Environmental Health Investigators: Building STEM Interest to Promote Careers in the Health Sciences

项目摘要/摘要 种族和少数民族在环境健康科学领域的代表性不足，尽管情况良好 就业前景和需要不同的视角，以确保所有社区的福祉。学习 校外(非正式)环境中的科学是激发人们对科学兴趣的一种很有前途的方法，因为 学生能够在较长的一段时间内从事基于社区的项目，沉浸在 科学过程，同时学习工作场所的成功技能，如团队合作、解决问题和 批判性思维。然而，学习环境健康科学和知识的机会有限。 特别是对生活在集中贫困地区的少数族裔青年而言。的长期目标是 这个项目是为了了解如何最好地产生和保持对健康科学的兴趣，最终 改变学生的教育和职业道路。中心假设是中学生会 培养并保持对科学的浓厚兴趣，如果他们1)参与真实世界中的真实科学 背景，2)参与并理解与其社区相关的科学内容，3) 定期与专业科学家互动，4)扮演科学家的角色，并被其他人视为科学家。朝向 为了达到长期目标，这个项目的总体目标是开发、实施和研究一个 学校时间计划，服务不足的中学生(11-13岁)参与正宗的科学研究 在他们的社区中进行环境健康科学的调查，并向他们的家人介绍他们的发现， 社区成员和更广泛的受众。拟议项目的理由是，基于项目的 课程可以提高科学技能和职业意识，经过测试和完善后，可以复制 与其他种群的关系。该项目的目标将通过三个具体目标来实现：(1)开发一种 环境健康科学的校外模块课程，强调学生的选择和地点- 以学习为基础，(2)在麦迪逊集中贫困社区实施学生计划 通过与当地社区组织的合作伙伴关系，以及(3)提供专业的 社区环境健康科学教育工作者的发展。拟议的计划是 意义重大，因为它(A)产生了关于科学兴趣发展的新知识，(B)提供了一个模型 用于低收入城市社区的环境健康科学教育，以及(C)创建便携 正规和非正规教育工作者可以适应其具体教学环境的课程单元。该项目 是创新的，因为它(A)利用高影响力的教育实践的新组合来达到 目标受众，(B)对青年应用环境照片之声方法，(C)团结合作伙伴 通常不围绕发展科学技能这一共同目标而合作的组织 以及(D)以学生选择和社区相关性为中心 课程设计和编程的原则。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the field of environmental health sciences, despite good job prospects and the need for diverse perspectives to ensure the well-being of all communities. Learning science in out-of-school (informal) settings is a promising approach to generate interest in science because students are able to work on community-based projects over an extended period, immersing themselves in the process of science while learning success skills for the workplace such as teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking. However, there are limited opportunities to learn about environmental health sciences and related careers, particularly for minority youth who live in areas of concentrated poverty. The long-term goal of this project is to understand how to best generate and sustain an interest in health sciences that ultimately alters students' education and career pathways. The central hypothesis is that middle school students will develop and sustain a strong interest in science if they 1) participate in authentic science in a real-world context, 2) engage with and understand relevant scientific content that connects to their community, 3) interact regularly with professional scientists, and 4) act as and be seen by others as scientists. Towards attaining the long-term goal, the overall objective of this project is to develop, implement, and study an out-of- school time program in which underserved middle school youth (ages 11-13) participate in authentic scientific investigations of environmental health sciences in their community and present their findings to their families, community members, and a broader audience. The rationale for the proposed project is that a project-based curriculum can increase science skills and career awareness and, after testing and refinement, be replicated with other populations. The objective of the project will be accomplished by three specific aims: (1) Develop a modular out-of-school curriculum in environmental health sciences that emphasizes student choice and place- based learning, (2) Implement the student program in communities of concentrated poverty in Madison County, Illinois through a partnership with local community organizations, and (3) Provide professional development for educators in community-based environmental health sciences. The proposed program is significant because it (a) generates new knowledge about science interest development, (b) provides a model for environmental health science education in low-income urban communities, and (c) creates portable curriculum units that formal and informal educators can adapt to their specific teaching contexts. The project is innovative because it (a) utilizes a novel combination of high-impact educational practices to reach the intended audience, (b) applies Environmental Photovoice methodologies with youth, (c) unites partner organizations that typically do not work together around the common goal of developing the scientific skills and health career interests of at-risk youth, and (d) uses student choice and community relevance as central tenets for curriculum design and programming.