Abstract
The geosciences may be the most interdisciplinary of all STEM disciplines. Earth system sciences and the complex sub-systems of the cryosphere, the atmosphere, the lithosphere, the biosphere, and the hydrosphere subsume all human activity and are critical to every aspect of life on Earth. Therefore, by their very natures, the geosciences are rife with copious interdisciplinary strands and themes that are waiting to be explored by students from a wide range of STEM disciplines. With studies highlighting the benefits of authentic undergraduate research experiences, an innovative program was designed to have STEM students actively and collaboratively construct their knowledge of the geosciences. Results indicate that the geoscience research experiences increased the students’ understanding of the relevancy of their interdisciplinary study to society.
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Acknowledgements
The REU program was supported by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Grants No. 0755686 and No. 1062934, under the direction of Dr. Reginald A. Blake, Principal Investigator, and Dr. Janet Liou-Mark, Co-Principal Investigator. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this article, and it does not necessarily represent the views of the NSF or of NOAA-CREST. The authors would like to thank Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi and Dr. Shakila Merchant at the NOAA-CREST Center at the City College of New York sincerely for their dedication to the REU program from its very inception. The authors also wish to thank the committed CREST faculty research scientists, post-doctoral research scientists, and graduate students for their leadership in this critical and rewarding program. The authors are grateful to Mr. Chinedu Chukuigwe and Ms. Laura Yuen-Lau for their assistance in sustaining a viable undergraduate research program that enhanced students’ interdisciplinary learning skills, and to Mr. Ricky Santana for assisting in the data analyses. To all the REU scholars, the authors would like to express their gratitude for your willingness to develop your interdisciplinary skills by acquiring the foundational knowledge necessary for the geoscience research, persisting in the understanding of the scientific procedure, and tolerating and overcoming the obstacles faced in the research process. The program and its success would certainly be impossible without the unwavering dedication of these champions.
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Blake, R.A., Liou-Mark, J. (2016). Authenticating Interdisciplinary Learning through a Geoscience Undergraduate Research Experience. In: Lansiquot, R. (eds) Interdisciplinary Pedagogy for STEM. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56745-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56745-1_6
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