A lack of qualified teachers and low enrollment in the geosciences exist at both secondary and tertiary levels in the United States. Consequently, it is unlikely that students will be able to achieve scientific literacy without an…
We describe our efforts at building programs in Earth and space science over the past decade at four Minority Institutions, Medgar Evers College, Norfolk State University, South Carolina State University and the University of…
Startling national statistics continue to illuminate the need for increasing the number of underrepresented minority students graduating with degrees in the geosciences. With increasing minority populations in the U.S., diversity…
Summer camps have proven to be effective tools to engage students in the geosciences. Findings from this study highlight perceptions and experiences of middle school students from predominantly African American school districts in…
An effective partnership with Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) has been established with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Building on a commitment to increase…
Geoscience research is a fundamental portal through which geoscience knowledge may be acquired and disseminated. A viable model to introduce, stimulate, and prolong geoscience education has been designed and implemented at the New…
The Geosciences Institute for Research and Education at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has been an example of a successful and effective model in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. The…
Out of all the physical sciences, earth sciences has the lowest participation of underrepresented minorities. Past research on factors contributing to the lack of diversity in geosciences, has focused on inadequate teacher preparation, lack of relevance or undefined career path, isolation and…
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) attract, retain and award science degrees to African Americans at a higher rate than majority institutions. Because they offer life-changing and career-orienting experiences for…
Geoscience department websites are a public representation of the department and discipline. This exploratory study investigated the characteristics and culture communicated about geoscience departments through their website…
Geoscience faces dual recruiting challenges: a pending workforce shortage and a lack of diversity. Already suffering from low visibility, geoscience does not resemble the makeup of the general population in terms of either race/…
Data available from the National Science Foundation Division of Science Resources Statistics demonstrate that since 1966 fewer bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees have been awarded in the geosciences than in any other STEM…
Summer programs are a common strategy for increasing interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers among K-12 students. Here we report four years of results from a two-week program designed to expose…
Researchers participated in a week long field experience for high school students to increase the pipeline of diverse students into the geosciences major. Surveys were conducted with students and their parents to understand what the participants had learned about geosciences. About 56% of…
A model deployed at Savannah State University (SSU) for enhancing diversity in the geosciences provides much needed African-American role models in the sciences for school aged children in the surrounding community. The most common…
The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and Huston-Tillotson University collaborated on a proof of concept project to offer a geoscience course to undergraduate students and preservice teachers in order to expand the scope…
The Geosciences Awareness Program (Project GAP), a collaboration between the Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College, was designed to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in geosciences at both…
There is a lack of diversity in the geosciences and on contributing factor might be the lack of representation of diversity faculty. In addition to that the geosciences discipline tends to attract students that have had more exposure to the outdoors, which can be unfamiliar terrain for students…
AGI estimates that 275,000 physical geology text books are sold in the United States per year. We selected 15 texts from nine different publishers. Data was collected from photos with scientists. Gender data was divided into male,…
The geosciences have the lowest ethnic and racial diversity in all of the STEM fields and this might be related to students' sense of belonging. Underrepresented students in the geosciences are often faced with imposter syndrome and or stereotype threat, which influences how they perceive…
Using a conceptual framework constructed around self-efficacy, this study explores specific recruitment programs that may contribute to the development of self-efficacy for students of color in the geosciences. This mixed methods…
The Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI) is an intensive, six-week residential high school-to-college bridging program aimed at preparing talented rural Alaska youth for the social and academic challenges of college. Since its…
Despite gains over the last decade, the geoscience student population in the United States today continues to lag other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines in terms of diversity. Minority-serving…
Meeting the future demand for a qualified geoscience workforce will require efforts to increase recruitment, retention, and graduation of an increasingly diverse student body. Doing this successfully requires renewed attention to…
Mentoring relationships are crucial in the development of student scientists. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of mentors in supporting career satisfaction among students in Earth System Sciences (ESS). Attendees…
NOVA interviewed a geoscientist to inquiry about the diversity gap within the geosciences. The geoscientist outlines reasons such as limited opportunities to take geoscience courses in high school as well as limited exposure to earth sciences knowledge through field trips, museum visits or…
There has been little change in the last forty years in the number of ethnic and racial minorities that receive doctorates in the earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences. This article presents statistical data of the lack of representation as well as recommendations to increase participation of…
This is a case study of an NSF funded program to increase participation in STEM and geosciences for American Indian students. Culturally relevant practices were utilized such as the Circle of learning, a conceptual framework that emphasizes trust and relationship building between researchers,…
Recognizing the need to attract more students, especially those from underrepresented groups, a team of college faculty and experienced New York City Department of Education (DOE) Earth Science Teachers redesigned the two…
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…
This article studies the effect of an Earth systems Science for All program intervention. This intervention was aimed at cultivating a sense of success and developing cognitive skills among students in classes with a dominant…
The University of New Orleans (UNO), Department of Earth and Environmental Science has been successfully recruiting minority geoscience students since 1974. The basis for that program is a field trip for high school students…
Ethnic and racial minorities constitute an important part of the geosciences community because of their diverse perspectives and backgrounds. However, the geosciences have the poorest diversity record of all the science and…
This study examines discrepancies between geoscience career knowledge and biology career knowledge among Mississippi science teachers. Principals and in-service teachers were also surveyed about their perception of geoscience…
Geosciences is one of the least diverse fields within STEM, therefore it is essential for geoscience educators to adopt a focus on earth resilience. Earth resilience promotes the empowerment of underrepresented communities by connecting URM students to culturally relevant curricula and…
We describe the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program as a successful model for effective partnerships with minority-serving institutions toward significantly broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in the…
We present a quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of a newly developed introductory course, Geology of Mexico, in attracting Hispanic students, encouraging them to take more geology courses, and recruiting them to the major…
In order to assess the effectiveness of projects intended to increase the participation of members of traditionally underrepresented groups in geoscience careers, short-term indicators of "success" must be identified and developed…
The MS PHD'S Program facilitates the involvement of minority undergraduate and graduate Earth system science students in a series of activities designed to: (1) increase exposure to and engagement in the Earth system science…
This study augments existing literature in understanding student perceptions about the geosciences; we examined the choice of major and science courses taken by 645 students at a large southeastern research university. Differences…
In this commentary, we argue that social capital theory, the idea that membership in a group creates opportunities to acquire valuable information and resources from other group members, is a useful framework in which to consider…
The NASA and NSF-funded Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science® Professional Development Program (MS PHD'S PDP) initiative provides professional development and mentoring experiences that…