This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Through the Enhancing Diversity in Geoscience Education through Coastal Research Program (EDGE) Savannah State University (SSU) and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will address two issues which currently limit engagement of students in the geosciences in a diverse coastal Georgia community. The issues to be addressed are a lack of exposure of public school and HBCU (SSU) students to the geosciences and a perceived lack of relevance of geosciences to their lives. Formal academic exposure to the geosciences is limited in Savannah due to lack of required earth science coursework beyond 6th grade in Georgia and a paucity of geoscience course options for SSU students in majors beyond the marine and environmental sciences.
These problems will be addressed through 1) delivery of hands-on lessons relevant to Georgia Performance Standards through undergraduate service learning course requirements, 2) inclusion of high school students in SSU coastal monitoring teams and training sessions, 3) initiation of an Environmental and Ocean Habitat Orientation for SSU students of all majors, and 4) development of a Coastal Issues course for non-science majors at SSU. Student understanding of the relevance of geoscience to their lives and potential careers will be broadened through 1) development of and student participation in Coastal Research Teams which will monitor coastal environmental parameters with the potential to be influenced by regional climate and economic factors, and 2) expansion of undergraduate understanding of and preparedness for geoscience career options through internships offered in cooperation with diverse local partners (including research, regulatory, commercial, formal and informal educational institutions). Included among the participants in these activities will be Peach State LSAMP (PSLSAMP) students. Coastal Georgia's ecosystem health is relatively high but faces increased burdens associated with industrial use and population growth. The monitoring completed by Coastal Research Teams will therefore provide a critical regional research resource, in addition to meeting the primary goals of community engagement and increasing the diversity of geoscientists. The EDGE program, by leveraging and broadly engaging the expertise and resources of a coastal community, will create a model transcending the traditional boundaries of the education, research, management, and commercial community. This will therefore serve as a transformative approach not only for increasing diversity in the geosciences, but also for developing new synergistic collaborations to help coastal communities adapt to climatic and economic changes and sustain themselves.
