Making science-engineering inquiry culturally relevant In rural Colorado

Abstract

The Science-Engineering Inquiry Collaborative in Rural Colorado (SCENIC) project involves collaboration between students and faculty from CU's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and School of Education with teachers and students in rural Colorado high schools. The SCENIC project is a research-practice partnership focused on engaging youth in 11 rural high schools, mentored by engineering students from CU, in scientific and engineering inquiry with the help of air quality and soil quality monitoring tools. SCENIC focuses on project-based learning and place-based pedagogy in the context of independently formed K-12 student driven projects which allow students to connect scientific inquiry to their lives outside of school. The aim of this research-practice partnership is to better understand how project-based scientific inquiry involving high school students, supported by university students, can serve the needs of rural schools. Not everyone can or necessarily should aspire to be a scientist or engineer by trade, but the skills and knowledge acquired through formal science education are likely to benefit all students in today's world. Rural students have been historically underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering and SCENIC aims to increase access to science as a field for this population. For this poster, our research question is: how can educators make engineering-science inquiry culturally relevant to rural students? We will conduct a mixed methods analysis based on K-12 student responses to surveys, participant observations of project work, and coding of students' final project posters. By gaining understanding of the varying ways the project-based curriculum and practices can be structured, organized, and implemented, we can promote the learning and development of everyone involved. From the CU Boulder mentors to the rural high school students and teachers, SCENIC will add value to academic education research in scientific inquiry by researching structural and pedagogical approaches to project-based teaching.