GP EXTRA: MINORITIES STRIVING AND PURSUING HIGHER DEGREES OF SUCCESS in GEO REU (MS PHD?S-GEO REU) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

来自总统科学技术顾问委员会(PCAST)和国家研究委员会(NRC)的大量报告证明，增加STEM学科的多样性对于我们国家的创新议程、经济繁荣和全球竞争力至关重要。尽管在扩大某些STEM学科的参与方面进展缓慢，但地球科学界仍有很长的路要走，才能使非洲裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美洲原住民和残疾人的人数获得学位，并在地球科学领域追求与其人口统计比例相符的职业。为了在这一目标上取得进展，需要在STEM专业招收新的未被充分代表的少数族裔(URM)学生，并留住那些已经在教育和职业生涯中的学生。德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校(UTA)和扩大参与研究所(IBP)正在实施一项为期3年的计划，为45名参加过本科生地球科学相关研究经验(REU)现场项目的URM学生提供虚拟和现场专业发展、网络、社区建设和指导活动。该计划的目标是留住那些已经对地球科学表现出兴趣，但由于与世隔绝、缺乏榜样和缺乏导师来帮助他们走向职业成功的下一个阶段而面临离开该领域的风险的学生。“少数族裔努力并追求在GEO REU取得更高程度的成功”(MS PhD-GEO REU)项目建立在一项成功的试点工作的基础上，利用NSF之前的投资，为STEM学科传统上代表性不足的学生建立招生、留住和领导力发展的示范项目。该项目使用基于证据的指导概念，这些概念植根于情境学习和真实学习的理论。职业暴露和职业社交活动嵌入其中。正在使用严格的招聘、申请和遴选程序，从全国REU现场参与者库中确定三组学生(每组15名)。该方案包括两个主要阶段：1)结合美国地球物理联合会秋季年会，现场指导专业发展；2)在正在举行的虚拟专业发展网络研讨会的支持下，在特定学科的会议上进行虚拟和面对面的指导和联网。在项目设计中包括形成性和总结性评价部分。影响评估研究将调查参加MS博士-GEO REU项目的学生是否与其他未被选中的REU学生相比，在STEM和地球科学方面表现出更大的毅力，以及在职业决策方面表现出更多的见识。

Numerous reports from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and the National Research Council (NRC) have documented the need to increase diversity within STEM disciplines as being vital to our nation's innovation agenda, economic prosperity, and global competitiveness. Although slow progress in broadening participation in some STEM disciplines is being made, the geosciences community still has a long way to go before the number of African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and persons with disabilities are earning degrees and pursuing careers in the geosciences at a level that is consistent with their demographic representation. Both recruitment of new underrepresented minority (URM) students into STEM majors and retention of those students who are already in the education and career pipeline are needed to make progress on this goal.The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) are implementing a 3-year program to provide virtual and on-site professional development, networking, community building and mentoring activities to 45 URM students who have participated in geoscience-related Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Site programs. The goals of this program are focused on retention of students who have already demonstrated an interest in the geosciences, but who are at risk of leaving the field because of isolation, lack of role models, and lack of mentors who can help guide them to the next stages of their professional success. The "Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in GEO REU" (MS PHD'S-GEO REU) program builds on a successful pilot effort, leveraging previous NSF investments to build model programs for recruitment, retention, and leadership development of traditionally underrepresented students in STEM disciplines. The program uses evidence-based mentoring concepts that are rooted in the theories of situated learning and authentic learning. Career exposure and professional socialization activities are embedded. A rigorous recruitment, application, and selection process is being used to identify three cohorts (15 each) of students from a national pool of REU Site participants. The program involves two main phases: 1) on-site mentored professional development in conjunction with the annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union; and 2) virtual and face-to-face mentoring and networking at discipline-specific conferences, supported by on-going virtual professional development webinars. Formative and summative evaluation components are included in the project design. Impact evaluation studies will investigate whether students participating in the MS PHD'S-GEO REU program show greater persistence in STEM and the geosciences, as well as more informed career decision-making, compared with other REU students who are not selected for the program.