HR: 0800h
AN: ED31B-0747    [Abstracts]
TI: MS PHD'S Professional Development Program: A Scientific Renaissance in Cyberspace
AU: * Powell, J M
EM: jpowell@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USF CMS 140 Seventh Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 United States
AU: * Powell, J M
EM: jpowell@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida Instructional Technology Program, USF CMS 140 Seventh Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 United States
AU: Williamson, V A
EM: vivian.williamson@sbcglobal.net
AF: University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USF CMS 140 Seventh Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 United States
AU: Williamson, V A
EM: vivian.williamson@sbcglobal.net
AF: University of Saint Thomas School of Education, 6666 Chetwood Dr. 277, Houston, TX 77081 United States
AU: Griess, C A
EM: cgriess@admin.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida Media Innovation Team @The C21TE, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SVC 1088, Tampa, FL 33620 United States
AU: Pyrtle, A J
EM: apyrtle@marine.usf.edu
AF: University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USF CMS 140 Seventh Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 United States
AB: This study is a component of a four-year investigation of MS PHD'S Professional Development Program's virtual community through the lenses of underrepresented minority students in Earth system science and engineering fields. In this presentation, the development, assessment and projected utilization of the ongoing study will be discussed. The overall goal of this study is to examine the effectiveness of virtual team building methods and understand how the development of a communal cyberinfrastructure acts as an integral part of the emergence of a Scientific Renaissance. The exemplar, Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS PHD'S), provides professional development experiences to facilitate the advancement of students of color achieving outstanding Earth system careers. Undergraduate and graduate students are supported through access to scientific conferences, mentorship and virtual community building. Framed by critical theory, this ethnographic exploration uses a mixed methods research design to record, observe, and analyze both the processes and products of the website, listserv and synchronous web-based dialogue. First, key findings of the formative evaluation and annual reports of the successfully implemented 2003 MS PHD'S Pilot Project are presented. These findings inform future evaluations of the use of technological resources and illustrate how this public space provides peer support and enriched research opportunities. Quantitative methods such as statistical analysis, academic and professional tracking and evaluative tools for scientific content and competency are complimented by qualitative methods that include observations, heuristic case studies and focus group interviews. The findings of this ongoing investigation will provide insight on how national organizations, higher education practitioners, community-based support systems and underrepresented minorities in the sciences promote diversity by developing successful cyberspace programs and networks. Through the examination of the transformation, expansion and democratization of the Earth system science community, new knowledge will be obtained on how a cyber-community fuses science, diversity and technology to form dialectics between creating and analyzing a Scientific Renaissance.
UR: http://www.msphds.usf.edu/
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0840 Evaluation and assessment
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting