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The number of African American females participating in cyber fields is significantly low. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education requires a new approach to student engagement to increase African American female participation in cybersecurity. The most common approach to engaging more African American females in STEM is to provide students access to professional images or role models active in STEM; however, more is needed. More race-centered strategies beyond role modeling are necessary to attract and retain African American females in STEM. Research studies show that integrating personal experiences and making cultural connections can help improve student participation in STEM from underrepresented populations. In 2021, faculty in the Center for Cybersecurity Assurance and Policy at Morgan State University developed and implemented the GenCyber ‘‘Females are Cyber Stars’’ (FACS) Summer Camp. This initiative targeted female African American students in Baltimore public middle schools. Thirty-nine girls participated in the virtual program during the summer of 2021, and 25 girls engaged in the in-person program during the summer of 2022. The program’s goals were to increase female students’ interest in cybersecurity and exposure to the security of IoT (Internet of Things) devices in a smart home environment. The GenCyber FACS Summer Camp incorporated culturally responsive strategies to engage the participants in an inclusive and interactive setting. Participants were given pre- and post-program surveys to assess learning outcomes and examine the impact of using culturally responsive teaching strategies. The results showed that the girls reported increased knowledge and a gain in interest in cybersecurity and computing. This paper discusses the summer program and curriculum, culturally responsive teaching strategies deployed, student learning outcomes, and perceptions of cultural responsiveness assessed in the GenCyber FACS Summer Camp. 

Step-based tutoring consists in breaking down complicated problem-solving procedures into individual steps whose inputs can be immediately evaluated to promote effective student learning. Here, recent progress on the extension of a step-based tutoring for linear circuit analysis to cover new topics requiring complex, multi-step solution procedures is described. These topics include first and second-order transient problems solved using classical differential equation approaches. Students use an interactive circuit editor to modify the circuit appropriately for each step of the analysis, followed by writing and solving equations using methods of their choice as appropriate. Initial work on Laplace transform-based circuit analysis is also discussed. Detailed feedback is supplied at each step along with fully worked examples, supporting introductory multiple-choice tutorials and YouTube videos, and a full record of the student's work is created in a PDF document for later study and review. Further, results of a comprehensive independent evaluation involving both quantitative and qualitative analysis and users across four participating institutions are discussed. Overall, students had very favorable experiences using the step-based system across Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. At least 48% of students in the Fall 2020 semester and 60% of students in the Spring 2021 semester agreed or strongly agreed with all survey questions about positive features of the system. Those who had used the step-based system and the commercial MasteringEngineering system preferred the former by 69% to 12% margins in surveys. Instructors were further surveyed and 86% would recommend the system to others. 

Step-based tutoring consists in breaking down complicated problem-solving procedures into individual steps whose inputs can be immediately evaluated to promote effective student learning. Here, recent progress on the extension of a step-based tutoring for linear circuit analysis to cover new topics requiring complex, multi-step solution procedures is described. These topics include first and second-order transient problems solved using classical differential equation approaches. Students use an interactive circuit editor to modify the circuit appropriately for each step of the analysis, followed by writing and solving equations using methods of their choice as appropriate. Initial work on Laplace transform-based circuit analysis is also discussed. Detailed feedback is supplied at each step along with fully worked examples, supporting introductory multiple-choice tutorials and YouTube videos, and a full record of the student's work is created in a PDF document for later study and review. Further, results of a comprehensive independent evaluation involving both quantitative and qualitative analysis and users across four participating institutions are discussed. Overall, students had very favorable experiences using the step-based system across Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. At least 48% of students in the Fall 2020 semester and 60% of students in the Spring 2021 semester agreed or strongly agreed with all survey questions about positive features of the system. Those who had used the step-based system and the commercial MasteringEngineering system preferred the former by 69% to 12% margins in surveys. Instructors were further surveyed and 86% would recommend the system to others. 

Abstract Earth system models are valuable tools for understanding how the Arctic snow‐ice system and the feedbacks therein may respond to a warming climate. In this analysis, we investigate snow on Arctic sea ice to better understand how snow conditions may change under different forcing scenarios. First, we use in situ, airborne, and satellite observations to assess the realism of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in simulating snow on Arctic sea ice. CESM versions one and two are evaluated, with V1 being the Large Ensemble experiment (CESM1‐LE) and V2 being configured with low‐ and high‐top atmospheric components. The assessment shows CESM2 underestimates snow depth and produces overly uniform snow distributions, whereas CESM1‐LE produces a highly variable, excessively‐thick snow cover. Observations indicate that snow in CESM2 accumulates too slowly in autumn, too quickly in winter‐spring, and melts too soon and rapidly in late spring. The 1950–2050 trends in annual mean snow depths are markedly smaller in CESM2 (−0.8 cm decade⁻¹) than in CESM1‐LE (−3.6 cm decade⁻¹) due to CESM2 having less snow overall. A perennial, thick sea‐ice cover, cool summers, and excessive summer snowfall facilitate a thicker, longer‐lasting snow cover in CESM1‐LE. Under the SSP5‐8.5 forcing scenario, CESM2 shows that, compared to present‐day, snow on Arctic sea ice will: (1) undergo enhanced, earlier spring melt, (2) accumulate less in summer‐autumn, (3) sublimate more, and (4) facilitate marginally more snow‐ice formation. CESM2 also reveals that summers with snow‐free ice can occur ∼30–60 years before an ice‐free central Arctic, which may promote faster sea‐ice melt. 

Abstract Because of the pervasive role of water in the Earth system, the relative abundances of stable isotopologues of water are valuable for understanding atmospheric, oceanic, and biospheric processes, and for interpreting paleoclimate proxy reconstructions. Isotopologues are transported by both large‐scale and turbulent flows, and the ratio of heavy to light isotopologues changes due to fractionation that can accompany condensation and evaporation processes. Correctly predicting the isotopic distributions requires resolving the relationships between large‐scale ocean and atmospheric circulation and smaller‐scale hydrological processes, which can be accomplished within a coupled climate modeling framework. Here we present the water isotope‐enabled version of the Community Earth System Model version 1 (iCESM1), which simulates global variations in water isotopic ratios in the atmosphere, land, ocean, and sea ice. In a transient Last Millennium simulation covering the 850–2005 period, iCESM1 correctly captures the late‐twentieth‐century structure of δ¹⁸O and δD over the global oceans, with more limited accuracy over land. The relationship between salinity and seawater δ¹⁸O is also well represented over the observational period, including interbasin variations. We illustrate the utility of coupled, isotope‐enabled simulations using both Last Millennium simulations and freshwater hosing experiments with iCESM1. Closing the isotopic mass balance between all components of the coupled model provides new confidence in the underlying depiction of the water cycle in CESM, while also highlighting areas where the underlying hydrologic balance can be improved. The iCESM1 is poised to be a vital community resource for ongoing model development with both modern and paleoclimate applications.