POWRE: The Human Origin Link

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My original work sought better understanding of influences on the persistence and success of African American undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology (SMET) majors in all types of institutions. This work found evidence that many of these students identified themselves as being "outside" the SMET community. This perception was stressful, and was associated with a failure to persist within these disciplines. This original research also found that changes in institutional behavior are only a part of the solution. Evidence suggests that surmounting the perception of outsider status may require changing personal (i.e., individual student's) understanding, ideas, and beliefs about the characteristics and origins of racial diversity. This project will design opportunities for pre-college African American students for learning science in an investigative mode in a laboratory setting. These will be deliberately designed to achieve two goals. One is to improve student learning of science (anthropology) and mathematics. The other is to facilitate students to explore factors identified with racial diversity in a series of "workstations" that facilitate their understanding of our common human origins and lead them to see that they are naturally part of the SMET community. This project has the full support of the Center for Human Origin and Cultural Development and the Division of Teaching and Learning of the School of Education at the University of Missouri - Saint Louis.