Comunidad de Ciencia: Building Latina STEM Interest through Community Cultural Wealth and Familial Problem-Based Learning

作为加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划寻求促进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和发展的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括为扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验提供多种途径，推进对非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及加深参与者对更深层次学习的理解。该项目旨在了解如何使拉美裔家庭(成年照顾者)对自己有能力在科学和工程活动中支持中学年龄的女孩充满信心。该项目包括围绕火箭或城市农业进行为期七周的家庭编程，以及针对成年家庭成员和女孩的单独对话小组。该项目之所以相关，有几个原因：女性和拉丁裔个人在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)课程和职业中的代表性都很低；女孩往往在中学年龄之前对STEM失去兴趣；成年家庭成员可能会对孩子的态度和兴趣产生影响。该项目与亚利桑那州和加利福尼亚州的学区和非营利组织合作。这一多学科项目的优先事项是扩大参与，重点是通过以家庭项目为基础的学习活动、对话小组和培养的学习者社区，提高拉美裔女孩对科学和工程的兴趣。它以社会认知职业理论和社区文化财富理论为框架。该项目旨在使家庭(成年照顾者)对自己有能力在科学和工程活动中支持女儿感到有信心，而这一能力往往很低，特别是在拉丁裔父母中。该项目将制定和评估两种校外充实方法，以帮助家庭鼓励和支持其女儿学习科学：以家庭问题为基础的学习活动，侧重于火箭和城市农业；以及对话小组，为不同的父母和女孩群体提供信息和讨论。在对180个家庭进行主要研究之前，将对80个家庭进行一系列试点研究，以反复评估和改进材料和程序，采用析因设计，并以对照组为对照。所开发的材料和研究结果可能会为类似的项目提供参考，特别是针对来自文化和语言不同背景的学生的项目和旨在加强家庭在学习中的作用的项目。指导该项目的假设是，浓缩方法的协同组合将产生最大的收益。另一个可能产生广泛影响的组成部分是努力创造环境，通过不同家庭的互动来认识和加强社区文化财富，创建学习者社区。这可以为那些认识到社区重要性和/或寻求将文化作为一种资产的项目提供信息。拟议的研究将涉及三所地理位置分散的大学和几个社区伙伴。它还将为大学生和社区领袖提供在教学设计、实施和研究方面工作的机会。该团队将通过多种途径传播他们的发现和方法，以接触到非正式和K-12环境中的研究人员、家长、领导者、策展人和教育工作者。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. The project aims to understand ways to empower Latinx families (adult caregivers) to feel confident in their ability to support their middle school-aged girls in science and engineering activities. The project involves seven weeks of family programming around rockets or urban farming, as well as separate conversation groups for adult family members and girls. The project is relevant for several reasons: females and Latinx individuals are both underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) coursework and careers; girls tend to lose interest in STEM by middle school age; and adult family members may have an impact on their children’s attitudes and interests. The project partners with school districts and nonprofit organizations in Arizona and California. This multidisciplinary project’s priority is broadening participation, with a focus on increasing Latina girls’ science and engineering interests through Family Project-Based Learning Activities, Conversation Groups, and a cultivated Community of Learners. It is based on the frameworks of Social Cognitive Career Theory and Community Cultural Wealth. The project aims to empower families (adult caregivers) to feel confident in their ability to support their daughters in science and engineering activities, which is often low especially among Latinx parents. The project will develop and evaluate two out-of-school enrichment methods for aiding families in encouraging and supporting their daughters in science: Family Problem-Based Learning Activities, which focus on rockets and urban farming, and Conversation Groups, which provide information and discussion for separate groups of parents and girls. A series of pilot studies will be conducted with 80 families to iteratively evaluate and improve the materials and procedure prior to the main study with 180 families, featuring a factorial design with a control group.The materials developed and research findings may inform similar projects, especially those for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and projects seeking to enhance the role of families in learning. The hypothesis guiding the project is that the greatest gains will be produced with the synergistic combination of enrichment methods. Another component that can potentially have broad impact is working to create environments where Community Cultural Wealth is recognized and enhanced through interactions of different families, creating Communities of Learners. This can inform projects that recognize the importance of community and/or that seek to use culture as an asset. The proposed study will engage three geographically distributed universities and several community partners. It will also provide university students and community leaders opportunities for work on instructional design, implementation, and research. The team will disseminate their findings and methods through multiple avenues to reach researchers, parents, leaders, curators, and educators in informal and K-12 settings.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.