Expanding the Impact of Geospatial Remote Sensing in Hawaii

This project aims to address growing national and local demand for stackable credentials that prepare students to enter the workforce and careers in utility infrastructure, civil engineering, natural resource management, and environmental hazard mitigation. A previous NSF-funded project in Geospatial Remote Sensing (GRS) introduced a certificate of competency that taught students to fly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), collect remote sensing data, and analyze these datasets to determine suitability as potential future developments and identify ways to manage resources. This project will expand the GRS methods used to collect data in two and three dimensions and by integrating LIDAR and computational tools that enable students to efficiently process their collected data. Students will conduct local projects in several courses in engineering technology, forestry management, and surveying, which will lead to a certificate in geospatial remote sensing. To improve teaching effectiveness, the project will implement a student learning tool known as the Evaluate UR method. This method has a variant for courses that include projects that will help students connect their classroom experiences to the skills and knowledge essential in the workplace. By helping students to better understand how they approach and solve problems, the project will ensure that they are more competitive for employment in private, state, and federal environmental and engineering agencies. Building on a previous NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) award, this project will expand the scope and increase opportunities for students through five objectives: (1) formalizing undergraduate research components in two of the GRS certificate courses by using place-based community research topics and the EvaluateUR-CURE instrument to measure student learning gains and support metacognitive development; (2) expanding 2D and 3D surveying and processing of information for courses in Spatial Data Management and Analysis and Rural and Urban Remote Sensing; (3) providing faculty professional development to expand the geospatial skill set to faculty within the Engineering Technology and Tropical Ecosystem Agroforestry Management programs and beyond; (4) building capacity on the west side of Hawaii Island by introducing geospatial remote sensing education to a satellite campus and supporting partnerships with other Pacific Islands; and (5) conducting recruitment activities to increase the number of students enrolled in the GRS certificate program. The project will expand access to high-tech career pathways for all students and increase their qualifications to be competitive in the rapidly growing drone economy. The project will strengthen pathways from high school to community college to four-year institutions, while also providing upskilling opportunities for incumbent workers in utilities, agriculture, public safety, and natural resource management. Partnerships with local employers, state and federal agencies, secondary schools, community organizations, and other institutions of higher education will extend the reach of the project. The project team will share the curriculum and what is learned about how placed-based projects support students' engagement and preparation to enter the workforce. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.