REU Site: Beyond Basic Science – Connecting Climate to Communities

该项目由SBE理事会的本科生研究经验(REU)站点计划资助。除了将研究和教育结合起来之外，它还具有科学和社会效益。超越基础科学REU计划将使参与者沉浸在哥伦比亚大学地球研究所(EI)正在进行的跨学科科学研究中。我们的总体目标包括：1)提高参与者对气候科学参与性行动研究的兴趣和经验，2)建立研究的信心和能力，3)流利地了解科学过程和实践，4)将参与者连接到分层的指导结构，以及5)为学习者提供与利益相关者接触应对现实世界挑战的机会。该项目将使参与者融入科学进程，并为他们提供了解个人和团队环境中研究的窗口。在这些体验中，参与者将拥有与他们的理解水平相适应的自由，以便对研究过程感到舒适。每个研究项目的核心基础都以基础科学为基础，这将使参与者了解科学过程。此外，所有项目都将具有强大的实践性和参与性，涉及一系列合作伙伴，这将向参与者介绍导师如何设计和进行他们的研究，以便开发实用的共享知识，并可供利益攸关方在决策和政策制定过程中使用。这个为期3年的项目每年将涉及10周的研究经验，将使学生和教育工作者融入跨学科科学的过程和应用。超越基础科学REU计划展示了一项强大的战略，通过确保我们通过研究产生的知识以一种对气候变化影响最大的人和社区产生有意义的影响的方式，确保我们通过研究产生的知识被共同创造、共享和传播，地球研究所等组织如何改变科学与公众之间的关系。超越基础科学REU网站将为本科生和教育工作者提供机会，进行植根于气候科学和参与性行动的跨学科研究。该项目中建议的活动在战略上与NSF的更广泛影响的目标保持一致，并支持不同的参与者参与身临其境的研究体验。该项目框架支持参与者围绕有意义的项目进行团队学习，参与直接研究以外的专业发展活动，并在世界知名的研究环境中通过分层指导建立学习和专业关系。该计划的目标学生群体(即社区大学和州立学校)更有可能是第一代大学生，并在STEM中被认为是代表性不足的少数族裔。该项目还将培养一批受过科学参与性研究方法培训的科学家和教育工作者，将基本研究方法与有意义的利益攸关方参与结合起来。我们的REU网站有机会证明，以循证实践为基础的研究项目，为学习者提供强大的教育和专业基础设施，在为我们的研究社区带来多样性和促进包容性优秀方面发挥着重要作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate. It has both scientific and societal benefits in addition to integrating research and education. The Beyond Basic Science REU program will immerse participants in the transdisciplinary science being done at the Earth Institute (EI) of Columbia University. Our overarching goals include: 1) enhancing participant interest and experience in participatory action research in climate science, 2) building confidence and competence in research, 3) gaining fluency and insights into scientific processes and practices, 4) connecting participants to layered mentoring structures, and 5) providing learners with opportunities for engagement with stakeholders on real-world challenges. This project will embed participants in the scientific process and provide them with a window into research in individual and team settings. In these experiences, participants will have the latitude that is appropriate to their level of understanding in order to gain comfort with the research process. The core foundations of each research project are grounded in basic science that will introduce participants to the scientific process. Additionally, all projects will have a strong practice and participatory aspect that involves a range of partners, which will introduce participants to how mentors design and conduct their research in order to develop shared knowledge that is practical and can be used by stakeholders in decision and policy-making processes.This 3-year project will involve 10-week research experiences annually that will embed students and educators in the process and application of transdisciplinary science. The Beyond Basic Science REU program demonstrates a powerful strategy for how organizations such as the Earth Institute can transform the relationship between science and the public, by ensuring that the knowledge we produce through our research is jointly created, shared, and disseminated in a way that has meaningful impacts on the people and communities that climate change is going to impact the most. The Beyond Basic Science REU site will provide opportunities for undergraduate students and educators in transdisciplinary research rooted in climate science and participatory action. The activities proposed in this project are strategically aligned with NSF’s goals of broader impacts and supports a diverse group of participants in immersive research experiences. The project framework supports participants to engage in team learning around a meaningful project, participate in professional development activities beyond direct research, and build learning and professional relationships through layered mentoring in a world-renowned research environment. The pool of students targeted by this program (i.e., community colleges and state schools) are substantially more likely to be first generation college students and to identify as underrepresented minorities in STEM. The project will likewise produce a cohort of scientists and educators trained in participatory research approaches to science that integrate basic research methods with meaningful stakeholder participation. Our REU site has an opportunity to demonstrate that research programs grounded in evidence-based practices that provide strong educational and professional infrastructures for learners have an important role to play in bringing diversity into our research communities and promoting inclusive excellence.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.