HR: 11:35h
AN: ED32A-06    [Abstracts]
TI: The Svalbard REU Program: Undergraduates Pursuing Arctic Climate Change Research on Svalbard, Norway
AU: * Roof, S
EM: sroof@hampshire.edu
AF: Hampshire College, School of Natural Science, Amherst, MA 01002, United States
AU: Werner, A
EM: awerner@mtholyoke.edu
AF: Mount Holyoke College, Department of Earth and Environment, South Hadley, MA 01075, United States
AB: The Svalbard Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program sponsored by the Arctic Natural Sciences Program of the National Science Foundation has been successfully providing international field research experiences since 2004. Each year, 7-9 undergraduate students have participated in 4-5 weeks of glacial geology and climate change fieldwork on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago in the North Atlantic (76- 80° N lat.). While we continue to learn new and better ways to run our program, we have learned specific management and pedagogical strategies that allow us to streamline our logistics and to provide genuine, meaningful research opportunities to undergraduate students. We select student participants after extensive nationwide advertising and recruiting. Even before applying to the program, students understand that they will be doing meaningful climate change science, will take charge of their own project, and will be expected to continue their research at their home institution. We look for a strong commitment of support from a student's advisor at their home institution before accepting students into our program. We present clear information, including participant responsibilities, potential risks and hazards, application procedures, equipment needed, etc on our program website. The website also provides relevant research papers and data and results from previous years, so potential participants can see how their efforts will contribute to growing body of knowledge. New participants meet with the previous years' participants at a professional meeting (our "REUnion") before they start their field experience. During fieldwork, students are expected to develop research questions and test their own hypotheses while providing and responding to peer feedback. Professional assessment by an independent expert provides us with feedback that helps us improve logistical procedures and shape our educational strategies. The assessment also shows us how participant attitudes toward science and research evolved during their participation. Finally, close collaboration with a local institution, the Norwegian University System on Svalbard (UNIS), has not only been essential to the success of our program, but also highly rewarding.
UR: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/go/svalbard
DE: 0720 Glaciers
DE: 0746 Lakes (9345)
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 1637 Regional climate change
DE: 9315 Arctic region (0718, 4207)
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting