USING A LONGSTANDING OCEAN STEM HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AND NAVAL RELEVANCE IN OCEAN EDUCATION
Abstract
The U.S. needs a skilled and diverse technical workforce to remain competitive in the global economy, address climate change and related security concerns, foster new technology and greater innovation, and lead to greater prosperity. It is critical for the U.S. Navy to attract and recruit a talented and diverse workforce, particularly in ocean science and technology as those areas are fundamental to Navy operations and to many national and global concerns. Informal high school ocean STEM initiatives fill a needed gap in formal course offerings across the country and build interest and knowledge in ocean science and related STEM career pathways. To meet its future workforce needs, the Navy must invest and play an active role in these programs. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research proposes leveraging the National Ocean Sciences Bowl� (NOSB), a longstanding program that centers on an annual ocean science academic competition, in a pilot project to bring ocean science content to underrepresented schools and students not currently participating in the NOSB. The proposed project will accomplish two goals: 1) increasing the visibility of U.S. Navy applications and opportunities in ocean science and technology, and 2) increasing the participation of underrepresented and military-connected students in ocean science education. The approaches to achieving these goals will take advantage of the NOSB#s programmatic elements, content, and community and bring new Naval STEM Stakeholder Organization (NSSO) partnerships, including with the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratories (NRL), to the effort. NSSO partners will support development of new content focused on Naval oceanography, applications of ocean science and technology, and ocean related military or civilian career pathways with the Navy.*Approved for public release*We will also take advantage of an existing educational platform, Scoutlier, that will enable a wealth of NOSB ocean science content to reach underserved and military-connected schools. Additionally, through this platform and the NOSB#s Network of partners and sponsors, UCAR will be able to direct students to an ecosystem of opportunities to learn and engage with atmospheric-related research and learning, and its direct ties to ocean science, within its Earth science and observation community programs. The#NOSB, now in its 25th year, brings a history of success in increasing participants# academic skills, scientific knowledge of the ocean, interest in ocean science and related STEM careers, and capacity for leadership and teamwork. With#ONR#ssupport and increased partnership with NSSOs, greater emphasis will be placed on conveying the science behind Navy-relevant topics and the scientific needs of and career opportunities related to the U.S. Navy to NOSB#s nationwide participant community and our newhigh school audiences built through collaboration with Scoutlier.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312181
Entities
People
- Melissa Brodeur
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research