GP-EXTRA: Engaging Students in Inclusive Geoscience Field Experiences via Onsite-Remote Partnerships

实地学习经验在地球科学教育中的重要性是有据可查的。然而，对于身体残疾的学生来说，在这个领域学习并不完全容易。这个合作项目将通过同伴指导的方式，让残疾学生与身体能力较强的学生一起进行实地合作练习，让残疾学生参与真实的实地体验。最重要的理念是，具有不同身体能力的学生之间的伙伴关系，以及学生-教师对，构成了一套集体的人类感官和视角，可以像没有身体限制的个人一样有效。这项工作的结果应该适用于社会福利署和其他在地球科学职业生涯中可能面临的现场实地调查的各种障碍。这项工作预计将增加留住和毕业的地球科学社工和其他合作学生的可能性，并鼓励和授权他们从事地球科学事业，从而扩大代表性不足的少数群体在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科的参与。James Madison大学（JMU）的研究人员正在与辛辛那提大学、Old Dominion大学和中央康涅狄格州立大学的同事合作，试点和测试创新方法，使SWD能够获得与地球科学相关的有意义的实地活动。该项目旨在与两组地球科学本科生合作：一组有行动障碍（SWD），另一组没有。学生（主要是二年级学生）是从全国地学专业的本科生中招收的。来自每个队列的学生将在不同的现场体验中配对，并在现场和通过远程连接进行协作。现场数据收集和分析通过联网的平板电脑和其他交互式移动设备实时进行。通过尖端的可穿戴技术，促进了学生与学生以及学生与教师之间的实时视频和音频通信。实地项目包含了一系列传统上包含在本科地球科学课程中的经验。其中包括：为期一天的实地考察，重点学习一套特定的实地技能，例如生成用于地层分析的条带测井；利用地质罗经测量构造方位；还有，用手镜进行矿物学和岩石学分析。项目第二年的实地体验集中在更高级的、多天的练习上，要求学生团队将收集到的地质实地数据综合成地图和报告，总结一个地区的构造历史。正在利用外部评价人员对项目活动的评价来通知对项目设计的持续改进；对项目影响的总结性评估和综合，有望为与社会福利署在实地合作的最佳做法提供证据基础。该项目的成果和经验将通过演讲、同行评议的出版物以及地球科学学生、教师和专业人士的顶级实地考察来传播。

The importance of field-based learning experiences in geoscience education is well-documented. However, learning in the field is not entirely accessible for students with physical disabilities. This collaborative project will engage students with disabilities (SWD) in authentic field experiences via a peer instruction approach that pairs SWD with more physically capable students in collaborative field-based exercises. The overarching philosophy is that partnerships of students with diverse physical abilities, as well as student-instructor pairs, constitute a collective set of human senses and perspectives that can be as effective as individuals with no physical limitations. Outcomes from this work should apply to a wide variety of barriers to onsite field investigations that SWD and others may face during the course of their geoscience careers. This work is anticipated to increase the probability of retaining and graduating geoscience SWD and other collaborating students, and encourage and empower them to pursue geoscience careers, thereby broadening participation of underrepresented minorities in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines.Investigators at James Madison University (JMU) are collaborating with colleagues at the University of Cinncinatti, Old Dominion University, and Central Connecticut State University to pilot and test innovative approaches for enabling SWD to gain meaningful exposure to field-based activities relevant to the geosciences. The project is designed to work with two cohorts of undergraduate geoscience students: one with mobility disabilities (SWD) and another without. Students (primarily sophomores) are being recruited from a national pool of undergraduate geoscience majors. Students from each cohort are paired in a variety of field experiences, and collaborate both on-site in the field and through remote connections. Field data collection and analyses occurs in real-time via web-linked tablets and other interactive mobile devices. Real-time video and audio communication, both student-student and student-faculty, are facilitated through cutting-edge wearable technologies. The field program incorporates a range of experiences that are traditionally included within an undergraduate geoscience curriculum. These include: day-long field trips that focus on a specific set of field skills, such as generating strip logs for stratigraphic analyses; measuring structural orientations using a geologic compass; and, mineralogical and petrologic analyses using a hand lens. Field experiences in the second year of the project are focused on more advanced, multi-day exercises that require student teams to synthesize geologic field data collected into maps and reports that summarize the tectonic history of a region. Assessment of project activities by an external evaluator is being used to inform continuous improvements to the project design; summative evaluation and synthesis of the impacts of the project are expected to contribute to the evidence base regarding best practices for working with SWD in field settings. Results and experiences from this project are being disseminated via presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and a capstone field trip for geoscience students, faculty, and professionals.