GP-IN: Families and University Together as a Unit for Research and Education (FUTURE): Connecting Hispanic Families to Geosciences Through Community Informal Learning Network

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。未来几十年，一支强大而多样化的下一代地球科学劳动力队伍将在解决气候压力下的关键全球威胁(水、能源、自然灾害和粮食)方面发挥关键作用。在美国，与其他STEM领域相比，地球科学劳动力的种族多样性最小(例如，约3%的拉美裔)。国家科学院出版社指出，少数族裔服务机构是美国在不久的将来加强STEM劳动力的未得到充分利用的资源。德克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校(UTRGV)作为美国第二大拉美裔服务机构(拥有约32,000名学生和约90%的拉美裔学生)，其地理位置位于美墨边境，使其成为培训未来拉美裔地球科学劳动力的理想中心。未来的项目通过以家庭为中心的模式，将拉美裔文化融入非正式的地球科学和STEM学习途径，以应对提高拉美裔参与STEM的挑战。以家庭为中心的学习框架将帮助家庭了解他们生活中最关键的元素之一--“水供应/资源”及其与地球科学/地球环境的关系。利用以前的GEOPATHS项目中获得的经验，该项目团队的目标是扩大和扩大其现有计划的既定平台和基础设施，以改造传统的地球科学学习生态系统(GLES)，同时以一种可以扩展到其他少数族裔服务机构的方式培养拉美裔地球科学劳动力。未来的项目将探索如何将家庭置于非正式STEM学习的中心，并成为理解地球科学问题的基础--水是如何“起作用的”；即，以人类为中心的水循环，以及与地球环境的活动/联系(即，德克萨斯州的采矿和农业)。未来项目有四个目标：(1)在社区建立一个以水和地球--环境科学为主题的非正式学习网络；(2)改变拉美裔家庭(家长和儿童)对地球科学事业的看法；(3)通过一个发达的网络招收地球科学专业的学生；(4)为当地初中/高中和2年制大学生提供进入地球科学教育和职业道路的渠道。该项目提供的活动侧重于水、土壤、岩石和矿物、地球科学及其与格兰德河谷历史和经济(石油/天然气开采和农业)的关系。未来的创新方法将测试当地社区和教育机构之间的非正式学习网络如何为来自STEM历史上代表性不足的群体的个人转变GLE。该奖项反映了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，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). A strong and diversified next generation geoscience workforce will play a critical role in solving crucial global threats (water, energy, natural hazards, and food) under climate stresses in the coming decades. In the U.S., the geoscience workforce has the least ethnic diversity compared to other STEM fields (e.g., ~3% Hispanics). National Academies Press states that minority serving institutions are America's under-utilized resource for strengthening the STEM workforce for the near future. The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), as the nation’s second largest Hispanic serving institution (with ~32,000 students and ~90% Hispanic), and its location at the U.S.-Mexico border, make it an ideal hub for training the future Hispanic Geoscience workforce. The FUTURE project integrates the Hispanic culture into an informal Geoscience and STEM learning pathway through a family-centered model to address the challenge of enhancing Hispanic participation in STEM. A family-centered learning framework will help families understand one of the most critical elements in their lives – “water supply/resources” and its relationship to the geoscience/Earth environment. With the experience gained in a previous GEOPATHS project, the project team aims to expand and scale up the established platform and infrastructure of its existing program transforming the traditional Geoscience Learning Ecosystems (GLEs) while nurturing the Hispanic Geoscience workforce in a way that can be expanded to other minority serving institutions.The FUTURE project will explore how the family can be placed at the center of informal STEM learning and be the basis for understanding a geoscience issue – how water “works;” i.e., the water cycle with humans at the center, and the activities/link to Earth environment (i.e., mining and agriculture in Texas). The FUTURE project has four objectives: (1) Establish an Informal Learning Network with a water and Earth-Environmental Science theme at communities; (2) Change Hispanic families' (parents and children) perspectives towards geosciences careers; (3) Recruit students into geoscience through a developed network and (4) Provide a channel into geoscience education and career paths for local junior/senior high school and 2-year college students. The project offers activities focused on water, soil, rocks and minerals, geoscience and their relationship to Rio Grande Valley’s history and economics (oil/gas mining and agriculture). FUTURE’s innovative approach will test how Informal Learning Networks between the local community and educational institutions can transform GLE for individuals from groups that have historically been underrepresented in STEM.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.