| NSF Org: |
RISE Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 27, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 27, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 2023174 |
| 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 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $294,354.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $294,354.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
300 JAY ST BROOKLYN NY US 11201-1909 (718)260-5560 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NY US 11201-2902 |
| 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
There is a preponderance of well-established recent studies that sound the alarm concerning the nation?s STEM workforce in general and its geoscience workforce in particular. These studies highlight: 1) the importance of STEM to the nation?s well-being, security, and global competitiveness; 2) the need for equity, access, increased enrollment, and diversity in STEM disciplines; and 3) the current and projected increase in STEM workforce shortage. The sustained capacity of the current and future STEM workforce to meet the nation?s scientific and technological needs is threatened by a sharp decline in the number of available STEM professionals. At current rates, the geoscience workforce is rapidly depleting, and its future shortfall is approaching a state of crisis. There are simply not enough new geoscience personnel entering the geoscience workforce to replace retiring geoscience employees ? hence there is a gap that is expected to widen over time. This project seeks to help in ameliorating the nation?s geoscience plight by creating a year-round geoscience workforce preparation, geoscience service learning, and geoscience career mentoring program for non-geoscience minority STEM students beginning at the critical juncture of their senior year. The overall goal of the program is to construct an innovative, viable, and sustainable pathway to the dwindling geoscience workforce by tapping into a non-traditional and diverse pool of students. The program has added values in that it not only replenishes the geoscience workforce, but it also supports geoscience education, promotes diversity and inclusion, and benefits society as a whole by producing geoscience literate citizens.
The program is designed to achieve the following two primary goals: 1) to broaden the geoscience workforce pathway for non-geoscience minority STEM majors; and 2) to create a multi-sector geoscience workforce development infrastructure. The objectives of the first goal are delineated in the following EPA?E theme of the geoscience transitional workforce program: EXPOSURE: Expose undergraduate seniors to the geosciences, PREPARATION: Provide undergraduate seniors with critical geoscience workforce skills and professional networks, APPRENTICESHIP: Engage undergraduate seniors in meaningful real-world, service and experiential learning via geoscience applications, and EXPERIENCE: Culminate into/with a geoscience internship-workforce experience. The objectives of the second goal are associated with the Apprenticeship component above: a) Create a student-faculty-industry paradigm of mentoring for the geoscience workforce; b) Create a professional workforce development structure among participating organizations, and c) Design peer-to-peer mentoring support structures. Twelve students will be recruited each year to participate in the structured geoscience workforce model program mentioned above ? Exposure, Preparation, Apprenticeship, and Experience. The students will not only be supported with cohort-building activities, but they will also participate in two geoscience internship programs that will equip them with geoscience knowledge and workforce skills, service learning experiences, summer internships at a federal, local, or private geoscience facility, mentoring by geoscience practitioners, and networking opportunities with geoscience companies and geoscience professional societies. The expectation through this initiative will be that many underrepresented minority (URM) students who would otherwise not pursue a geoscience career may now choose to follow a geoscience corridor that could not only lead to lucrative geoscience careers, but could also help to improve the nation?s grave geoscience workforce dilemma.
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.
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.
NSF IUSE Award No. ICER 2023174
GEOPAths-UP: Recruiting and Retaining Non-geoscience Minority STEM Majors for Geoscience Service Learning and for the Geoscience Workforce
This unique program successfully aided the amelioration of the geoscience workforce plight by creating and sustaining a year-round geoscience workforce preparation and geoscience career mentoring program for non-geoscience minority STEM students beginning at the critical juncture of their junior year. Cohorts of rising STEM juniors provided a ready, steady, and available pool of potential geoscience workforce talent and personnel. The program guided the students within the framework of a comprehensive geoscience workforce model that equipped them for - and exposed them to - transformative geoscience career opportunities, explorations, and engagements. The students’ prior STEM knowledge was integrated and enhanced with the skills and competencies (critical thinking and problem-solving skills, spatial and temporal abilities, strong quantitative skills, and the ability to work in teams) that are essential for the geoscience workforce.
The number of participants for the program’s three-year span from 2020-2023 totaled 28 undergraduates: 2020-2021 [7 participants], 2021-2022 [11 participants], 2022-2023 [10 participants]. The overall demographical breakdown was 43% (12) African-Americans, 14% (4) Hispanics, 29% (8) Asian- Americans, and 14% (4) Caucasians. Gender-wise, 57% (16) of the participants were males and 43% (12) were females. Each year the program recruited students to participate in its structured geoscience workforce model that consists of geoscience – Exposure, Preparation, Apprenticeship, and Experience (EPA-E). The students not only were supported with cohort-building activities, but they also participated in: a) two geoscience internship programs that equipped them with geoscience knowledge and workforce skills; b) summer internships at a federal, local, or private geoscience facility; c) mentoring activities by geoscience practitioners, and d) networking opportunities with geoscience companies and geoscience professional societies. Through these engagements and experiences many underrepresented minority (URM) students who would otherwise not pursue a geoscience career have now chosen to follow a geoscience corridor that could not only lead to lucrative geoscience careers, but could also help to diversify the geosciences while simultaneously improve the nation’s grave geoscience workforce dilemma.
In accordance with the intellectual merit and broader impacts objectives of the program, the following are some of its primary outcomes:
§ Three interns are in the geoscience workforce as full-time employees, and a fourth student is currently in the process of applying for a full-time job with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP).
§ One project collaborator, the NYC DEP has created paid part-time internships during the academic year for interns.
§ Six interns graduated with their STEM degrees, and they were accepted into graduate school. Three other interns are currently applying to graduate school.
§ The EPA-E program evaluation for all three cohorts (2020-2023) of students resulted in:
A pairs samples t-test showing that there were statistically significant gains in:
Ø The students’ knowledge of the geosciences before (M=2.1) and after (M=4.3) the EPA-E program (p<.001).
Ø The students’ interest in pursuing a career in the geosciences before (M=1.7) and after (M=4.4) the EPA-E program (p<.001).
Ø The students’ preparation in pursuing a career in the geosciences before (M=1.4) and after (M=4.1) the EPA-E program (p<.001).
Ø The students’ likelihood to apply for a job in the geosciences before (M=2.2) and after (M=4.6) the EPAE program (p<.001).
- For all three cohorts, students responded with a mean of 4.7 out of 5 in their likelihood to apply to graduate school.
§ Program dissemination by the PI, the Co-PI, and the student participants included fifty-five (55) presentations at international, national, and local conferences;
§ Four peer reviewed journal articles were published;
§ Eight conference proceedings were published.
This NSF IUSE GEOPATH program continues to create innovative methodologies and strategies to provide both access and success for non-geoscience STEM undergraduates to enter and thrive in the geoscience workforce or to be guided towards geoscience graduate studies. The program plays a vital role in helping to mitigate the nation’s STEM crisis and in narrowing the supply vs. demand STEM workforce gap.
Participant Testimonials Include:
“I have had a positive experience at NYC DEP. My colleagues have been very supportive and helpful
since I started working here. They have provided me with guidance to help me understand my role and
responsibilities. This opportunity has been invaluable in terms of gaining practical experience that will
prepare me for the professional world. I am grateful for the chance to learn what it takes to succeed in a
professional setting.” – IUSE Intern, 2023
“The workshops were amazing. I want to thank everyone for giving me valuable skills and knowledge in these workshops. These were real life valuable skills that will be applied later and I am very excited to join because there is a lot to learn and geoscience is very interesting.” – IUSE Intern, 2023
Last Modified: 02/25/2024
Modified by: Reginald A Blake
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