This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Robert Habig, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by David Lahti at Queens College, City University of New York. The goal of the fellow's project is to perform a comparative evolutionary analysis of nest construction in the weaverbirds (Ploceus spp.). The evolutionary history of behavior can be nearly intractable and resistant to quantitative analysis. One strategy for illuminating our understanding of behavioral evolution is to conduct comparative studies of animal architectures, such as nests. Unlike behaviors themselves, nests persist through time, and have structures that can be disassociated into several quantitative features, which permits easy and comparable measurements and allows scientists to address questions about evolutionary history and functional relevance. The fellow's research addresses two major questions: (1) How do patterns of nest construction vary within and between species? (2) How do interrelated evolutionary processes shape variation in nest structure? This project is important for advancing foundational scientific knowledge, and will be the first study of weavers incorporating both molecular data and nest morphology to better understand the evolutionary underpinnings of a complex behavioral process. The fellow is also broadening participation in science by mentoring students underrepresented in biology.
The Fellow will reconstruct the evolution of nest construction in Ploceus weaverbirds incorporating advanced phylogenetic and morphological techniques including bioinformatics, computer modeling, X-ray computed tomography, and image processing. The Fellow will also conduct fieldwork in two hotspots of weaverbird diversity, the Awash Valley in Ethiopia and the Limpopo Province of South Africa, and collect behavioral data (e.g. rates of predation and brood parasitism; mating and parental behavior) and morphological data (e.g. nest structure) to test hypotheses of how distinct types of evolutionary selection shape the evolution of nest construction. The proposed comparative study can thus address questions such as how rapidly certain nest structural features evolve, which features are ancestral versus derived, which tend to exhibit phylogenetic signal, and which evolve in response to environmental features. The Fellow is receiving training in three-dimensional morphological analyses, phylogenetic tree construction, bioinformatics, computer modeling, and mentoring skills. The plan to broaden participation includes (1) recruitment, training, and mentoring of Queens College students from underrepresented groups in biology; (2) designing an evolutionary biology curriculum that ties in the research of the fellowship; (3) teaching an evolutionary biology class to underrepresented middle and high school students at the American Museum of Natural History; and (4) facilitating a research team for middle school and high school students.
Diversity in the STEM workforce is essential for expanding the talent pool and bringing new ideas to bear in solving societal problems, yet entrenched gaps remain. In STEM higher education, students from certain racial and ethnic groups continue to be underrepresented in STEM majors and fields. Colleges and universities have responded by offering precollege STEM programs to high school students from predominantly underrepresented groups. These programs have been shown to positively affect students' analytical and critical thinking skills, STEM content knowledge and exposure, and self-efficacy through STEM-focused enrichment and research experiences. In fact, salient research suggests that out-of-school-time, precollege STEM experiences are key influencers in students' pursuit of STEM majors and careers, and underscore the value of precollege STEM programs in their ability to prepare students in STEM. This NSF INCLUDES Alliance: STEM PUSH - Pathways for Underrepresented Students to Higher Education Network - will form a national network of precollege STEM programs to actualize their value through the creation, spread and scale of an equitable, evidence-based pathway for university admissions - precollege STEM program accreditation. Building on several successful NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots, this Alliance will use a networked improvement community approach to transform college admissions by establishing an accreditation process for precollege STEM programs in which standards-based credentials serve as indicators of program quality that are recognized by colleges and universities as rigorous and worthy of favorable consideration during undergraduate admissions processes. Given the high enrollment of students from underrepresented groups in precollege STEM programs, the Alliance endeavors to broaden participation in STEM by maximizing college access and STEM outcomes in higher education and beyond.
The STEM PUSH Network is a national alliance of precollege STEM programs, STEM and culturally responsive pedagogy experts, formal and informal education practitioners, college admissions professionals, the accreditation sector, and other higher education representatives. The Alliance will establish a formidable collaborative improvement space using the networked improvement community model and a "next generation" accreditation model that will serve as a mechanism for communicating the power of precollege programs to admissions offices. Framing this work is the notion that the accreditation of precollege STEM programs is an equitable supplemental admissions criterion to the current, often cited as a culturally biased, standardized test score-based system. To achieve its shared vision and goals, the Alliance has four key objectives: (1) establish and support a national precollege STEM program networked community, (2) develop a standards-based precollege STEM program accreditation system to broaden participation in STEM, (3) test and validate the model within the networked improvement community, and (4) spread, scale, and sustain the model through its backbone organization, the STEM Learning Ecosystem Community of Practice. Each objective will be closely monitored and evaluated by an external evaluator. In addition, the data infrastructure developed through this Alliance will provide an unprecedented opportunity to advance scholarship in the fields of networked improvement community design and development, the efficacy of STEM precollege programs, and effective practices for broadening participation pathways from high school to higher education. By the end of five years, the STEM PUSH Network will transform ten urban ecosystems across the country into communities where students from underrepresented groups have increased college access and therefore, entree to STEM opportunities and majors in higher education. The model has the potential to be replicated by another 80 STEM ecosystems that will have access to Alliance materials and strategies through the backbone organization.
This NSF INCLUDES Alliance is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. It is also co-funded by the NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program and the Advancing Informal STEM Learning Program.
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alison Slinskey LeggJan MorrisonJennifer IritiAlaine AllenDavid Boone
The concept of One Health emphasizes the connection between human health, the health of animals and the health of the environment – with the goal of improving all health. The One Health approach supports collaborations between physicians, veterinarians, dentists, nurses, ecologists, and other science, health and environmentally-related disciplines. The One Health approach is increasingly important as our population rises, agriculture intensifies, and habitat destruction increases.
The goal of our “One Health” project is to increase adolescents’ understanding of One Health concepts and the importance of One Health collaborations. We will accomplish this by developing and disseminating: (1) Classroom lessons for high school students that are case-based, incorporate hands-on activities, and align with the Next Generation Science Standards, and; (2) Activities for middle and high school students that are suitable for use in a variety of informal (non-school) education settings. During this five-year project we will:
• Collaborate with scientists and life science teachers to develop case-based, hands-on One Health lessons for high school students.
• Develop and use a reliable and valid pre/post assessment to determine the impact of the One Health lessons on student learning.
• Implement a dissemination plan in which we will recruit, train and support a national network of “teacher-presenters” to lead professional development workshops for their peers throughout the US.
• Develop activities that will be used for middle school and high school One Health field trip programs at the University of Rochester’s Life Sciences Learning Center.
• Collaborate with informal educators to create One Health activities to be used in their outreach programs.
This project is significant because it will improve students’ understanding of the One Health approach to promoting the health of people, animals, and the environment. This project will also significantly impact teachers’ awareness of One Health, and how One Health concepts are aligned with NGSS and can be incorporated into their existing curriculums. This project is innovative because it will develop One Health lessons and activities for use in a variety of settings, through partnerships with scientists, science teachers, and informal science educators. This project will also feature an innovative model for disseminating the One Health lessons to teachers nationwide using peer-to-peer professional development.
Hopa Mountain, working in partnership with Montana State University (MSU), will develop innovative and coordinated opportunities for Montana youth to strengthen their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills and knowledge while preparing them for higher education and careers in health sciences. The overall project goal of HealthMakers is to support rural and tribal youth’s interest and exposure to careers in the sciences while giving them the skills and resources to play leadership roles in increasing healthy family practices in their homes and communities. HealthMakers will achieve meaningful impacts annually through four strategies: (1) Health-focused college preparation programs for 50 teens; (2) Summer academic enrichment programs for 20 teens; (3) Community-based science literacy events for 2,000 children and their families, and (4) Professional development for educators, community members, and parents. Hopa Mountain and MSU will engage youth, educators, community leaders, and parents in training opportunities through HealthMakers. Participants will take part in community-based workshops, college tours, and summer institutes led by MSU faculty, healthcare professionals, Hopa Mountain staff, and their peers. Through these strategic aims, HealthMakers will help create a stronger workforce and inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences.
PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE:
HealthMakers will support the development of health-related outreach and college preparation programs and training resources to create a better-informed workforce for Montana and inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences. These strategic aims and deliverables benefiting rural and tribal families and children, will help create a stronger workforce and inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences. Working together, Hopa Mountain and Montana State University will support rural and tribal youth’s interest and exposure to careers in the health sciences while giving them the skills and resources to play leadership roles in increasing healthy family practices in their communities.
Underrepresented minorities (URMs) represent 33% of the US college age population and this will continue to increase (1). In contrast, only 26% of college students are URMs. In the area of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), only 15% of college students completing a STEM major are URMs (2). While there have been gains in the percent of Hispanic and Black/African Americans pursuing college degrees, the number of Native American college students remains alarmingly low. In 2013, Native Americans represented only 1% of entering college students and less than 50% finished their degree. Moreover, 1% of students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM-related fields are Native American/Alaska Native. With regards to high school graduation rates, the percent of Native American/Alaska Native students completing high school has decreased with only 51% of students completing high school in 2010 compared to 62 % and 68% for Black and Latino students respectively. While identifying ways to retain students from all underrepresented groups is important, developing programs targeting Native American students is crucial. In collaboration with the Hopi community, a three-week summer course for Native American high school students at Harvard was initiated in 2001. Within three years, the program expanded to include three additional Native American communities. 225 students participated in the program over a 10-year period; and 98% of those responding to the evaluation completed high school or obtained a GED and 98% entered two or four year colleges including 6 students who entered Harvard. This program was reinitiated in 2015 and we plan to build on the existing structure and content of this successful program. Specifically, in collaboration with two Native American communities, the goal of the program is 1) to increase participants’ knowledge of STEM disciplines and their relevance to issues in participants’ communities via a three week case-based summer course for Native American high school students; 2) to help enhance secondary school STEM education in Native American communities by providing opportunities for curriculum development and classroom enhancement for secondary school teachers in the participating Native American communities; and 3) to familiarize students with the college experience and application process and enhance their readiness for college through workshops, college courses and internships. Through these activities we hope to 1) increase the number of Native American students completing high school; 2) increase the number of Native American students applying and being accepted to college; 3) increase the number of Native American students pursuing STEM degrees and careers; 4) increase the perception among Native American students that attending and Ivy plus institution is attainable; 5) increase the feeling of empowerment that they can help their community by pursuing advanced degrees in STEM.
PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE:
This proposal supports a summer program for high school students and teachers from Native American communities. The program goals are to encourage students to complete high school and prepare them for college and to also consider degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The goals of this proposal are: 1) to provide opportunities for underrepresented students to consider careers in basic or clinical research by exciting them through an educational Citizen Science research project; 2) to provide teachers with professional development in science content and teaching skills using research projects as the infrastructure; and 3) to improve the environments and behaviors in early childcare and education settings related to healthy lifestyles across the state through HSTA students Citizen Science projects. The project will complement or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. It will encourage interactive partnerships between biomedical and clinical researchers,in-service teachers and early childcare and education facilities to prevent obesity.
Specific Aim I is the Biomedical Summer Institute for Teachers led by university faculty. This component is a one week university based component. The focus is to enhance teacher knowledge of biomedical characteristics and problems associated with childhood obesity, simple statistics, ethics and HIPAA compliance, and the principles of Citizen Science using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The teachers, together with the university faculty and staff, will develop the curriculum and activities for Specific Aim II.
Specific Aim II is the Biomedical Summer Institute for Students, led by HSTA teachers guided by university faculty. This experience will expose 11th grade HSTA students to the biomedical characteristics and problems associated with obesity with a focus on early childhood. Students will be trained on Key 2 a Healthy Start, which aims to improve nutrition and physical activity best practices, policies and environments in West Virginia’s early child care and education programs. The students will develop a meaningful project related to childhood obesity and an aspect of its prevention so that the summer institute bridges seamlessly into Specific Aim III.
Specific Aim III is the Community Based After School Club Experiences. The students and teachers from the summer experience will lead additional interested 9th–12th grade students in their clubs to examine their communities and to engage community members in conducting public health intervention research in topics surrounding childhood obesity prevention through Citizen Science. Students and teachers will work collaboratively with the Key 2 a Healthy Start team on community projects that will be focused on providing on-going technical assistance that will ultimately move the early childcare settings towards achieving best practices related to nutrition and physical activity in young children.
The purpose of the proposed project, Community of Bilingual English-Spanish Speakers Exploring Issues in Science and Health (CBESS), is to increase linguistic diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-healthcare fields, including biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research careers. With support of the large group of Spanish-English bilingual (SEB), STEM-healthcare professionals that was formed during this proposal preparation, CBESS will contribute to the pipeline between K–12 and higher education/career.
CBESS will recruit Spanish-English bilingual (SEB) high-school students at the end of tenth grade and implement several language-supported STEM-healthcare interventions during the eleventh and twelfth grade (17 months): family-engaged career exploration; Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned, inquiry-based, youth-led summer research residential program; community outreach/dissemination, internships, and mentoring.
Applying methods that are known to be effective with the target population, CBESS will also train undergraduate, near-peer instructor-mentors—STEM-healthcare Leadership Trainees (LT)—in inquiry-based instruction and strategies for positioning K–12 bilingual students as “insiders” in STEM-healthcare, as well as in the responsible conduct of research and mentoring skills, followed by practical application with SR.
CBESS will develop and expand the nascent SEB STEM-healthcare community of practice (CoP) that was created during CBESS proposal preparation. Committed academic, clinical, research, and community partners will contribute to research and evaluation efforts, and support the pipeline between K–12 and higher education/career through Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), framing priority community health issues to be addressed by each cohort of SR from among issues identified by the SR during the application process. Finally, the CoP will target long-term institutional sustainability for linguistically diverse students in STEM-healthcare education and careers.
For public health to improve, all sectors of society much have access to the highest quality health science news and information possible. How that information is translated, packaged and disseminated is important: the stories matter. Our journalism and mentoring program will grow the health science literacy of the nation by building the next generation of science communicators, ensuring that cadre of youth from historically disadvantaged groups have the discipline, creativity and critical thinking skills needed to be successful health science-literate citizens and advocates within their own communities.
Using a combination of youth-generated videos, broadcast reporting and online curriculum resources, PBS NewsHour will engineer successful educational experiences to engage students from all backgrounds, and particularly underserved populations, to explore clinical, biomedical, and behavioral research. The PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs program, currently in 41 states, will create 10 health science reporting labs to produce unique news stories that view health and science topics from a youth perspective. We will incorporate these videos into lesson plans and learning tools disseminated to the general public, educators and youth media organizations. Students will be supported along the way with curricula and mentorship on both fundamental research and the critical thinking skills necessary for responsible journalism. This process will ensure the next generation includes citizens who are effective science communicators and self-motivated learners with a deep connection to science beyond the textbook and classroom.
PBS NewsHour will develop a STEM-reporting curriculum to teach students important research skills. The program will include activities that expose students to careers in research, highlight a diverse assortment of pioneering scientists as role models and promote internship opportunities. The resources will be posted on the PBS NewsHour Extra site which has 170,000 views per month and our partner sites on PBS Learning Media and Share My Lesson—the two biggest free education resource sites on the web—thus greatly expanding the potential scope of our outreach and impact.
NewsHour broadcast topics will be finalized through our advisory panel and the researchers interviewed for the stories will be selected for their expertise and skills as effective science communicators, as well as their diversity and ability to connect with youth. Finally, we will launch an outreach and community awareness campaign through strategic partnerships and coordinated cross promotion of stories through social media platforms.
Citizen science is a form of Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) in which the participants are engaged in the scientific process to support research that results in scientifically valid data. Opportunities for participation in real and authentic scientific research have never been larger or broader than they are today. The growing popularity and refinement of PPSR efforts (such as birding and species counting studies orchestrated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) have created both an opportunity for science engagement and a need for more research to better implement such projects in order to maximize both benefits to and contributions from the public.
Towards this end, Shirk et al. have posted a design framework for PPSR projects that delineates distinct levels of citizen scientist participation; from the least to the highest level of participation, these categories are contract, contribute, collaborate, co-create, and colleagues. The distinctions among these levels are important to practitioners seeking to design effective citizen science programs as each increase in citizen science participation in the scientific process is hypothesized to have both benefits and obstacles. The literature on citizen science models of PPSR calls for more research on the role that this degree of participation plays in the quality of that participation and related learning outcomes (e.g., Shirk et al., 2012; Bonney et al., 2009). With an unprecedented interest in thoughtfully incorporating citizen science into health-based studies, citizen science practitioners and health researchers first need a better understanding of the role of culture in how different communities approach and perceive participation in health-related studies, the true impact of intended educational efforts from participation, and the role participation in general has on the scientific process and the science outcome.
Project goal to address critical barrier in the field: Establish best practices for use of citizen science in the content area of human health-based research, and better inform the design of future projects in PPSR, both in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Genetics of Taste Lab (Lab), and importantly, in various research and educational settings across the field.
Aims
Understand who currently engages in citizen science projects in order to design strategies to overcome the barriers to participation that occur at each level of the PPSR framework, particularly among audiences underrepresented in STEM.
Significantly advance the current knowledge regarding how citizen scientists engage in, and learn from, and participate in the different levels of the PPSR framework.
Determine the impact that each stage of citizen science participation has on the scientific process.
This project specifically addresses the SMRB’s imperative that “NIH’s pre-college STEM activities need a rejuvenated integrated focus on biomedical workforce preparedness with special considerations for under-represented minorities.”
Approximately one-third of CityLab’s participants are under-represented minority (URM) students, but we now have a unique opportunity to build a program that will reach many URM students and position them for undergraduate STEM success. We have partnered with urban squash education organizations in Boston (SquashBusters) and New York (CitySquash and StreetSquash) that recruit URM/low SES students to participate in after-school squash training and academic enrichment programs. We have also partnered with the Squash + Education Alliance (previously named the National Urban Squash and Education Association) to disseminate the new program—first from Boston to New York and later through its national network of affiliated squash education programs.
In order to bring this project to fruition, Boston University is joining forces with Fordham University in New York. Fordham is home to CitySquash so these organizations provide an ideal base for the New York activities. The proposed project will enable us to demonstrate feasibility and replicability within the 5-year scope of this grant. Our shared vision is to develop a national model for informal precollege biomedical science education that can be infused into a myriad of similar athletic/academic enrichment programs.
The squash education movement for urban youth has been highly successful in enrolling program graduates in college. Since the academic offerings of the squash education programs focus on English Language Arts and Mathematics, their students struggle with science and rarely recognize the tremendous opportunities for long- term employment in STEM fields.
This project will bring CityLab’s resources to local squash programs in a coordinated and sustained engagement to introduce students to STEM, specifically the biomedical sciences. Together with the urban squash centers, we will build upon the hands-on life science experiences developed and widely disseminated by CityLab to create engaging laboratory-based experiences involving athletics and physiology.
The specific aims of the proposed project are:
To develop, implement, and evaluate a new partnership model for recruiting URM/low SES students and inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM; and
To examine changes in the science learner identities (SLI) of the students who participate in this program and establish this metric as a marker for continued engagement in STEM.
With the involvement of the two urban research universities, three local squash education programs, and SEA, we see this new SEPA initiative as a unique way to pilot, refine, and disseminate an after-school/informal science education program that can have a significant impact on the nation’s production of talented STEM graduates from URM/low SES backgrounds.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Carl FranzblauDonald DeRosaCarla Romney
Recognizing that race can influence African American youths' perception of which academic disciplines and careers are available to them, this pilot study will explore how African American youths' physical and social communities can be leveraged to support the evolution of their STEM identity and their ability to recognize their potential as scientists. Unfortunately, many of these youths live in communities that are void of critical resources that research has demonstrated time and time again are critical for success in STEM disciplines and careers. This lived reality for many African American youth is the direct result of long-standing disparities in access and opportunities, fueled by racial socialization and biased institutional structures. This pilot will empower youth to recognize these disparities and use science to provide solutions. One perilous societal disparity experienced in many predominately African American communities is the lack of access to fresh produce and healthy food. As a mechanism for potential resolution, this project will consider the utility of community gardens to address this important community need and as a strategy to engage youth in STEM content and skill development. While this notion is not novel to NSF, the intent to utilize an augmented reality (AR) storytelling platform for data collection and project experiences is innovative. This technology will also provide a space for participants to share their work with each other and their broader communities. To our knowledge, this pioneering approach has not been previously piloted in this context. In addition, the pilot will engage multiple youth serving community-based organizations such as park and recreation centers and faith-based organizations in this work, which is also innovative. This is significant, as youth serving community-based organizations are often play important role in the social, educational, and cultural lives of youth and their families in communities. These organizations are often at the heart of the community, figuratively and literally. If successful, this pilot could be transformative and provide a strong basis to support similar work in other communities.
Over the two-year project duration, eighty African American youth ages 11 -14 will participate in the year-long program, across three youth-serving, community-based organizations at four sites. They will be exposed to relevant agricultural, geological, engineering and technological content through a newly developed curriculum called "Cultivating My Curriculum." Community mentors and undergraduate role models will facilitate the instruction and hands-on experiences in the garden and with the AR platform. A capstone event will be a held for the participants and community to convene to learn more about the results of the pilot and share recommendations with community leaders for improving the disparities identified during the pilot. The research component will focus on: (a) the impact of the sociocultural theoretical framework grounding the work on youths' STEM identities, (b) the integration of the AR tool, and (c) mentorship. Formative and summative evaluation will take place through focus groups, surveys, journals, and youth storytelling. Ultimately, the project endeavors to advance the narrative that African Americans are scientists and that science can be used to improve the lives of African Americans and other groups challenged by structural and racial disparities.
This pilot study 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 project is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of learning settings.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Harrison PinckneyDavid BoyerBarry GarstDilrukshi Thavarajah