Geospatial Skills for Youth Development and Career Pathways
Abstract
Montana is one of the most rural states in the U.S., with 75percent of school districts considered rural. Additionally, Montana is home to seven Native American reservations and has the second-highest number of military veterans per capita. Due to geographic, socioeconomic, cultural and other barriers, many Montana young people grow up with few STEM opportunities beyond formal classes, which are often limited by school size and an ongoing STEM teacher shortage. This project builds upon work currently funded by AFOSR for Geospatial Skills STEM summer camps to advance localized skills for high school-aged rural youth. In Year 1, we will refine the current curriculum and broaden its delivery. The camp uses remotely delivered content from Subject-Matter Experts coupled with in-person guidance from trained educators in five rural communities. Though Montana State University personnel are intimately involved in curriculum design and educator support, the current camps take place in remote and geographically dispersed regions of the state. We will use partnerships formed in the current work (Montana 4-H, Boys and Girls Clubs, community and tribal colleges) to select additional camp locations and community-based educators, who will then recruit local students, prioritizing under-served populations such as girls, minorities and military-connected youth, mainly rising ninth and tenth graders. In Year 1, community educators who conducted a camp in 2024 will serve as peer mentors for new educators. We will expand our partnership with MilTech, a National Government Partnership Intermediary established in 2004 that brings innovative technology from MSU to the U.S. government quickly, reliably and cost effectively, currently advises the Geospatial Skills Camp. In Years 2 and 3, we will continue supporting camps in five new rural locaions and pilot test an additional camp to serve the children of MSU student veterans. In Year 3, we will add one more military family-serving camp at another Montana location. We will collaborate with DoD STARBASE, which serves youth in Helena (home of Fort Harrison) and Great Falls (home of Malmstrom AFB) to shape the Geospatial Skills curriculum to their age groups and format. Rural camps, military-family camps and STARBASE resources will build sustainable infrastructure in the impacted communities so activities can continue beyond the grant. Students and educators are invited to Bozeman for MSU GIS Day to tour labs and meet students and faculty. All materials created - though Montana-specific and locally-culturally relevant - will be available to the region and nation and could serve as a testbed for serving youth and their adult educators from and in other remote, rural and under-served areas. The program benefits not just the participating students, but also the community educators, who receive professional training in a growing field, a stipend for training and camp delivery, support for travel and meals and ongoing connections with MSU and other organizations. Educators are trained as a cohort to build a support network that lasts beyond the timeframe of the camps, and peer educators from each previous year will support new cohorts. The geospatial skills theme reinforces AFOSR research interests and priorities. Youth activities include maps for analysis and navigation; collecting and analyzing aerial imagery; awareness of credentials for piloting UAVs; and remote sensing. Students learn about career pathways and fields of study related to geospatial science and engineering, particularly those connected to the Air Force and agencies that offer employment in rural areas. Students are encouraged to relate new skills to individual interests such as robotics or aviation; community needs, such as forestry, agriculture or fire management; and national topics of interest such as security, energy or climate change.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410291
Entities
People
- Suzanne Taylor
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Montana State University
- United States Air Force