Enacting and Researching Culturally Sustaining STEM Pedagogies Across Informal Settings in Gullah/Geechee Communities in the Southeastern United States

南卡罗来纳大学将在美国东南部开发和研究一项教育计划，旨在表彰和突出西非和西印度后裔的科学贡献。尽管这些贡献对许多科学事业至关重要，包括土地管理和鱼菜共生，但在教育项目中，它们在很大程度上仍未得到重视。为了解决这个问题，该项目将为来自古勒/吉奇社区的青年制定一个非正式的科学教育计划，这些社区的祖先曾经是西非和西印度群岛的奴隶。几个世纪以来，格勒人/吉奇人发展了历史上和当代的科学、工程和技术实践，使从北卡罗来纳州到佛罗里达州的堰洲岛和沿海城市掌握了捕鱼和多种作物的种植。在Gullah/Geechee学者和社区成员的指导下，职前和在职教师将共同设计具有文化持续性的暑期项目，为Gullah/Geechee青年提供参与文化嵌入式科学和工程实践的机会，因为他们学习了与这些实践相关的众多STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）职业道路。南卡罗来纳大学将与历史悠久的宾夕法尼亚中心（一个非裔美国人的历史和文化机构）以及贝尔·w·巴鲁克海洋和沿海科学研究所（一个致力于改善海洋和沿海资源管理的研究机构）合作举办这些暑期项目。研究人员将研究在职和职前教师如何制定维持格勒/吉奇文化习俗的教学法。他们还将研究格勒/吉奇青年如何通过制作iMovies和由宾夕法尼亚中心、巴鲁克研究所和其他社区合作伙伴主持的社区演讲来分享他们对嵌入文化的科学内容的理解。该项目将通过文化可持续的教学方法，促进在非正式环境中扩大STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）职业道路参与的知识。该项目还将通过阐明不同机构和利益相关者（如社区领袖、文化中心、大学教育项目和科研组织）如何共同努力，支持非正式环境中的文化嵌入式学习，从而推进伙伴关系。南卡罗来纳大学将开展一项基于设计研究和社区参与性研究原则的混合方法研究。来自代表性不足群体的职前和在职教师将参加为期两年的沉浸式专业发展体验，在此期间，他们将与格勒/吉奇学者和领导人共同设计和教授具有文化持续性的暑期课程。在这些项目中，五年级和六年级的嘎勒/吉奇青年将通过应用以嘎勒/吉奇文化为基础的历史和当代科学实践，参与基于项目的学习。在文化导师的指导下，青年将参与类似于社区STEM专业人士的STEM实践。研究人员将研究教育工作者如何理解和应用文化维持教学法，通过使用持续的比较分析方法来分析观察和访谈的记录，以及教育工作者的工作材料（例如，课程计划）。他们还将研究年轻人如何通过不断的比较和多模态分析来分析采访和观察的文字记录，以及年轻人创造的人工制品，如iMovie，来传达他们对文化嵌入的科学内容和实践的理解。此外，前后测试将使研究团队能够确定青年对科学内容的理解以及对参与STEM企业和职业的看法的变化。成果，如青年创造的产品，将与当地媒体和相关文化中心分享，而实证结果将通过地方和国家会议广泛传播。该项目由“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）项目资助，该项目支持有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）以及信息和通信技术（ICT）职业的知识和兴趣的实践、项目要素、背景和过程的理解。该项目也由高级非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划共同资助。作为其加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，AISL计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The University of South Carolina will develop and research an educational program in the Southeastern United States designed to recognize and foreground the scientific contributions of the descendants of West Africans and West Indians. Though these contributions have been vital to many scientific enterprises, including land stewardship and aquaponics, they have remained largely underappreciated in educational programs. To address this issue, this project will develop an informal science education program for youth from Gullah/Geechee communities whose ancestors were formerly enslaved West African and West Indian peoples. Across centuries, Gullah/Geechee people have developed historical and contemporary scientific, engineering, and technological practices that enabled the mastery of fishing and the cultivation of numerous crops across barrier islands and coastal cities from North Carolina to Florida. Guided by Gullah/Geechee scholars and community members, pre-service and in-service teachers will co-design culturally sustaining summer programs, which provide Gullah/Geechee youth with opportunities to engage in culturally-embedded scientific and engineering practices as they learn about numerous STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career pathways related to these practices. The University of South Carolina will host these summer programs in partnership with the historic Penn Center, an African American historical and cultural institution, and in partnership with the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, a research organization dedicated to improving the management of marine and coastal resources. Researchers will study how the in-service and pre-service teachers enact pedagogies that sustain Gullah/Geechee cultural practices. They will also study how the Gullah/Geechee youth share their understandings of culturally-embedded scientific content through creating iMovies and through giving community presentations hosted by the Penn Center, Baruch Institute, and other community partners. This project will advance knowledge on broadening participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career pathways in informal settings through culturally sustaining pedagogies. This project will also advance partnerships through illuminating how different institutions and stakeholders—such as community leaders, cultural centers, university educator programs, and scientific research organizations—can work together to support culturally-embedded learning across informal settings.The University of South Carolina will conduct a mixed-method study grounded in principles of design-based research and community-based participatory research. Pre-service and in-service teachers from underrepresented groups will participate in an immersive two-year professional development experience during which they co-design and teach culturally sustaining summer programs with Gullah/Geechee scholars and leaders. In these programs, fifth- and sixth-grade Gullah/Geechee youth will engage in project-based learning by applying historical and contemporary scientific practices grounded in Gullah/Geechee cultures. Guided by cultural mentors, youth will engage in STEM practices similar to those of STEM professionals in the community. Researchers will study how the educators understand and apply culturally sustaining pedagogies by using constant comparative analytic methods to analyze transcripts from observations and interviews, as well as the educators’ work materials (e.g., lesson plans). They will also study how the youth convey their understandings of culturally-embedded scientific content and practices by using constant comparative and multimodal analysis to analyze transcripts from interviews and observations, as well as youth-generated artifacts such as the iMovie. Additionally, pre- and post-tests will enable the research team to determine changes to the youths’ understandings of scientific content and perceptions regarding participation in STEM enterprises and careers. Deliverables, such as youth-generated products, will be shared with local media and with relevant cultural centers, while empirical results will be widely disseminated through local and national conferences. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts, and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. This project is also co-funded by the Advanced Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program. As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the 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.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.