GP-UP: Building a GeoFORCE Learning Community to Attract, Prepare, and Retain Rural, Alaska Native, and First-Generation STEM Majors

GP-UP：建立 GeoFORCE 学习社区，以吸引、准备和留住农村、阿拉斯加原住民和第一代 STEM 专业学生

• 批准号: 2023300
• 负责人: Sarah Fowell
• 金额: $ 30.94万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-15 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2023300&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GP; UP; Building; GeoFORCE; Learning

GeoFORCE Alaska is a four-year, field-based, summer geoscience program with a record of attracting underrepresented students to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The program is supported by industry sponsors and Alaska Native Corporations with interests or shareholders in northern and interior Alaska. As we prepare to welcome an unprecedented number of GeoFORCE Alaska graduates to UAF, we seek to increase both preparation and retention by incorporating digital mapping and Language Arts into the summer program and building an undergraduate learning community at UAF. This GeoFORCE Alumni Learning Community will provide opportunities for supplemental instruction, social networking, and financial support in order to increase college retention and graduation rates and realize the goal of workforce diversification in Alaska.The goals of GeoFORCE Alaska are: 1) Promote high school graduation; 2) Increase the number of rural students attending college and pursuing STEM degrees; and 3) Diversify Alaska’s technical workforce. Results of the first two cohorts indicate that GeoFORCE Alaska is highly effective as a means of raising high school graduation rates in remote Alaskan villages and increasing the participation of rural, Alaska Native, female, and first-generation college students in STEM majors. However, GeoFORCE has yet to accomplish goal 3. Alumni tracking reveals significant barriers to degree completion, including: 1) lack of preparation, leading to placement in developmental Math and Writing courses; 2) difficulty adapting to campus life; and 3) financial struggles. To forge a strong learning community among GeoFORCE alumni, we will employ common course construction, near-peer mentoring, scholarships, and social activities. Freshman and Sophomores will enroll in blocks of Math, Writing, and introductory Geoscience courses. As upperclassmen, these students will be eligible to serve as GeoFORCE counselors and mentor the next wave of rural Geoscience majors. Trained counselors and a high school English teacher will assist students with technological and narrative elements of project construction. Rural Alaskan students with STEM degrees bring valuable perspectives to decisions regarding land management and resource extraction. Enhancing student preparation and building an integrated academic, social, and financial support system for GeoFORCE alumni has the potential to increase college success among Alaska Native, female, and first-generation students from rural communities.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.

阿拉斯加Geoforce是一项为期四年，基于现场的夏季地球科学计划，其记录是吸引代表性不足的学生进入阿拉斯加Fairbanks大学（UAF）。该计划得到了行业赞助商和阿拉斯加土著公司的支持，该公司在阿拉斯加北部和室内拥有利益或股东。当我们准备欢迎前所未有的阿拉斯加地理毕业生来到UAF时，我们试图通过将数字地图和语言艺术纳入夏季计划并在UAF建立本科学习社区，以增加准备和保留。这个地理校友学习社区将为补充指导，社交网络和财政支持提供机会，以提高大学保留和毕业率，并实现阿拉斯加的劳动力多样化的目标。 2）增加上大学和追求STEM学位的粗略学生的数量； 3）多样化阿拉斯加的技术劳动力。前两个队列的结果表明，阿拉斯加地理夫妇非常有效，作为提高阿拉斯加偏远村庄的高中毕业率的一种手段，并增加了农村，阿拉斯加本地人，女性和第一代大学生的参与。但是，Geoforce尚未实现目标3。校友跟踪揭示了学位完成的重大障碍，包括：1）缺乏准备，导致发展数学和写作课程的安置； 2）很难适应校园生活； 3）财务斗争。为了在Geoforce校友中建立一个强大的学习社区，我们将采用共同的课程建设，近乎点的心态，科学和社交活动。新生和大二学生将参加数学，写作和介绍地球科学课程的块。作为高年级学生，这些学生将有资格担任地理伙伴，并指导下一波艰难的地球科学专业。训练有素的研究员和一位高中英语老师将帮助学生获得项目建设的技术和叙事元素。具有STEM学位的阿拉斯加农村学生为土地管理和资源提取的决定带来了宝贵的观点。加强学生的准备和建立综合的学术，社会和财政支持系统，为地理福音校友提供了潜力，有可能在农村社区的阿拉斯加本地，女性和第一代学生中获得大学成功。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务，并被视为珍贵的支持。