R11-BEC: Mitigating COVID-19 Career Challenges with Research and Professional Development Training for Undergraduate Students and Mentors in Field-based Environmental Sciences

该奖项全部或部分根据2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。堪萨斯大学（KU）的这一研究基础设施改善桥接EPSCoR社区（RII BEC）项目旨在通过提高本科生的保留率和毕业率来服务于国家利益，特别是那些受到COVID-19大流行影响不成比例的学生。重点是从本科教育过渡到科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）劳动力或研究生院，将特别强调在STEM竞技场历史上代表性不足的学生。调查人员将实施和研究可持续模式对提高STEM学生的保留率和毕业率的有效性。整个计划将采取综合方法，结合真实和有意义的研究经验，深入的导师培训和专业发展课程。研究经验将主要在地球和环境科学。该指导计划将为教师和非学术科学家谁将在文化理解和敏感性，以及在有效的指导技能和技术培训，以帮助学生准备进入研究生院或科学劳动力。课程将是全面的，将包括专业发展的主题，如：调整期望;研究过程;通信（口头以及写个人论文，提案，简历和求职信）;理解和促进工作与生活的平衡;和面试的艺术。该项目的基本目标是：（1）设计和实施本科生指导的研究培训经验，以帮助培养本科生的研究技能，培养研究和STEM身份;（2）为大三和大四学生创建专业发展计划;（3）为大四学生提供研究培训课程，以帮助他们提高研究技能。（3）建立一个可持续的导师培训计划，贯穿整个文化理解;（4）开发一个开放的实地工作指导模块，其中包括实地安全，可访问性，以及对实地敌对和/或排斥行为的最佳实践反应;（5）传播项目组成部分和评估产生的模型。项目目标将使用多种方法进行评估，结合定量和定性数据收集和分析过程，以确定对导师和不同学生参与者的有效性和影响。该项目将产生新的成果，即如何将联合收割机研究、指导和专业发展课程结合起来，以减轻COVID-19对传统上代表性不足的群体的学生造成的不成比例的影响。此外，开发和传播实地工作辅导培训模块将有助于增进教育界在辅导方面的知识。项目调查结果和成果将通过各种渠道在内部和外部传播，包括同行评审的出版物，会议演示文稿，几个社交媒体，一个KU新兴STEM学者网站，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进行评估，更广泛的影响审查标准。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This Research Infrastructure Improvement Bridging EPSCoR Communities (RII BEC) project at the University of Kansas (KU) aims to serve the national interest by increasing the retention and graduation rates of undergraduate students, particularly those who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a focus on the transition from undergraduate education to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce or graduate school, a specific emphasis will be on students who have been historically underrepresented in the STEM arena. The investigators will implement and study the effectiveness of a sustainable model on improving retention and graduation rates of STEM students. The overall program will take an integrated approach by combining authentic and meaningful research experiences, in-depth mentor training, and a professional development curriculum. Research experiences will be primarily in earth and environmental sciences. The mentoring program will be for faculty and non-academic scientists who will be trained in cultural understanding and sensitivity as well as in effective mentoring skills and techniques directed towards preparing students to enter graduate school or the science workforce. The curriculum will be comprehensive and will include professional development topics such as: aligning expectations; the research process; communications (oral as well as writing personal essays, proposals, resumes, and cover letters); understanding and fostering work-life balance; and the art of interviewing. Project outcomes and findings will be disseminated to local, regional, and national audiences.The underlying goals of this project are to: (1) design and implement undergraduate mentored research training experiences to help develop research skills and foster research and STEM identity for undergraduate students; (2) create a professional development program for students in their junior and senior years; (3) establish a sustainable mentor training program with cultural understanding threaded throughout; (4) develop an open-access fieldwork mentoring module which includes field safety, accessibility, and best practice responses to hostile and/or exclusionary behaviors in the field; and (5) disseminate a model resulting from project components and assessment. Project goals will be assessed using a multi-methodological approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis processes to determine the effectiveness and impact on mentors and diverse student participants. New results will emanate from the project regarding how to combine research, mentoring, and professional development curricula to mitigate the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on students from traditionally underrepresented groups. In addition, the development and dissemination of a fieldwork mentorship training module will contribute to knowledge advancements in mentoring in the educational community. Project findings and outcomes will be disseminated at internal and external levels through myriad venues including peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, several social media outlets, a KU Emerging STEM Scholars website, and vetted training resources developed for audiences ranging from individuals to workshops.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.