Collaborative Proposal: GP EXTRA: Field based professional development for Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) undergraduates

为科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科的未来劳动力做好准备，对我们国家的经济繁荣至关重要。与其他STEM领域相比，老龄化的地球科学劳动力缺乏种族多样性，有鉴于此，地球科学社区必须为职业前和职业早期人员开发新的指导模式，以建立和维持劳动力的技能、多样性和规模。现有的STEM保留和多样性项目已经认识到，获得领域和专业经验对于帮助学生识别科学家身份、形成网络以及获得各种公共和私营部门就业所需的重要技能至关重要。该项目的目标是让四年制学院和大学（4ycu）和社区学院（2YCs）的环境stem （ESTEM）本科生参与实践，获得适用于职业的经验，将学生带入地球科学劳动力队伍。该项目将传统的地质学实地课程重新构想为专业发展经验，以解决许多四年级大学出现的新的“环境”地球科学课程。来自旧金山大学、圣安东尼奥山学院和大西洋学院的教师正在与来自学术界、公共机构、咨询机构和非营利组织的环境地球科学专业人士合作，确定关键的地球科学职业技能，并开发一个“徽章”系统，以识别掌握这些技能的人。夏季实地课程和实地后研讨会为参与的本科生提供了与利益相关者接触的机会，学习和实践技能，以追求获得徽章。此外，该项目还展示了一种用于学生评估的新技术（数字徽章）的潜在用途。徽章为学生、教师和利益相关者之间的对话创造了空间，所有学生都可以使用，而不仅仅是那些能够或倾向于参与特定项目的学生。徽章还为学生和雇主提供了掌握技能的透明记录，为学生了解和推销通过环境地球科学课程获得的技能、能力、概念和学习成果（sccl）提供了新的途径。评估用于确保利益相关者确定的技能、徽章和实地课程的一致性，并解决该计划在地球科学管道中保留学生的有效性。该课程以环境地球科学专业的学生为目标，采用了一种新的实地课程模式，让该领域的利益相关者参与进来，并通过机构合作将不同的学习者群体联合起来，成为本科阶段地球科学专业发展的典范。通过网络研讨会、讲习班和项目网站，正在向更广泛的社区提供从该项目中吸取的经验教训。

Preparing a future workforce in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines is vital to the economic prosperity of our nation. In light of an aging geoscience workforce that exhibits a lack of ethnic diversity when compared with other STEM fields, the geoscience community must develop new models of mentorship for pre-career and early career personnel to build and sustain the skills, diversity, and size of the workforce. Existing STEM retention and diversity programs have recognized access to field and professional experiences as critical to helping students identify as scientists, form networks, and gain important skills necessary for employment in a variety of public and private sectors. The goal of this project is to engage a diverse cohort of Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) track undergraduates at 4-year colleges and universities (4YCUs) and community colleges (2YCs) in hands-on, career-applicable experiences that will launch students into the geoscience workforce.This project reimagines the traditional geology field course as a professional development experience to address the emergence of new "environmental" geoscience tracks at many 4YCUs. Faculty from the University of San Francisco, Mount San Antonio College, and the College of the Atlantic are working with environmental geoscience professionals from academia, public agencies, consulting, and non-profit organizations to identify key geoscience career skills and develop a "badge" system to recognize mastery of these skills. A summer field course and post-field seminar provides participating undergraduate students with opportunities to engage with stakeholders, learn and practice skills in the pursuit of earning badges. Further, this program is demonstrating the potential uses of a new technology (digital badges) for student assessment. Badges create space for dialog between students, faculty, and stakeholders and are adaptable and accessible by all students, not just those able or apt to participate in a given program. Badges also enable transparent documentation of skill mastery for students and employers, providing a new way for students to understand and market the skills, competencies, concepts, and learning outcomes (SCCLs) gained through environmental geoscience courses. Assessments are being used to ensure alignment of stakeholder-identified skills, badges, and field curriculum, and address the efficacy of the program in student retention in the geoscience pipeline. With a new model of field course that targets environmental geoscience students, engages stakeholders in the field, and unites a diverse group of learners through institutional collaboration, this program serves as a model for geoscience professional development at the undergraduate level. Lessons learned through this project are being made accessible to the wider community through webinars, workshops, and a project website.