Polar Education Conference: Improving JEDI for students interested in Polar STEM Careers

虽然大多数环境挑战不成比例地影响代表性不足的社区，但很少有全国性的环境计划有效地支持或指导这些人群的学生。在极地和气候科学方面培养学生的课程尤其如此。地球科学长期以来缺乏多样性，并受到许多入学障碍的阻碍，代表性不足的学生。与极地和气候研究相关的实地环境可能会成为学生的障碍，因为他们无法获得所需的设备，用品或现场前培训。代表性不足的学生在学校里接触相关内容的机会也往往有限，并且面临着对这些领域职业的内在文化担忧。为了解决这些问题，缅因州大学将组织和支持一次会议，与会者将重点关注1）制定新的战略，让代表性不足的学生参与极地科学，无论是在现场还是在课堂上; 2）发展高中教育工作者，非正式教育工作者之间的关系和合作，他们是向上的一部分（UB）计划和专业极地科学家; 3）建立教育工作者与Polar STEM社区之间长期接触的对话。与会者还将有机会与朱诺冰原研究计划（JIRP）的学生互动。积极的本科经验和户外兴趣是吸引本科生进入地球科学的两个因素，与导师的密切联系以及夏季研究经验是保留的主导因素。因此，开发计划，为教师提供长期指导的机会，并为目标人口中的学生提供鼓舞人心的夏季实地或非实地研究经验，是一个重要的目标。本次会议的重点是通过利用现有的研究和教育资源，为极地社区的学生开发这些机会。本次会议将支持新的长期合作的发展，重点是支持在极地STEM领域代表性不足的学生的参与。与会者将就如何通过实地经验和为传统课堂开发以数据为中心、基于问题的教育资源来改善极地STEM教育制定战略。这些机会将不仅有利于与会者，而且他们教的学生。为学生提供学习极地科学职业的机会是增加该领域更多样化劳动力的第一步。会议将向来自全国各地的地球科学教育工作者和极地科学家以及阿拉斯加、华盛顿、缅因州、佛罗里达和其他UB项目的UB教师和教育工作者开放。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

Although most environmental challenges disproportionately impact underrepresented communities, few nation-wide environmental programs effectively support or mentor students from these populations. This is particularly true of programs that train students in polar and climate sciences. The geosciences have long lacked diversity and are hampered by many barriers to entry for underrepresented students. The field environment associated with polar and climate research can be a barrier to students who have limited access to required equipment, supplies, or pre-field training. Under-represented students also often have limited exposure to related content in school and are confronting intrinsic cultural concerns about a career in these fields. To address these issues, the University of Maine will organize and support a conference where participants will focus on 1) developing new strategies for engaging under-represented students in polar sciences, both in the field and in the classroom; 2) developing relationships and collaborations between high school educators, informal educators who are part of the Upward Bound (UB) program and professional polar scientists; and 3) establishing a dialogue towards long-term engagement between educators and the Polar STEM community. Conference attendees will also have an opportunity to interact with students in the Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) program. Positive undergraduate experiences and outdoor interest are two factors that have been attributed to attracting undergraduate students into geosciences, and a strong connection with mentors as well as summer research experiences are dominant factors in retention. Therefore, development of programs that provide opportunities for long term mentoring from faculty and inspiring summer field or non-field research experiences for students within target demographics is an important goal. This conference focuses on developing these opportunities for students in the Polar community by leveraging existing research and education resources. This conference will support the development of new long-term collaborations focused on supporting the engagement of under-represented students in Polar STEM fields. The participants will strategize on how to improve polar STEM education through field experiences and through the development of data-centric, problem-based educational resources for the traditional classroom. These opportunities will not only benefit the attendees, but also the students whom they teach. Providing opportunities for students to learn about a career in Polar science is the first step in increasing a more diverse workforce within the field. The conference will be open to earth science educators and polar scientists from across the nation and to UB faculty and educators in Alaska, Washington, Maine, Florida and other UB programs.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.