GP-IN: Promoting and Sustaining geoscience and related disciplines with PSU EnvironMentors for underserved and underrepresented minority NY, NJ, and PA Communities (GEOENV)

STEM的多样性仍然是高等教育和劳动力领域的一个关键问题。在地球，海洋和大气科学的学科，这个问题被放大了非常有限的成功吸引，留住，并从历史上代表性不足的群体在本科和研究生水平的毕业生。有几个因素抑制了这些人的STEM参与，包括内容曝光，指导，体验式学习以及数学和科学准备。为了抵消这些限制因素的影响，一个专注的地球科学组成部分，指定GEOENV，将被添加到宾夕法尼亚州立大学环境导师计划，该计划通过教师，博士后，研究生和本科生的小组指导，为高中生提供整个学年的研究经验。GEOENV将为高中生提供更多的STEM参与机会，目的是引导学生走向学院/大学地球科学专业/学科和职业/工作。GEOENV每年将从位于新泽西、纽约和宾夕法尼亚州的4个地点招募16名大一、大二和大三学生，代表不同的人口和社会经济地位。在宣布专业或接受大学/学院入学之前启动招聘是向参与者介绍地球科学内容和相关活动的战略时机。高中学生参与者被分配到一个研究小组，并制定一个研究项目，作为环境导师计划的一部分，并专注于地球和矿物科学学院在宾夕法尼亚州立大学的地球科学学科。在为期一年的研究项目中，高中生参与者将研究海报和论文作为最终产品。GEOENV还将在学年期间举办跨领域主题的研讨会，以增加参与者对地球科学学科的了解。高中教师也将参与，以加深他们对STEM教育和地球科学学科研究活动的教育知识。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。

Diversity in STEM continues to be a critical issue in postsecondary and workforce realms. In the disciplines of Earth, Oceanic, and Atmospheric Sciences, the problem is amplified with very limited success for attracting, retaining, and graduating students from historically underrepresented groups at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Several factors inhibit STEM engagement for these individuals including content exposure, mentoring, experiential learning, and math and science preparation. To counteract the impact of these limiting factors, a focused geoscience component, designated GEOENV, will be added to the Penn State EnvironMentors program, which provides high school students a research experience throughout the academic year through group mentorship from faculty, postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students. GEOENV will provide additional opportunities for STEM engagement for high school students, with the aim of steering students toward college/university Geoscience majors/disciplines and careers/jobs. GEOENV will recruit 16 freshman, sophomore, and junior year high school students per year from 4 locations located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, representing varied demographic and socioeconomic status. Initiating recruitment prior to declaring majors or accepting enrollment at a university/college is a strategic time to introduce participants to geoscience content and related activities. High school student participants are assigned to a research team and develop a research project as part of the EnvironMentors program and focus on a geoscience discipline in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University. From yearlong work on a research project, high school student participants present a research poster and papers as final products. GEOENV will also include seminars with cross-cutting themes during the academic year to increase exposure of participants to geoscience disciplines. High school teachers will also participate to deepen their knowledge of education of STEM education and research activities in geoscience disciplines.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.