Author(s):
The primary goal of this project was to increase the number of students interested in pursuing degrees/careers in the geosciences, especially historically underrepresented and socioeconomically depressed students. We focused on high school students as it has been shown to be a key time for development of career interests and persistence in STEM disciplines. We developed a 3-session series of hands-on activities focused on the place-based issue of lead in their community and its negative impact on young children. The activities included hands-on sampling and analysis of lead in soils from around their residences, and team-based collaborative projects to reclaim a lead-contaminated abandoned lot in their community, and to identify areas inside a neighbor’s house where young children may be exposed to elevated lead levels.In spring 2023, the program was implemented at 6 different schools in NW Ohio involving 13 teachers and over 500 students. The program was evaluated using a Likert scale pre- and post-survey. Questions were designed to capture changes in student knowledge and interest in geosciences, attitude toward science, and career interest in geosciences. A paired t-test was utilized to examine the difference between the pre- and post-survey responses. The results showed statistically significant increases in all 3 survey categories (p <0.05). The effect size of each scale was also measured, and it was determined that the greatest effect was on knowledge and interest (0.95), followed by attitudes (0.44), and finally career interest (0.14). Noting the increase in career interest was small, we recognized that we first needed to increase knowledge and attitude toward geosciences before we can expect to see an increase in career interest. Based on the spring results, in fall 2023, we revised the survey questions to include student self-efficacy, science anxiety, and value of place-based activities. We ran the sessions at 9 different schools with 19 teachers and over 800 students involved with a total of 597 viable surveys obtained (51% minority and 53% female). The t-tests on the overall survey responses revealed a positive impact on all five of the measured survey areas (p <0.05) and all were determined to be reliable (>0.40) and had educationally meaningful impacts (effect size >0.25) based on What Works Clearinghouse criteria. The greatest effect size (0.91) was in self-efficacy which has been shown to predict student academic achievement and future career choices. Further, ANOVA tests showed there was no significant difference in the changes between pre- and post-survey responses based on ethnicity. However, by gender, females showed greater gains in all five survey areas and an ANOVA test followed by a TUKEY HSD post-hoc analysis showed it was significant for self-efficacy and anxiety towards science. A breakdown by grade level showed the lowest perception of science was reported by 8th graders. In summary, this project engaged a total of over 1300 high school students, and the results from fall 2023 show statistically significant improvements in their perception of science, self-efficacy, career interest, anxiety towards science, and value of place-based education through a single 3-session outreach program.
Coauthors
Lauren Huhn, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
