GP-IN: CUSP: Connecting Underserved Students to Polar STEM

University Of Maine, Orono ME

Investigators

Abstract

Recent changes in the Polar regions such as atmospheric warming, permafrost thaw, sea ice decline, and glacier retreat, are having global impacts. Understanding these Polar changes and predicting their future global impacts require a wide range of future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Unfortunately, less than 25% of high school students in the United States receive Earth systems science training and Polar studies represents a very small component of what is taught. Additionally, the majority of Earth systems societal challenges disproportionately impact low income and underrepresented populations, yet there is a significant deficiency in the number of underrepresented students receiving training within these fields. In fact, most Earth systems science programs lack gender, ethnic, and economic diversity. Effective environmental solutions require communication between scientists, policy-makers, and the public, and must also support all communities, in particular, those most at risk. The project aims to help remedy gaps in Polar STEM education by developing new opportunities for underrepresented high school students to engage in real Polar STEM education in the classroom and via field experiences. Additionally, the project aims to train teachers in high schools to integrate Polar STEM experiences in their classrooms to increase Polar STEM literacy within the United States. The researchers specifically propose to help fill the gaps in Polar Earth systems science education within the United States by developing a collaborative consortium of education programs including the University of Maine, Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP), and several Department of Education funded Upward Bound Programs across the United States to offer 1) new project-based field opportunities in Polar STEM for high school students from low income or first generation college families, 2) teacher training in Polar Earth systems sciences 3) help to teachers developing high school lessons using authentic Polar STEM data, and 4) research focused on determining if our field and classroom education program improves teaching and high-school student learning about Polar environments. This project will specifically support justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, of underrepresented students within the Polar geosciences and help develop a more diverse and representative next generation of science leaders in more communities across the United States. 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.