Breaking Barriers: Avant-Garde Approaches to Flexible REU Design, Student Recruitment, and REU Implementation to Maximize REU Student DiversityAmy Myrbo, Diana Dalbotten - University of MinnesotaJ. Elmo Rawling - University of Wisconsin - Platteville

What other barriers to participation have you or your

students encountered?

Abstract:Examples of barriers to diverse REU applicant pools and student participation include complex cultural and socioeconomic considerations, reluctance or inability to leave home for extended periods, parental obligations, and a lack of role models in the earth sciences. We present instances we've encountered and discuss potential solutions to remove many of these barriers, which are often compounded and overlapping.

This poster summarizes our experiences with three site REUs programs including “Sustainable Land and Water Resources,” “Field Research on Bahamian Lakes: Exploring Records of Anthropo-genic and Climatic Change” (Lisa Park Boush, PI) and “Dune Undergraduate Geomorphology and Geochronology,” as well as other REU and Keck programs.

For much more detail, please see Dalbotten et al., 2014, “New Voices: The Role of Undergradu-ate Geoscience Research in Supporting Alternative Perspectives on the Anthropocene.” In Dal-botten, D., P. Hamilton, and G. Roehrig, eds., Future Earth: Advancing Civic Understanding of the Anthropocene. AGU/Wiley.

Our set of suggestions is "avant-garde" because it might be difficult to accept and appreciate these approaches at first, but some of them may eventually become mainstream – and they may help drive the mainstream. “Avant-garde” also implies that they might not always work. Not all of our suggestions have been successfully implemented, but all are based on our experiences and feedback from students, mentors, and evaluators.

When we say “diverse,” we mean having a variety of backgrounds in terms of culture, region, urban/rural upbringing, age, circumstance, educational and and career focus, etc. Diversity goes beyond women and members of racial and ethnic minorities, to include students who are dis-abled, military or veterans, of nontraditional college age, LGBTQIA identifying, or first in their families to attend college. This scope of diversity has broad implications for the organization of the program, including logistics, mentoring, ethics discussions, and many other aspects of the REU.

Before you begin, consider: What is the purpose of your REU? Is it, at one extreme, purely to give students experience, provide them a boost? Or is it, at the other extreme, purely to ad-vance the faculty member’s research and serve as a grad student recruiting tool?

Family and cultural obligations Problem: Students are unable or reluctant to spend 8-10 weeks away from homeReasons:Students have children, or responsibility for caring for parents or other family members.Family and community (being close to home) are simply important to the student.Students need to go home for ceremonies.Solutions: Bring the internship to the students. Shorten the internship or make the schedule more flexible.Enable the student work on it partly at his or her home institution.Create partnerships with faculty at home institutions. Include on your application a place for the student to say that he or she needs to be home (or wherever) on certain dates during the internship.Build in more travel funds.Consider seeking funding for daycare.Access to software and computing at home institution or on personal computer. Open source a solution – but beware that these programs often promise more than they can deliver or require previous experience.

Cultural backgroundProblem:Resistance or skepticism in the family or communityReasons:Community history of maltreatment (abuse or abandonment) by establishment, including UniversityUnfamiliarity with careers in geoscience Belief that you have to give up who you are to be a (geo)scientistGeoscience's dichotomy between environmental protection and resource exploitationLack of exposure to outdoor activities that may be a major part of geoscience field workSolutions:Develop place-based and community-driven research topics.Talk to families and provide information, geared to families of different backgrounds, about the REU and geoscience in general.Invite family and community members to students’ talks and final REU gatherings.Build trust, ensure continuity, share meals (cook with your students, invite your family).Honor and incorporate traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and spirituality – e.g., the concept of “walking in two worlds” as a contemporary Native geoscientistProvide information about geoscience careers: there are many possibilities, some well paid, and not all involving resource exploitation Recruit from areas with petroleum industry like TexasDemystify the culture of science by emphasizing scientific ethics

LogisticsProblems:The application itself Physical access for students with disabilitiesMoney. $5000 for a 10-week REU, if food, lodging, and travel are covered, is $12.50/hour, which does not compete with some summer jobs or allow poor students to afford necessary items including: Childcare Travel Outdoor gear (clothes, backpack, camping equipment) Computer and softwareSolutions:Break the personal essay down into separate questions. Move race, GPA, and similar questions to the end of the application.Talk to The IAGD!Build in additional funds.

Models and mentorshipProblems:Lack of role modelsLack of people who push the student to applyNot enough time or money in the typical REU to fund sufficient, continuous mentorshipBurn-out of mentorsPerceived (by the home department) lack of productivity on the part of mentorsSolutions:Visit campuses that serve underrepresented groups to recruit students directly and to build relationships with local faculty who will identify and recruit potential REU participants.Change the model of the REU budget to include salary for mentorsBuild in time to publish. A year-on, year-off REU model provides a longer period for the mentor and student to work together. A broadened sense of academic ethics. Looking beyond academic freedom to what you should and shouldn't do.

Student PreparationProblem: Lack of academic readiness to perform at the necessary level.Reasons:Lack of writing skills. Limited (advanced) science coursework Limited math backgroundNot knowing what to expect from an internship; being intimidatedOrientation to law, policy, and/or education rather than science, or dual interest. Previous failure or poor performance (e.g., first year of school shock, family . . .)Cultural norms that discourage self-promotion Solutions:Two or more mentors (roles must be clear)Separate writing mentor with scaffolded, regular writing assignmentsNear-peer mentoringShared tasks (e.g., group bibliography)Science’s interaction with other realms such as policy, law, art, literature, sociology, history, human geography, natural resource management, and for some (especially some Native students), spiritualityEmphasis on interdisciplinary aspects when appropriate“Pre-REU” internships – for students as young as high school – incorporating writing, math, data collection practice and shorter research projectsLook beyond the GPA and standardized test scores, and appreciate changes and progress that students have made (and acknowledge a bad semester caused by family issues etc.) Place value on recommendation letters and follow up with recommenders and the student Review lab/field notebooks regularlyProvide adequate time to complete posters before leaving program. Progress meetings at beginning and end of week – individual meetings more important than groupSkype social meetings led by each team rotating

Mentor PreparationProblem:Many mentors and new PI’s do not anticipate the amount of work participating in or running an REU will takeMentors have had no cultural trainingSolutions:A staggered year on and off approach to maximize continued mentoring of students after the research experienceTeam or group mentor approach to maximize student exposure to scientists but ensure a quality mentoring experience; consider including a dedicated logistics person/“Mother Mentor”

B A R R I E R S and how to break them

RECRUIT

Provide place-based and community-driven research projects.Build relationships and networks – and keep them all fresh and active. Target a few institutions who have the kinds of students you want; visit them regularly to talk with faculty and recruit students.Share applications.Visit students on their campus to prepare them for a conference and use that opportunity to con-nect with their faculty and other students.

SUPPORT

Make geoscience relevant to students and supportive of cultural considerationsEmphasize that there are many different ways to be a scientist – a career in academia is not the only wayEmphasize that you can change your path and recover from setbacks and failuresDestigmatize mental health issues.Make connections for students – between scientific topics and connections with new mentors and projectsEdit and re-edit student writing, posters, presentationsOur role: Cheerleader – fairy godmother – publicist – border collie (last is the most important)

MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM TO APPLY, BE SELECTED, SUCCEED, AND BENEFIT BY THE EXPERIENCE.Coming soon!

See Dalbotten et al. chapter