T233 Better Together: Partnerships That Facilitate or Enhance Experiential Learning in Undergraduate Geoscience Education

Tuesday, 24 October 2017
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 3A

PRE-REU INTERNSHIPS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS SUPPORTED BY A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE, FACILITY, AND FEDERAL AGENCY

Paper number: T233-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

UNAVCO is an NSF and NASA supported facility supporting geoscience research and education using geodesy. UNAVCO supports a network of scientific researchers through instrumentation, data, and education and outreach. The education mission is met in part by the Geoscience Workforce Development Initiative which includes summer internship programs aimed at engaging students from community college through graduate school. The Geo-Launchpad Program (GLP) is a summer summer research preparation internship (pre-research experience for undergraduate, or pre-REU) for Colorado community college students. The success of the GLP is in part due to the strong collaboration with Front Range Community College (FRCC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Students are exposed to all aspects of research through the support project, and work in pairs under the direction of a staff member. Due to a doubling of the internship size in 2017 and the resulting need to identify additional projects, half of the interns worked on projects with USGS staff and half worked with UNAVCO staff. Interns focused on project work three days per week and had two days of focused professional development (PD) at UNAVCO. During the PD days, interns shared with one another the different work environments and projects, enhancing their overall knowledge of research support and career opportunities in the geosciences.

FRCC provides an academic and advising support structure for students interested in learning more about geoscience academic options and career paths. FRCC staff work closely with UNAVCO GLP staff to share information and resources. This presentation will highlight the challenges and successes encountered while collaboratively supporting community college students in a pre-REU experience, and will suggest strategies to effectively leverage partnerships designed to facilitate undergraduate learning, particularly focused on research preparation internships for community college students.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-307227

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