NSF Award
2325570
Geoscience programs across the nation have seen a decline in enrollment, which will impact the geoscience workforce. A strong geoscience workforce is needed to build a resilient planet and help address issues important to the well-being of the nation, including air pollution, environmental change, extreme weather, and the compounding impacts that these events will produce. The geoscience fields remains some of the least diverse among the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The project Air Across Texas (AAT) will support high school students from underrepresented backgrounds in science to encourage them to pursue undergraduate degrees in STEM focusing on atmospheric science. The project will provide knowledge and research experiences for the students but will also support their parents/guardians enabling them to learn STEM concepts and educational avenues, enhancing the support of the next generation of scientists. At the end of the project a traveling lab kit will be developed and distributed to a network of high school teachers across the region with a preference for rural school districts that have limited access to resources.<br/><br/>Air Across Texas will introduce high school students from across Texas (mainly from rural areas) to atmospheric science topics, with a focus on air quality. The goals of the project are to 1) Improve students’ knowledge and skills in research and atmospheric science topics (with a focus on air quality) 2. Increase STEM interest and STEM self-efficacy of high school students. 3. Increase parental awareness of STEM concepts, careers, and collegiate opportunities. 4. Introduce students to college experiences and STEM careers, increasing collegiate belongingness. The project goals will support the student’s engagement and interest in scientific fields, emphasizing the quality and development of the research process. It will use hands-on and project-based learning to foster students’ understanding on how to use a research-based approach when encountering challenging scientific concepts or subjects. AAT will operate in three phases including virtual and in-person settings, emphasizing parallel active learning and teamwork. In phase-1, in an online setting, students will be introduced to different scientific topics to increase their knowledge and prepare them for phase-2. During phase-2, student activities will focus on research learning activities. Each student will perform a research-based project using a low-cost air quality sensor that will be placed in their homes. In phase-3, students will take part in a 1-week Summer Research Symposium (SRS) at Texas Tech University (TTU), participating in cohort building and scientific activities to prepare them for college experiences. Parents or guardians will also participate at the beginning of SRS and learn about potential STEM careers, collegiate opportunities, and ways to support their children pursuing STEM. At the end of SRS, the students will present their research in a conference setting and will have university applications ready for submission. Students who complete the program will be invited to present their research at the Transformative Undergraduate Experiences Symposium held every year in the fall semester at TTU.<br/><br/>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.
