GP-UP Ocean Research College Academy Engagement in Authentic Geoscience Learning Ecosystems (ORCA-EAGLE)

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The nation's need for STEM education continues to rise, yet the equally important need for a catalyst to attract all students to STEM pathways is as important as ever. The acceleration of the use of data across all disciplines furthers the need for innovative education that removes traditional barriers to STEM fields. Furthermore, the lack of exposure to ocean sciences (and other geoscience disciplines) in high school limits the future workforce in the field and the potential diversity of that workforce. Everett Community College’s Ocean Research College Academy - Engagement in Authentic Learning Ecosystems (ORCA-EAGLE) project will increase both geoscience interest and workforce skills by engaging high school seniors in oceanographic research in the Salish Sea for an entire year. Through exposure to ocean sciences and collaborators and through deliberate efforts to engage a diverse student population, ORCA-EAGLE will create a model educational program that increases societal understanding of basic Earth processes influenced by the oceans.The goal of this project is to increase high school student exposure to the geosciences and the workforce through interaction with big data and connecting to career professionals utilizing large geoscience related data streams in the Salish Sea. Opportunities to attract and recruit a diverse group of students revolves around removing exclusionary practices for STEM interested majors. Expanding the use of geoscience generated data to reconceptualize the traditional mathematics pathway may be a way to further engage those who have been historically excluded by mathematical preparation. ORCA-EAGLE’s objectives are to establish and support an annual cohort of students who engage in summer focused geoscience research that continues throughout the senior year of high school while also empowering participants’ use of big data sets collected in the Salish Sea, engaging them in management, coding and data visualization applications. The program will also enhance professional skills by connecting participants to scientists who use big data in the Salish Sea through the expanding Geoscience Learning Ecosystem. Importantly, this project will expand the active participation of traditionally underserved high school students in geoscience fields through applied statistics, confidence building, collaboration and mentoring.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.