Promoting the Geosciences Among Grades 8–12 Minority Students in the Urban Coastal Environment of New York City

ABSTRACT

All across the nation, Earth science knowledge among both students and their teachers in middle and high schools has been substandard, and particularly so for underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. In New York City, a geoscience program was, therefore, developed to assist in ameliorating this problem. For middle and high school students and teachers, the program (1) provided pedagogical, research, and inquiry-oriented geoscience experiences; (2) offered pedagogical and research standards-based professional development in Earth science for teachers; (3) promoted geoscience inquiry and engagement via a three-dimensional, online virtual environment in which geoscience concepts were demonstrated, taught, and explored; (4) afforded students and teachers exposure to the geosciences through geoscience events and seminars; and (5) sponsored community-based geoscience outreach activities. Results from the program have shown noteworthy increases in students' understanding, participation, appreciation, and awareness of the geosciences. Altogether, the initiatives above combined geoscience learning opportunities, exposure, and research experiences with eager cohorts of geoscience learners to produce holistic, engaging stimuli for the scientific and academic growth and development of grades 8–12 student and teacher participants.

Key words::

• academic support
• diversity
• geoscience research experiences for high school teachers and students
• program design
• underrepresented minorities
• virtual worlds

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation's Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (NSF OEDG) Grant No. 1108281. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. We would like to thank Reza Khanbilvardi, Shakila Merchant, and Charles Vörösmarty, NOAA CREST; Noel Blackburn, Brookhaven National Laboratory; James Hansen and Frank Scalzo, NASA GISS and NYCRI; Allen Ludman and Peter Schmidt, GLOBE; Co-Principal Investigators Joseph Barba, Fred Moshary, and Viviana Vladutescu; Senior Personnel, A.E. Dreyfuss; and Laura Yuen-Lau. We are grateful to the participation and assistance of the principals, teachers, and students at MS 394 and City Poly, UAI, and Westinghouse High Schools.