Episode 2 of our speaker series features two guests from the geosciences. Dr. Diana Dalbotten, Diversity Director at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Emily Geraghty Ward, Associate Professor of Geology at Rocky Mountain College will present on the use of place-based, community-inspired research to broaden participation in the geosciences. They present a model for engaging underrepresented students—the REU site on Sustainable Land and Water Resources (SLAWR)—that is unique for its emphasis on recruiting Native American students and for its emphasis on place and community.
About Diana
Dr. Diana Dalbotten works for the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota as the director of Diversity and Broader Impacts. The focus of her work has been on broadening participation of underrepresented students, and particularly Native Americans in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. She collaborates with tribes in Minnesota and nationally to advance this work. Her work has been on understanding the practice of Community-Based Participatory Research (CPBR) on environmental issues and education in the geosciences.
About Emily
Dr Ward is interested in how places and cultures influence the way people learn about and interpret the physical landscape. Past projects include working with tribal college faculty, staff and students to develop methods to assess geoscience learning in higher education in the context of different places and cultures. These projects have focused on assessing learning in both formal and informal contexts through place-based instruction and research apprenticeships. Her current interests involve the design and assessment of place-based geoscience classroom interventions and course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs).
