THE ROLE OF THE STEM STUDENT EXPERIENCES ABOARD SHIPS (STEMSEAS) PROJECT IN THE GEO-STEM LEARNING ECOSYSTEM

The STEM Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS) Project leverages available capacity on ships of the U.S. Academic Fleet during transits to provide high-impact experiences to diverse cohorts of undergraduates. We find that our students not only remain in contact with one another as part of a peer network, but also with the graduate students and senior mentors they sailed with. The durability and utility of these networks of peers and mentors has been influential for many STEMSEAS alumni. A tangible example comes from a recent alumni-driven video production. A pair of STEM students who sailed together in 2016 partnered with a communications media student who sailed in 2018 to produce a video for submission to the 2020 NSF STEM DIVE Video Challenge. This example of cross-fertilization highlights what we believe is a significant outcome of STEMSEAS, the creation of a GEO-STEM learning ecosystem that is inclusive and poised to grow. By design, STEMSEAS aims to assemble cohorts that are primarily STEM-interested students that are at pivotal decision points in their trajectories: the transition from 2-year schools to 4-year schools; in deciding which STEM field to study; in deciding how/where to enter the workforce, or deciding in a direction for in graduate school. We also strive to sail ~two students who do not fit these parameters, in particular one upper-level geoscience major, and one non-STEM major. The latter have come from the Humanities, including communications media and English, bringing tools and ideas for championing STEM broadly. Open-ended questions in surveys of participants reveal that the diversity of their cohorts in multiple dimensions is an important component of the experience for many students. They also reveal that a statistically significant increase in their student understanding of geoscience pathways. We will report on our evolving approaches to building and supporting a STEMSEAS GEO-STEM learning ecosystem.