IT and College Pathways through application of Technology to explore Urban Ecological Challenges

市中心高中学生通往STEM职业和大学的道路是围绕使用尖端的地理空间和计算机建模来调查他们所在社区紧迫的城市生态问题而建立的。先前ITEST的一项研究表明，学生的自我效能感和对科学的兴趣有所提高，现在这项研究扩展到职业识别、大学准备和对创新技术的参与。项目团队包括一名咨询心理学家、一名教育研究员、一名科学教育家、一名城市生态学家、一名环境律师和一名跨文化教育家，他们设计了一个创新的项目，并对项目的设计和学生的职业选择进行了研究。学生们在选定的星期六和放学后见面。他们获得津贴参加为期三周的暑期课程。学生将在该项目中学习三年，从事越来越复杂的城市生态项目。家长和照顾者通过参与类似的活动来了解STEM相关职业的本质，从而融入该计划。与大学绑定计划和两个行业的合作确保了可持续性，并使学生了解工作场所并获得创新技术。

A pathway to STEM careers and college for inner-city high school students is built around the use of cutting-edge geospatial and computer modeling to investigate pressing urban ecological problems in their neighborhood. The work in a previous ITEST grant that demonstrated an increase in student self-efficacy and interest in science is expanded to integrate career discernment, college preparation, and engagement with innovative technologies. With a project team that includes a counseling psychologist, an educational researcher, a science educator, an urban ecologist, an environmental lawyer and a cross-cultural educator, the project designs an innovative program and conducts research on both the design of the program and on student career discernment. The students meet on selected Saturdays and after school during the school year. They receive a stipend to attend a three week summer program. Students remain in the program for three years working on projects of increasing sophistication in urban ecology. Parents and care givers are integrated into the program by having them engage in similar activities to understand the nature of STEM related careers. Partnerships with the College Bound program and with two industries ensure sustainability and that students understand the workplace and have access to innovative technologies.