| 项目编号: | 1600233
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| 项目名称: | GP-IMPACT: Career paths for urban geoscientists: recruitment, retention, and apprenticeship |
| 作者: | Laura Toran
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| 承担单位: | Temple University
|
| 批准年: | 2016
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| 开始日期: | 2016-09-01
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| 结束日期: | 2019-08-31
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| 资助金额: | 358773
|
| 资助来源: | US-NSF
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| 项目类别: | Standard Grant
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| 国家: | US
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| 语种: | 英语
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| 特色学科分类: | Geosciences - Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research
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| 英文关键词: | urban geoscientist
; student
; retention
; career
; project
; career paths
; major
; career information
; student apprenticeship
; graduate student
; career opportunity
; environmental impact
; student recruitment
; successful geoscience career
; science
; urban geoscience
|
| 英文摘要: | The growing demand for geoscientists must be met by increasing recruitment and retention. Given the steady U.S. population migration to urban centers, recruits will increasingly need to come from students who were raised in cities. The issues involved with recruiting urban geoscientists closely parallel those for recruiting from underrepresented groups. Many students and their families are unaware of the growing opportunities in the geosciences for careers that use advanced technology to solve some of the most challenging problems facing society. Urban geoscientists work on a wide range of local problems including waste management, flood control, beach nourishment, transportation infrastructure, land subsidence, and the environmental impact of "fracking." To increase the size and diversity of the geoscience workforce and keep pace with demand in the 21st century, this project is testing new strategies, assessing what works, and sharing the model of an urban geoscience learning community with other universities. New strategies include: developing materials highlighting career opportunities in urban geoscience, peer coaching in mathematics to assist students transitioning into science from other disciplines, and student apprenticeships to boost employment opportunities.
The Career Paths for Urban Geoscientists initiative includes three main components. First, student recruitment is focused on developing career information for students and their parents to overcome misconceptions about opportunities. This information is being provided to prospective students during visits to the university, in general education and introductory-level courses in the department, and to the Alliance for Minority Participation on campus. In addition to career information, service learning modules are being included in general education classes to inform students about applications for their new geology skills. Second, the Urban Geoscientists initiative is focusing on retention of new majors through a math-mentoring program. Math requirements are often a serious obstacle for students switching from non-science majors, and a reason many drop out of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. The Math Partners program is pairing junior and senior geology and environmental science majors who have completed at least one semester of calculus as mentors for newly recruited majors. New students are benefiting from one-on-one coaching by majors who have experienced their struggles and who can help them grasp the increasingly important connections between quantitative skills and careers in the geosciences. The mentors reinforce their own understanding of mathematics through teaching. Working together also promotes camaraderie within the major. The third component of the project is focused on enhancing Career Paths for Urban Geoscientists through apprenticeship that prepare them for the workforce. This includes a new certificate program that teaches job skills, internship opportunities with local companies, and undergraduate research experiences working with graduate students and faculty. The creation of learning communities of urban geoscientists involving alumni, faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students in both science and education strengthens the initiative and is an explicit goal of this project. Assessment tools are being employed to determine the efficacy and timing of intervention. Outcomes such as an increase in majors, fewer repeated math courses, and retention in STEM are being assessed by demographic groupings. Using Temple University as a model of urban geosciences, the findings of this project are expected to be important for nation-wide recruiting through application at other universities striving to recruit and retain students from diverse backgrounds and prepare them for successful geoscience careers. |
| 资源类型: | 项目
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| 标识符: | http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/91263
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| Appears in Collections: | 全球变化的国际研究计划
科学计划与规划
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| Recommended Citation: | |
Laura Toran. GP-IMPACT: Career paths for urban geoscientists: recruitment, retention, and apprenticeship. 2016-01-01.
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