| NSF Org: |
RISE Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 6, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 6, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1600463 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Brandon Jones
mbjones@nsf.gov (703)292-4713 RISE Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 15, 2016 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $409,289.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $409,289.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
W5510 FRANKS MELVILLE MEMORIAL LIBRARY STONY BROOK NY US 11794-0001 (631)632-9949 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NY US 11794-5000 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | IUSE |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This program focuses on enhancing undergraduate research skills, encouraging matriculation in geoscience majors, recruiting and mentoring students at local community colleges and several high schools with large numbers of minority and high-needs students, and promoting the relevance of geoscience careers as viable career paths in academia, government service, and private industry. By developing ways to effectively engage a diversity of students, including under-represented minority (URM) students in geoscience disciplines and careers, this project is helping to address the United States' needs for producing more students well versed in geoscience and thus further enhancing the country's economic competitiveness. This project involves collaborations within the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, the Department of Geosciences and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Smart program housed in the Department of Technology and Society. Off-campus partners include Nassau and Suffolk County Community Colleges and several high schools on Long Island, all of which are within close geographic proximity of the Stony Brook University (SBU) campus.
The main features of this project include: (1) Expanding summer research experiences for community college students interested in the geosciences, with a strong focus towards URM students; (2) Collaborating with community colleges and high schools during the academic year with joint club activities, seminars, and mentoring of students by SBU faculty, senior undergraduates, and graduate students; (3) Collaborating with the local community colleges to develop curricular units that result in a smoother transition for students from 2-year to 4-year institutions, such as SBU; (4) Providing scholarship support to students transitioning from community colleges to SBU geoscience majors, including URMs, by incorporating them into several existing academic and support structures available at the University, including the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP); (5) Providing increased internship and research opportunities for minority high school students and undergraduates in the geosciences at SBU and at other nearby locations (e.g., Brookhaven National Laboratory); and (6) Collecting data for a longitudinal study that gauges the awareness of, and reasons for, students pursuing geoscience majors or leaving the program part way through. The programs being implemented have potential for being adapted to other institutional contexts, thereby expanding access to and excellence in geoscience disciplines.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The GeoPATH-IMPACT project at Stony Brook University (SBU) entitled "Increasing Geosciences Enrollment Through Research Experiences, Mentoring, and Coordination with Community Colleges and High Schools" leveraged regional collaborations with high schools, colleges to promote geoscience opportunities for students. In particular, the goal was to enhance the participation of under-representative minority (URM) students in the grosciences from New York City and Long Island area community colleges (CCs) and high schools (HS). We accomplished this by:
1. Completing a geoscience summer research program for CC students that incorporated inquiry-based modules in atmospheric science (ATM), geology (GEO), and marine science (MAR). We accomplished this by: (1) exposing CC students to tools and techniques used to collect geoscience field data; (2) preparing students with the ability to effectively use the most modern analysis techniques; (3) increasing the students' ability of conducting research and communicate/collaborate with their peers in their discipline and other geoscience disciplines, (4) increasing their confidence in science by addressing scientific questions in the real world. The program included data analysis training, paper readings, and research presentations, in group research projects involving students and faculty in MAR, ATM, and GEO at SBU. There were also group field activities such as taking ocean and atmosphere samples aboard the SBU research vessel as well as weather balloon launches. There were fun activities such as a group kayak trip. An in-person version of the program ran for 5-weeks each year from 2017-2019, and an online 8-week version was completed in 2021.
2. Collaborating with several community colleges (CC) in the region by: (1) providing a few seminars a year to highlight career and research opportunities in the geosciences, (2) interacting with the science clubs, (3) explaining 4-year degree opportunities in geosciences and a pathway to transfer to a 4-year program such as SBU, and 4) promoting our summer GeoPATH research program.
3. Fostering interactions and recruiting with local area HSs to promote geosciences for URM HS students on Long Island. We collaborated with Westbury, Freeport, Central Islip, Brentwood, Longwood, and Msgr. McClancy Memorial High School districts by visiting classrooms and helping teachers with geoscience labs and instruction.
4. Collaborating with the CCs to design curriculum that allows for the transfer of some core courses to the SBU geosciences majors, and a clear track towards the Bachelors degree. In particular, we modified the ATM and MAR tracks at SBU so that CC students can enter at least at the sophomore level with the courses they take at the CC. For example, a student at a Suffolk CC can take the Introduction to Atmospheric Science at SBU as part of the ATM major and have it count at the CC as part of their two-year degree.
5. Providing scholarship support to students transitioning from CC to SBU geoscience majors, including URMs by incorporating them into the support structures of the University's CSTEP, LSAMP and OEDG programs.
6. Collecting data for a longitudinal study that gauged the awareness of, and reasons for, students pursuing geoscience majors or leaving the program part way through. This survey of all students in the program clearly showed the benefits of science mentoring to increase student interest in geosciences, how to conduct research, and work in a collaborative environment. As a result, the number of transfer students from our summer research programs steadily increased during this project from around 30% the first year to about 80% a few years later.
Last Modified: 11/23/2021
Modified by: Brian A Colle
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