Collaborative Research: REU Site: Sustainable Land and Water Resources - A Community Based Research Experience for Undergraduates

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

The Sustainable Land and Water Resources Research Experience for Undergraduates (SLAWR REU) introduces undergraduate students to Earth systems science. The SLAWR process places participants at the core of the program design. Students do research at three sites and these sites form one larger research community where students learn the entire research process. REU participants receive professional development in research protocols and learn scientific communication, research ethics, team science, and goal setting. Participants write weekly research summaries and blog posts and create a Story Map that blends a research paper with personal reflections. Finally, REU participants create posters that are then delivered through conference presentations. Sustainable Land and Water Resources Research Experience for Undergraduates (SLAWR REU) advances the National Academies of Sciences’ (2022) vision for interdisciplinary Earth systems science that explores interactions between physical, natural, and social processes – which is fundamentally integrative, holistic, and relational – with knowledge to advance scientific understanding and support management decisions. The SLAWR REU has deployed a new framework for undergraduate research to increase the participation of all students in the multiple disciplines that advance Earth systems sciences. The goal of SLAWR is to increase the participation of all students, facilitate novel discoveries through the integration of multiple knowledges, advance culture within academia via a transformative learning process that centers communities where research is being conducted and places the participants themselves at the core of the program design. This REU is designed to be transformative to the student participants and overhaul institutional capacity for excellence by increasing interaction between local communities, colleges, and research-intensive institutions. The program centers on a process-focused research paradigm that incorporates 1) rigorous mixed methods and predictive systems approaches to Earth sciences; 2) community-based participatory research processes, 3) multiple research approaches, and 4) research ethics. In addition to the research paradigm and skill building, the program also prioritizes student skill development in communication, community, and personal growth through holistic mentoring that is student-tailored, culturally-based, and family and community focused. REU projects will address research questions intended to support local management goals. Results will be shared with authorities and community members as well as the broader scientific community via peer-reviewed papers with undergraduate authors and conference presentations/posters supporting land and water resource management and advancing our fundamental understanding of the Earth systems studied. 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.