COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Project TRUE (Teens Researching Urban Ecology)

美国的就业市场正在创造比其他领域更多的STEM就业机会--这一趋势预计将在未来10年内持续下去。尽管美国STEM毕业生的数量略有增加，但来自未被充分代表的人群的毕业生比例仍然很低。该项目将研究实践城市生态研究项目如何对代表性不足的青少年产生积极影响，并引导他们在大学攻读与STEM相关的课程和专业。通过非正式科学机构(野生动物保护协会)和大学(福特汉姆大学)之间的合作，200名来自代表性不足背景的青少年将在一名大学教授、研究生和本科生以及动物园教育工作人员的指导下，在纽约市四个动物园之一进行城市生态学研究。城市生态项目的特色之一将是分层导师模式，在这种模式下，大学教授指导城市生态学研究生，研究生反过来指导本科生，他们一起指导STEM领域代表性不足的社区的高中生。最终，该项目将确定有助于扩大STEM劳动力并使其多样化的方案战略和学生支持方法。该项目由推进非正式STEM学习计划(AISL)资助，该计划旨在促进对非正式环境中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。这一研究和开发项目将通过调查先前研究表明增加对STEM的兴趣和参与的四个关键方案要素来推动STEM学习领域：1)实践STEM体验；2)对STEM学习在世界上的效用的认识；3)接触榜样；以及4)与具有共同STEM兴趣的同行进行互动。这项研究将开发以调查为基础的衡量工具，并使用多变量分析来审查每一方案要素对五年期间与STEM有关的短期和中期成果的影响。这项研究将进一步探讨问题，以了解这四项原则在现实世界中的影响，包括非项目因素(如父母支持、学校课程等)在多大程度上。影响模型，从而限制或增强影响。此外，该项目的评估部分将通过正式的案例研究更深入地审查分级导师模式的影响。研究和评估将是相辅相成的，研究着眼于一段时间以来的参与者队列，评估深入探索参与者的体验。

The nation's job market is creating more STEM jobs than jobs in other fields - a trend predicted to continue for the next 10 years. Although there has been a slight increase in the number of STEM graduates in the US, the percentage of graduates from underrepresented populations remains low. This project will study how a hands-on urban ecology research program can positively impact underrepresented teens and lead them to pursue STEM-related courses and majors in college. Through a partnership between an informal science institution (the Wildlife Conservation Society) and a university (Fordham University), 200 teens from underrepresented backgrounds will conduct urban ecology research at one of four zoos in New York City under the guidance of a university professor, graduate and undergraduate students, and zoo education staff. One of the unique features of the urban ecology program will be a tiered mentorship model, in which university professors mentor graduate urban ecology students, who in turn mentor undergraduate students, and together they mentor high school students from communities underrepresented in STEM fields. Ultimately, this project will identify programmatic strategies and student support methods that can help expand and diversify the STEM workforce. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which 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 research and development project will advance the field of STEM learning by investigating four key programmatic elements that previous studies have suggested increase interest and participation in STEM: 1) Hands-on STEM experience; 2) Awareness of the utility of STEM learning in the world; 3) Exposure to a role model; and 4) Interaction with peers with shared STEM interest. The research will develop survey-based measurement tools and use multivariate analysis to examine the influence of each programmatic element on short- and medium-term STEM-related outcomes over a five-year period. The research will further address questions to understand the impact of these four principles within a real-world context, including the degree to which non-project factors (e.g. parental support, school coursework, etc.) influence the model, thus limiting or enhancing impact. Additionally, the evaluation component of this project will examine the impacts of the tiered mentorship model in greater depth through a formal case study. The research and evaluation will be complementary, with the research looking across cohorts of participants over time, and the evaluation exploring participant experiences in depth.