Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Pathways into Geoscience (IUSE: GEOPATHS)

Overview

<p><span>The primary goal of the IUSE: GEOPATHS funding opportunity is to increase the number of undergraduate students interested in pursuing undergraduate degrees and/or post-graduate degrees in geoscience through the design and testing of novel approaches for engaging students in authentic, career-relevant experiences in geoscience. In order to broaden participation in the geosciences, engaging undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups or from non-geoscience degree programs is a priority. The IUSE: GEOPATHS solicitation features two funding Tracks: (1) Engaging students in the geosciences through extra-curricular experiences and training activities (GEOPATHS-EXTRA), and (2) Improving pathways into the geosciences through institutional collaborations and transfer (GEOPATHS-IMPACT). </span></p> <p><span>GEOPATHS-EXTRA projects are focused on providing individual undergraduate students with sustained or catalytic experiences that develop their expertise in geoscience, enhance their professional skills, increase their access to professional networks, and demonstrably deepen their interest in, and knowledge of, geoscience career pathways. </span></p> <p><span>GEOPATHS-EXTRA projects are expected to focus on the needs of individual students, primarily by offering cohort-based, extra- or co-curricular experiences that complement the submitting institution’s existing Bachelor’s degree curriculum. Each cohort should involve a minimum of 6 students per institution. Collaborations with other academic and non-academic institutions that create opportunities to expose participating students to a variety of working environments are strongly encouraged, as are collaborations that engage diverse undergraduate students from local community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). </span></p> <p><span>Specific activities that might be supported through the GEOPATHS-EXTRA track include, but are not limited to, the following: </span></p> <p><span>Engaging pre-service science teachers in activities that foster their interest in becoming secondary Earth science teachers<br></span>Providing students with service-learning or community-based opportunities related to the geosciences <br>Establishing and conducting novel support programs aimed at retaining diverse students in geosciences <br>Providing experiences that help pre-college students transition more successfully into undergraduate geoscience programs</p> <p>GEOPATHS-IMPACT projects are expected to establish new, or strengthen existing, institutional partnerships and collaborations that provide sustainable pathways and support mechanisms for facilitating transitions of undergraduate students at critical junctions: between high school and undergraduate geoscience programs; between two-year undergraduate institutions and four-year institution geoscience degree programs; between baccalaureate degrees in geoscience and the geoscience workforce; or, between baccalaureate degrees (in any field) and post-baccalaureate geoscience programs.</p> <p>Specific activities that might be supported through the GEOPATHS-IMPACT track include, but are not limited to, the following: <br>Leveraging large research infrastructure (e.g., ships, Critical Zone Observatories) to expose non-geoscience and pre-service teacher majors to geoscience content and opportunities <br>Formalizing collaborations between geoscience departments and education schools that strengthen the preparation of pre-service geoscience teachers <br>Conducting novel outreach programs aimed at recruiting more diverse students into undergraduate and graduate geoscience pathways <br>Creating summer bridge programs that expose incoming undergraduate freshmen to the geosciences</p>