ASSESSING MINORITY STUDENT PROGRESS AND PROGRAM GOALS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH BASED GEOSCIENCE PROGRAM SERVING AMERICAN INDIANS

During the initiation of a new program at the University of North Dakota designed to promote American Indians to engage in geoscience research and complete geoscience related degrees, an evaluation procedure utilizing a modified Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) and Mediated Learning Experiences (MLE) to assess minority student progress was implemented. The program, called Indians Into Geosciences (INGEOS) utilized a modified form of the Learning Potential Assessment Device first to assess cultural factors, determination, and other baseline information, and second, utilized a series of Mediated Learning Experiences to enhance minority students’ opportunities in a culturally appropriate, culturally diverse, and scientifically challenging manner in an effort to prepare students for competitive research careers in the geosciences. All of the LPADs and MLEs corresponded directly to the three goals or eight objectives of INGEOS. The three goals of INGEOS program are: 1.) increasing the number of American Indians earning degrees at all levels, 2.) engaging American Indians in challenging and technically based scientific research, and 3.) preparing American Indians for successful geoscience careers through multicultural community involvement. The eight objectives of the INGEOS program, called the Eight Points of Success, are: 1.) spiritual health, 2.) social health, 3.) physical health, 4.) mental health, 5.) financial management, 6.) research involvement, 7.) technical exposure, and 8.) multicultural community education. The INGEOS program goals were evaluated quantitatively utilizing a variety of data such as grade point averages, number of credits earned, research project information, and developed products. Initial results indicate that those participants which show progress through Mediated Learning Experiences within all of the Eight Points of Success, have a higher likelihood of contributing to all three of the INGEOS programs goals.