Place-Based Environmental Civic Science: Urban Students Using STEM for Public Good
Place-Based Environmental Civic Science: Urban Students Using STEM for Public Good
复制标题
DOI：
10.3389/feduc.2021.693455
复制
发表时间：
2021-08-30
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Parker, Betsy
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gallay, Erin;Flanagan, Constance;Parker, Betsy
在美国，由于缺乏与文化相关的机会，黑人和拉丁裔学生在STEM课程和职业生涯中的比例较低，而这些机会又与更广泛的社会正义问题有关。以地方为基础的环境公民科学为解决这些问题提供了潜力，使学生能够应用他们的STEM学习来缓解当地的环境问题。我们所说的公民科学是指所有公民，而不仅仅是专家，都为公共利益而参与的科学。在这篇论文中，我们报道了一项研究，在这项研究中，我们跟踪了城市学校的初中和高中科学和数学课，这些学校服务于种族/民族少数民族学生，因为他们参与了一种创新的情境化课程-一种基于地点的公民科学模式，在这种模式下，学生与STEM社区合作伙伴合作，解决他们社区的环境问题。我们从学生们的开放式思考中吸取教训，他们从参与以地方为基础的环境公民科学项目中学到了什么，这些项目可以帮助他们的社区。对291名学生的思考进行的主题分析表明，他们相信科学对社区变革的有用性。学生们阐述了他们在项目中学习或使用的科学，以及它如何影响他们的社区；他们在项目工作中提到了科学在现实世界中的应用，并将STEM与公民贡献联系起来。用他们自己的话说，大多数学生注意到STEM现在或未来与他们的社区相关的方式；此外，一小部分学生表达了他们对他们个人如何应用科学来积极影响他们的社区以及STEM与社会正义之间的联系的想法的变化。分析还指出，学生通过使用STEM学习获得了信心和目的感，以实现他们为社区做出贡献的目标。这项研究的结果表明，将当地作为学生STEM学习的基础，并将这种学习与他们可以做出的公民贡献联系起来，培养学生如何利用科学造福于他们的社区的看法。调查结果还表明，让学生参与以地点为基础的公民科学工作为培养STEM的兴趣和解决STEM中有色人种青年代表性不足的问题提供了有效的基础。
In the United States, Black and Latinx students are underrepresented in STEM courses and careers due to a dearth of culturally relevant opportunities, which in turn are connected to broader issues of social justice. Place-based environmental civic science offers potential for addressing these issues by enabling students to apply their STEM learning to mitigate local environmental problems. By civic science we refer to science in which all citizens, not just experts, engage for the public good. In this paper, we report on a study in which we followed middle-and high-school science and math classes in urban schools serving racial/ethnic minoritized students as they engaged in an innovative contextualized curriculum-a place-based civic science model in which students work with STEM community partners to address an environmental issue in their community. We draw from students' open-ended reflections on what they learned from participating in place-based environmental civic science projects that could help their communities. Thematic analyses of reflections collected from 291 students point to beliefs in the usefulness of science to effect community change. Students articulated the science they learned or used in the project and how it could affect their community; they made references to real world applications of science in their project work and made links between STEM and civic contributions. In their own words, the majority of students noted ways that STEM was relevant to their communities now or in the future; in addition, a subset of students expressed changes in their thinking about how they personally could apply science to positively impact their communities and the ties between STEM and social justice. Analyses also point to a sense of confidence and purpose students gained from using STEM learning for their goals of community contribution. Results of this study suggest that focusing on local place as a foundation for students' STEM learning and linking that learning to the civic contributions they can make, cultivates students' perceptions of how they can use science to benefit their communities. Findings also suggest that engaging students in place-based civic science work provides effective foundations for nurturing STEM interest and addressing the underrepresentation of youth of color in STEM.