Promoting the Geosciences Among Grades 8–12 Minority Students in the Urban Coastal Environment of New York City

All across the nation, Earth science knowledge among both students and their teachers in middle and high schools has been substandard, and particularly so for underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. In New York City, a geoscience program was, therefore, developed to assist in ameliorating this problem. For middle and high school students and teachers, the program (1) provided pedagogical, research, and inquiry-oriented geoscience experiences; (2) offered pedagogical and research standards-based professional development in Earth science for teachers; (3) promoted geoscience inquiry and engagement via a three-dimensional, online virtual environment in which geoscience concepts were demonstrated, taught, and explored; (4) afforded students and teachers exposure to the geosciences through geoscience events and seminars; and (5) sponsored community-based geoscience outreach activities. Results from the program have shown noteworthy increases in students' understanding, participation, appreciation, and awareness of the geosciences. Altogether, the initiatives above combined geoscience learning opportunities, exposure, and research experiences with eager cohorts of geoscience learners to produce holistic, engaging stimuli for the scientific and academic growth and development of grades 8–12 student and teacher participants.