The University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), in collaboration with regional two-year colleges New Hampshire Community and Technical College and College of the Abemarle, are developing the Watershed Watch project as a model for recruiting, retaining, and graduating STEM majors. Two-year degree students and entry-level undergraduates, recruited from declared STEM majors and students who have not declared majors, are being introduced to STEM disciplines via use of geospatial technologies in an integrated, multidisciplinary study of terrestrial, aquatic, and social components of two watersheds - the Merrimack in New Hampshire/Massachusetts and the Pasquotank in North Carolina/Virginia.
The overall goal of Watershed Watch is to increase STEM recruitment and graduation rates, particularly among under-represented groups, by involving them at an early academic stage in hands-on authentic research focused on scientific problems of societal relevance. The Watershed Watch program consists of three key components: 1) an intensive, field-oriented and technology-rich Summer Research Institute led and mentored by STEM faculty; 2) a weekly academic year seminar designed to assist student research teams in developing and implementing either an authentic watershed-based research project or educational outreach project; and 3) a Faculty Development Workshop focused on mentoring students and on developing appropriate research and education/outreach projects for students.
The intellectual merits of the Watershed Watch project include combining the use of cutting edge science knowledge and methodology with pedagogy, mentoring, and team building to engage students in research projects and hands-on use of geospatial technologies (GST) in integrated multidisciplinary research and studies. The project's broader impacts include faculty development on mentoring students (especially underrepresented students), recruiting untapped populations, and disseminating results of the project at the national level.
