GP-IN: Pathways to tribal geosciences careers through cultural connections to iconic landscapes

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)。该项目的重点是通过从初中到本科的多个接触点与参与者接触的三种战略，招募和留住美国原住民学生进入地球科学专业。美洲原住民后裔约占班诺克县人口(ISU所在地)的4%，但他们仅占ISU学生人口的约1%，占ISU地球科学专业学生的不到1%。最初，PI计划与Shoshone Bannock Jr./Sr.高中教师和部落长老合作，开发地球科学课程和实地活动，将部落文化与爱达荷州和怀俄明州的标志性景观联系起来。其次，项目导师将专注于本科前期和转学学生的地球科学实习机会，以促进职业道路。地球科学教师和导师将把学生连接到校园资源，如美国原住民学生服务、咨询和测试以及职业道路实习计划，以提供教育和职业道路支持。最后，执行支助股将与孟加拉桥梁项目合作，该项目是高中和大学之间的过渡项目，旨在通过实地考察制定招聘的最佳做法。该计划将与六个教育和非营利性合作伙伴合作，重点招募美国原住民进入爱达荷州立大学(ISU)的地球科学。首要目标是增加在爱达荷州东部获得本科学位的地球科学家的数量和多样性。为了实现这一目标，私人投资机构提供了三管齐下的努力，将非正式和正式的地球科学学习生态系统战略与连续教育水平上的多个接触点相结合。参与者的三个参与度包括1)通过青年就业计划和相关活动提供暑期专业技能培养，建立认同感；2)接触将参与专业和地球科学发展要素的训练有素的导师；3)提供过渡计划，为学生进入本科课程做好准备。这个合作伙伴网络中的活动基于已建立的实践社区和自我效能模型，这些模型可以有效地支持多样化的招聘和保留。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).This project focuses on recruiting and retaining Native American students into the Geosciences through three strategies that engage with participants at multiple points of contact from junior high to undergraduate levels. People of Native American descent make about ~4% of Bannock County’s population (home to ISU), however they only represent about ~1% of ISU’s student population and less than 1% of ISU Geoscience majors. Initially, PIs plan to work with Shoshone Bannock Jr./Sr. High School teachers and tribal elders to develop geoscience curriculum and field-based activities that tie tribal culture to iconic landscapes of Idaho and Wyoming. Secondly, a project mentor will focus on early-undergraduate and transfer student geoscience internship opportunities to facilitate career pathways. Geoscience faculty and the mentor will connect students to campus resources such as Native American Student Services, Counseling and Testing and the Career Path Internship program for educational and career pathway support. Lastly, PIs will work with the ISU Bengal Bridge Program which is a transition program between high school and college to develop best practices for recruiting through field visits. This program will focus on recruiting Native Americans into the geosciences at Idaho State University (ISU) in collaboration with six educational and non-profit partners. The overarching goal is to increase the number and diversity of geoscientists attaining undergraduate degrees in eastern Idaho. To achieve this, the PIs offer a three-pronged effort that will blend informal and formal geoscience learning ecosystem strategies with multiple points of contact across a continuum of education levels. The three levels of engagement for the participants include 1) building a sense of identity by offering summer professional skill building through a youth employment program and related activities, 2) accessing trained mentors who will engage in both professional and geoscience development elements and 3) providing access to a bridge transition program that will ready students to enter undergraduate programs. The activities in this collaborative network of partnerships are based on established Community of Practice and Self-Efficacy models that can effectively support diverse recruitment and retention.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.