GP-IN: Introducing Community College and Pre-College Students to Geoscience through Groundwater Quality Monitoring

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

Geoscience training is interdisciplinary and includes all the core sciences because the value of multiple perspectives is well recognized when designing geoscience curricula. However, geoscience departments have fallen short in attempts to broadly expand student enrollment. The limited enrolment holds back geoscience innovation and threatens the supply of geoscientists available to meet workforce demands in the coming years. Moreover, geoscientists play critical roles in helping solve some of society’s biggest challenges where broad perspectives are needed to develop practical solutions. This project asks the main question: can geoscience student population be increased in agricultural landscapes through participation in a co-curricular program of groundwater quality monitoring? This project will provide training in groundwater and geospatial sciences to 54 undergraduate students from rural communities in Kansas. It will help the students see the value of geoscience to their lives and help ensure that a geoscience workforce will be available to meet the needs of a region that depends heavily on the availability of quality groundwater. To address the overarching question (i.e., can geoscience student population be increased in agricultural landscapes through participation in a co-curricular program of groundwater quality monitoring), this project will create a geoscience recruiting network between a university and two community colleges and use it to introduce students to geoscience through co-curricular research on groundwater, a critical resource for the students’ home communities. Student participants will form three-person teams, consisting of one student from each partnering institution and will participate in a variety of technical and professional development activities. The project's primary goals are to increase interest as well as experiences in geosciences. The program will connect geoscience research to careers, while simultaneously addressing lack of exposure and financial stress for students who are nearing a critical transition to a four-year university. By testing and refining this program, this project will create a roadmap for recruiting students from rural communities across the midcontinent. 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.