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1. Workforce Capacity Development and the Digital Extended Specimen

   https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.5.73927  

   Monfils, Anna ; Ellwood, Elizabeth R. ( September 2021 , Biodiversity Information Science and Standards)

   As we look to the future of natural history collections and a global integration of biodiversity data, we are reliant on a diverse workforce with the skills necessary to build, grow, and support the data, tools, and resources of the Digital Extended Specimen (DES; Webster 2019, Lendemer et al. 2020, Hardisty 2020). Future “DES Data Curators” – those who will be charged with maintaining resources created through the DES – will require skills and resources beyond what is currently available to most natural history collections staff. In training the workforce to support the DES we have an opportunity to broaden our community and ensure that, through the expansion of biodiversity data, the workforce landscape itself is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible. A fully-implemented DES will provide training that encapsulates capacity building, skills development, unifying protocols and best practices guidance, and cutting-edge technology that also creates inclusive, equitable, and accessible systems, workflows, and communities. As members of the biodiversity community and the current workforce, we can leverage our knowledge and skills to develop innovative training models that: include a range of educational settings and modalities; address the needs of new communities not currently engaged with digital data; from their onset, providemore »attribution for past and future work and do not perpetuate the legacy of colonial practices and historic inequalities found in many physical natural history collections. Recent reports from the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN 2019) and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2020) specifically address workforce needs in support of the DES. To address workforce training and inclusivity within the context of global data integration, the Alliance for Biodiversity Knowledge included a topic on Workforce capacity development and inclusivity in Phase 2 of the consultation on Converging Digital Specimens and Extended Specimens - Towards a global specification for data integration. Across these efforts, several common themes have emerged relative to workforce training and the DES. A call for a community needs assessment: As a community, we have several unknowns related to the current collections workforce and training needs. We would benefit from a baseline assessment of collections professionals to define current job responsibilities, demographics, education and training, incentives, compensation, and benefits. This includes an evaluation of current employment prospects and opportunities. Defined skills and training for the 21st century collections professional: We need to be proactive and define the 21st century workforce skills necessary to support the development and implementation of the DES. When we define the skills and content needs we can create appropriate training opportunities that include scalable materials for capacity building, educational materials that develop relevant skills, unifying protocols across the DES network, and best practices guidance for professionals. Training for data end-users: We need to train data end-users in biodiversity and data science at all levels of formal and informal education from primary and secondary education through the existing workforce. This includes developing training and educational materials, creating data portals, and building analyses that are inclusive, accessible, and engage the appropriate community of science educators, data scientists, and biodiversity researchers. Foster a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible and professional workforce: As the DES develops and new tools and resources emerge, we need to be intentional in our commitment to building tools that are accessible and in assuring that access is equitable. This includes establishing best practices to ensure the community providing and accessing data is inclusive and representative of the diverse global community of potential data providers and users. Upfront, we must acknowledge and address issues of historic inequalities and colonial practices and provide appropriate attribution for past and future work while ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. Efforts must include creating transparent linkages among data and the humans that create the data that drives the DES. In this presentation, we will highlight recommendations for building workforce capacity within the DES that are diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible, take into account the requirements of the biodiversity science community, and that are flexible to meet the needs of an evolving field.« less
2. Community geography: Toward a disciplinary framework

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132520961468  

   Shannon, Jerry ; Hankins, Katherine B. ; Shelton, Taylor ; Bosse, Amber J. ; Scott, Dorris ; Block, Daniel ; Fischer, Heather ; Eaves, LaToya E. ; Jung, Jin-Kyu ; Robinson, Jonnell ; et al ( October 2020 , Progress in Human Geography)

   Community geography is a growing subfield that provides a framework for relevant and engaged scholarship. In this paper, we define community geography as a form of research praxis, one that involves academic and public scholars with the goal of co-produced and mutually-beneficial knowledge. Community geography draws from a pragmatist model of inquiry, one that views communities as emergent through a recursive process of problem definition and social action. We situate the growth of community geography programs as rooted in two overlapping but distinct traditions: disciplinary development of participatory methodologies and institutional traditions of community engagement in American higher education. We then trace the historical development of these programs, identifying common themes and outlining several challenges that community geographers should prioritize as this subfield continues to grow.
3. Work in Progress: Building a Safe Queer Community in STEM—It Takes a Village to Support a Village

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--35616  

   Cross, Kelly ; Farrell, Stephanie ; Chavela Guerra, Rocio ( June 2020 , 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   Recognizing the need to attract and retain the most talented individuals to STEM professions, the National Academies advocate that diversity in STEM must be a national priority. To build a diverse workforce, educators within engineering must continue working to create an inclusive environment to prevent historically underrepresented students from leaving the field. Additionally, previous research provides compelling evidence that diversity among students and faculty is crucially important to the intellectual and social development of all students, and failure to create an inclusive environment for minority students negatively affects both minority and majority students. The dearth of research on the experiences of LGBTQ individuals in engineering is a direct barrier to improving the climate for LGBTQ in our classrooms, departments and profession. Recent studies show that engineering can be a “chilly climate” for LGBTQ individuals where “passing and covering” demands are imposed by a hetero/cis-normative culture within the profession. The unwelcoming climate for LGBTQ individuals in engineering may be a key reason that they are more likely than non-LGBTQ peers to leave engineering. This project builds on the success of a previous exploratory project entitled Promoting LGBTQ Equality in Engineering through Virtual Communities of Practice (VCP), hosted by ASEE (EEC 1539140).more »This project will support engineering departments’ efforts to create LGBTQ-inclusive environments using knowledge generated from the original grant. Our research focuses on understanding how Community of Practice (COP) characteristics develop among STEM faculty who work to increase LGBTQ inclusion; how STEM faculty as part of the VCP develop a change agent identity, and what strategies are effective in reshaping norms and creating LGBTQ-inclusive STEM departments. Therefore, our guiding research question is: How does a Virtual Community of Practice of STEM faculty develop from a group committed to improving the culture for the LGBTQ community? To answer our research question, we designed a qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study based on in-depth individual interviews. Our study participants are STEM faculty across all ranks and departments. Our sample includes 16 STEM faculty participants. After consulting with IPA experts to establish face validation, we piloted the interview protocol with three experienced qualitative researchers. The focus of this paper presents the results of the pilot study and preliminary themes from a sample of the 16 individual interviews. Most participants discussed the supportive and affirming nature of the community. Interestingly, the supportive culture of the virtual community led to members to translate support to LGBTQ students or colleagues at their home institution. Additionally, the participants spoke in detail about how the group supported their identity development as an educator and as a professional (e.g. engineering identity) in addition to seeking opportunities to combine their advocacy work with their research. Therefore, the supportive culture and safe space to negotiate identity development allows the current VCP to develop. Future work of the group will translate the research findings into practice through the iterative refinement of the community’s advocacy and education efforts including the Safe Zone workshops.« less
4. The Emerging Impact of Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions (2-year HSIs) in Educating Technicians in Advanced Technologies – Defining the Opportunities and Addressing the Challenges

   Pickering, Cynthia ; Craft, Elaine ; VanIngen-Dunn, Caroline ( January 2019 , ASEE annual conference)

   To remain competitive in the global economy, the United States needs skilled technical workers in occupations requiring a high level of domain-specific technical knowledge to meet the country’s anticipated shortage of 5 million technically-credentialed workers. The changing demographics of the country are of increasing importance to addressing this workforce challenge. According to federal data, half the students earning a certificate in 2016-17 received credentials from community colleges where the percent enrollment of Latinx (a gender-neutral term referencing Latin American cultural or racial identity) students (56%) exceeds that of other post-secondary sectors. If this enrollment rate persists, then by 2050 over 25% of all students enrolled in higher education will be Latinx. Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are essential points of access as they enroll 64% of all Latinx college students, and nearly 50% of all HSIs are 2-year institutions. Census estimates predict Latinxs are the fastest-growing segment reaching 30% of the U.S. population while becoming the youngest group comprising 33.5% of those under 18 years by 2060. The demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be met when workers reflect the diversity of the population, therefore more students—of all ages and backgrounds—must be brought into community colleges and supported throughmore »graduation: a central focus of community colleges everywhere. While Latinx students of color are as likely as white students to major in STEM, their completion numbers drop dramatically: Latinx students often have distinct needs that evolved from a history of discrimination in the educational system. HSI ATE Hub is a three-year collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program (NSF ATE) being implemented by Florence Darlington Technical College and Science Foundation Arizona Center for STEM at Arizona State University to address the imperative that 2-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) develop and improve engineering technology and related technician education programs in a way that is culturally inclusive. Interventions focus on strengthening grant-writing skills among CC HSIs to fund advancements in technician education and connecting 2-year HSIs with resources for faculty development and program improvement. A mixed methods approach will explore the following research questions: 1) What are the unique barriers and challenges for 2-year HSIs related to STEM program development and grant-writing endeavors? 2) How do we build capacity at 2-year HSIs to address these barriers and challenges? 3) How do mentoring efforts/styles need to differ? 4) How do existing ATE resources need to be augmented to better serve 2-year HSIs? 5) How do proposal submission and success rates compare for 2-year HSIs that have gone through the KS STEM planning process but not M-C, through the M-C cohort mentoring process but not KS, and through both interventions? The project will identify HSI-relevant resources, augment existing ATE resources, and create new ones to support 2-year HSI faculty as potential ATE grantees. To address the distinct needs of Latinx students in STEM, resources representing best practices and frameworks for cultural inclusivity, as well as faculty development will be included. Throughout, the community-based tradition of the ATE Program is being fostered with particular emphasis on forming, nurturing, and serving participating 2-year HSIs. This paper will discuss the need, baseline data, and early results for the three-year program, setting the stage for a series of annual papers that report new findings.« less
5. The Emerging Impact of Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions (2-year HSIs) in Educating Technicians in Advanced Technologies – Defining the Opportunities and Addressing the Challenges

   Pickering, Cynthia ; Craft, Elaine ; VanIngen-Dunn, Caroline ( July 2019 , ASEE annual conference)

   To remain competitive in the global economy, the United States needs skilled technical workers in occupations requiring a high level of domain-specific technical knowledge to meet the country’s anticipated shortage of 5 million technically-credentialed workers. The changing demographics of the country are of increasing importance to addressing this workforce challenge. According to federal data, half the students earning a certificate in 2016-17 received credentials from community colleges where the percent enrollment of Latinx (a gender-neutral term referencing Latin American cultural or racial identity) students (56%) exceeds that of other post-secondary sectors. If this enrollment rate persists, then by 2050 over 25% of all students enrolled in higher education will be Latinx. Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are essential points of access as they enroll 64% of all Latinx college students, and nearly 50% of all HSIs are 2-year institutions. Census estimates predict Latinxs are the fastest-growing segment reaching 30% of the U.S. population while becoming the youngest group comprising 33.5% of those under 18 years by 2060. The demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be met when workers reflect the diversity of the population, therefore more students—of all ages and backgrounds—must be brought into community colleges and supported throughmore »graduation: a central focus of community colleges everywhere. While Latinx students of color are as likely as white students to major in STEM, their completion numbers drop dramatically: Latinx students often have distinct needs that evolved from a history of discrimination in the educational system. HSI ATE Hub is a three-year collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program (NSF ATE) being implemented by Florence Darlington Technical College and Science Foundation Arizona Center for STEM at Arizona State University to address the imperative that 2-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) develop and improve engineering technology and related technician education programs in a way that is culturally inclusive. Interventions focus on strengthening grant-writing skills among CC HSIs to fund advancements in technician education and connecting 2-year HSIs with resources for faculty development and program improvement. A mixed methods approach will explore the following research questions: 1) What are the unique barriers and challenges for 2-year HSIs related to STEM program development and grant-writing endeavors? 2) How do we build capacity at 2-year HSIs to address these barriers and challenges? 3) How do mentoring efforts/styles need to differ? 4) How do existing ATE resources need to be augmented to better serve 2-year HSIs? 5) How do proposal submission and success rates compare for 2-year HSIs that have gone through the KS STEM planning process but not M-C, through the M-C cohort mentoring process but not KS, and through both interventions? The project will identify HSI-relevant resources, augment existing ATE resources, and create new ones to support 2-year HSI faculty as potential ATE grantees. To address the distinct needs of Latinx students in STEM, resources representing best practices and frameworks for cultural inclusivity, as well as faculty development will be included. Throughout, the community-based tradition of the ATE Program is being fostered with particular emphasis on forming, nurturing, and serving participating 2-year HSIs. This paper will discuss the need, baseline data, and early results for the three-year program, setting the stage for a series of annual papers that report new findings.« less