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  • Fostering the Development of Earth Data Science Skills in a Diverse Community of Online Learners: A Case Study of the Earth Data Science Corps
Title: Fostering the Development of Earth Data Science Skills in a Diverse Community of Online Learners: A Case Study of the Earth Data Science Corps
Today’s data-driven world requires earth and environmental scientists to have skills at the intersection of domain and data science. These skills are imperative to harness information contained in a growing volume of complex data to solve the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Despite the importance of these skills, Earth and Environmental Data Science (EDS) training is not equally accessible, contributing to a lack of diversity in the field. This creates a critical need for EDS training opportunities designed specifically for underrepresented groups. In response, we designed the Earth Data Science Corps (EDSC) which couples a paid internship for undergraduate students with faculty training to build capacity to teach and learn EDS using Python at smaller Minority Serving Institutions. EDSC participants are further empowered to teach these skills at their home institutions which scales the program beyond the training lead by our team. Using a Rasch modeling approach, we found that participating in the EDSC program had a significant impact on learners’ comfort and confidence with technical and non-technical data science skills, as well as their science identity and sense of belonging in science, two critical aspects of recruiting and retaining members of underrepresented groups in STEM.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1839895
PAR ID:
10539319
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publisher / Repository:
Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education
Date Published:
Edition / Version:
1
Volume:
1
Issue:
1
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
Data science, education, technology, diversity
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: 6800KB Other: pdf
Size(s):
6800KB
Institution:
United Tribes Technical College
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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