Building an Inclusive Geology Field Camp for the PASSHE: Workshop Proposal: Pittsburg, PA - January 3-4, 2019

开设为期6周的地方实地课程将对宾夕法尼亚州高等教育系统(PASSHE)的地球科学课程产生变革，并通过提高即将毕业的地球科学学生进入劳动力市场的能力和质量来影响周围地区。这项提案涉及的大学都是以本科为主的机构，服务于农村、郊区和城市的学生人口结构，其中许多是第一代大学生。拟议的实地课程还将通过促进不同州立大学教师之间的合作来改善研究环境，并促进未来大学之间的课程合作。该领域的“短期课程”将向对STEM感兴趣的高中生介绍地球科学，在大多数人宣布主修专业并开始他们的大学教育之前。这门课程是为学生新人进入具有强大机构联系的地球科学-从高中水平开始-创造学术途径的关键一步。学生参与者将通过使用宾夕法尼亚州的天然后院实验室为他们的学术生涯的下一步做好准备。这项计划还将增加对STEM学生的招聘，因为他们不必离开家去获得高质量的体验，这也将使他们为地球科学的本科生或研究生课程以及地球科学工作人员做好准备。这项提议的目的是有效地计划制作一门可持续、成本效益高的6周地质学野外课程，这将使每一名宾夕法尼亚州州立高等教育系统(PASSHE)地球科学毕业生能够满足申请研究生院和参加宾夕法尼亚州专业地质学家执照考试的最低要求。此外，这门实地课程将实现三个不同而重要的目标：(1)解决迫在眉睫的地球科学劳动力短缺问题，(2)通过提供以地点为基础的实地课程，强调地球科学对宾夕法尼亚州所有社区的重要性，并专注于现代地球科学问题，(3)扩大招聘范围，使我们未来问题解决者的人口结构更接近我们地区的人口结构，以反映NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

The creation of a 6-week place-based field course will be transformative to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) geoscience programs and impact the surrounding region by enhancing the abilities and quality of graduating geoscience students entering the workforce. The universities involved in this proposal are all predominantly undergraduate institutions serving rural suburban and urban student demographics, many of whom are first-generation college students. The proposed field course will also enhance the research environment by promoting collaborations between faculty at different state universities and promote future curricular collaborations between universities. The field "short course" will introduce high school students interested in STEM to geoscience before most declare a major and begin their university education. The course is a critical step in creating academic pathways for student recruits into the geosciences with strong institutional connections - starting at the high school level. Student participants will be prepared for the next step in their academic careers by using the natural backyard labs in PA. The effort will also increase the recruitment of under-involved students in STEM as they would not have to travel away from home to gain a quality experience that will also prepare them for undergraduate or graduate programs in the geosciences and, in turn, the geoscience workforce.The purpose of this proposal is to effectively plan for the production of a sustainable, cost-effective 6-week geology field course, which will allow each Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) geoscience graduate to meet the minimum requirements for applications to graduate school and to take the Pennsylvania Professional Geologist licensing exam. Additionally, this field course will accomplish three distinct and important objectives; (1) address a looming geoscience workforce shortage, (2) better prepare our students for the geoscience workforce by offering a place-based field curriculum highlighting the importance of geoscience to all Pennsylvania communities and focusing on modern day geoscience problems (see section 4 for examples), and (3) broadening recruitment so that the demographics of our future problem solvers more closely mimics the demographics of our region.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.