为他们在肯尼亚的实地研究起草一个研究问题。第二阶段将是在肯尼亚的实地工作，在内罗毕大学教员的监督和指导下，在一两个可能的实地地点开展工作。第三阶段将是实地数据分析的一个学术学期，最终在几个地点进行科学报告，并为肯尼亚的利益相关者准备材料。在第四阶段，学生可以继续他们的研究和/或作为同伴导师为未来的队列和其他生态培训项目在科罗拉多州立大学。重要的研究成果将纳入课程材料和项目见解，社会生态学和教育将在适当的文献中发表。该项目包括有效的评估计划和关于学生学习的见解，将继续与联合国大学一起开发课程和实地经验，将科学卓越与学生的需求/偏好结合起来。总的来说，这个项目有巨大的潜力帮助培养全面发展的学生，他们对生态系统与人类系统的相互作用有深刻的理解，并准备好追求一系列的专业机会。

This IRES proposal will provide an opportunity for fifteen total students (five per year over three years) to conduct social-ecological research on drylands, comparing systems in Colorado and Kenya. The program will recruit students at the beginning of their sophomore year and each cohort's activities will include coursework and research over three semesters at Colorado State University plus five weeks in Kenya working with mentors at the University of Nairobi. The student's individual projects will be "inquiry-driven" research questions developed by the students in collaboration with mentors at Colorado State's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and the Center for Sustainable Dryland Ecosystems and Societies at the University of Nairobi, with whom the US investigators have a long history of collaboration. The need to consider landscapes as systems of interacting elements in which humans are integral components is widely respected, and the project includes an excellent matrix and mentoring plan to ensure strong individual research activities are developed. Importantly, the inquiry-driven model has been shown to produce strong educational development outcomes for students that will provide professional development that promotes the ability to conduct self-motivated, independent work based on critical thinking. The program includes four phases. The students will first spend two full semesters in training and preparation for their field research. This phase will include a drylands seminar course, training in CSU's SUPER (Skills for Undergraduate Participation in Ecological Research) program and partnering with faculty and near-peer mentors leading to drafting of a research question for their field research in Kenya. The second phase will be the field work in Kenya, working under the supervision and guidance of faculty at the University of Nairobi at one or two possible field sites. The third phase will be an academic semester of analyses of field data, culminating in scientific presentations in several venues as well as preparing materials for stakeholders in Kenya. In the fourth phase students may continue their research and/or serve as peer mentors for future cohorts and other ecological training programs at CSU. Important research results will be incorporated in course materials and program insights both socio-ecological and educational will be published in the appropriate literature. The project includes effective assessment plans and insights about student learning will be carried forward to develop courses and field experiences with UoN that combine scientific excellence with student needs/preferences. Overall, this project has tremendous potential to help produce well-rounded students with a strong understanding of the interactions of ecological systems with human systems and who are ready to pursue a range of professional opportunities.