Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve
Title: Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve
Nature field trips offer opportunities for urban students’ exploration, discovery, and learning which they may not experience otherwise. Seventh grade students at an economically disadvantaged urban school in the US Midwest sorted statements related to school, nature, and science before and after their field trip experience. These sorts provide a snapshot of students’ subjective thoughts on the topic. The statements were developed from student writings from the previous year’s 7th grade field trip. As a qualitatively focused mixed method, Q methodology [Q] requires only a relatively small group of participants (here just under 50). The sorts were then statistically grouped based on similarity of the sorts with the resulting three perspectives: Active Nature Learners, Not a Nature Lover, and The Environmentalists. Thus, Q provided differentiation of student views about nature before and after the field trip. Thirty-percent of those who provided sorts before and after the field trip changed their viewpoint to one that was more positive about nature (Active Nature Learners) or the environment (The Environmentalists). Students’ written comments and the descriptive viewpoints stakeholder feedback that can be used for program improvement. For instance, The Environmentalists view provides an outcome goal for the field trip experience for students. more »« less
Harlow, D.
(, 2021 American Society for Engineering Education Conference Proceedings)
null
(Ed.)
Interactive science centers are in a unique position to provide opportunities for engineering education through K-12 field trip programs. However, field trip programs are often disconnected from students’ classroom learning, and many K-12 teachers lack the engineering education background to make that connection. Engineering Explorations is a 3-year project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) program Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) (EEC-1824856 and EEC-1824859). The primary goal of this project is to develop and test engineering education modules that link K-12 students’ classroom learning to field trip experiences in an interactive science museum, increasing student learning and extending the field trip experiences. Each Engineering Explorations module consists of one 50-minute field trip program completed at an interactive science center and curriculum for three 50-minute lessons to be implemented by the classroom teacher before (2 lessons) and after (1 lesson) the field trip program. Our paper will present both development and research outcomes.
Gugliucci, Nicole; Demers, Kelly
(, 2021 Meeting of the New England Educational Research Organization)
null
(Ed.)
This study describes how a semester-long after-school teaching experience can attract undergraduate STEM majors to consider a career in secondary education. Surveys of and interviews with eight STEM undergraduates show a positive trend toward considering teaching as a career in most cases. An additional senior not originally recruited for the program was interviewed about their experience as a volunteer and how it led them to apply for and accept a teaching position at a high school after graduation. For some participants, they were too far along towards their degree to add secondary education as a second major and pursue certification before graduation, but this experience provided early enough in a student’s educational career has the potential to increase the number of STEM-talented secondary educators entering the field. This after-school program therefore shows promise in recruiting future STEM educators while it also serves high school students from a high-need district.
Stiner-Jones, L
(, Proceedings ASEE annual conference)
This study expands on our prior work of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) SITE program to provide data on participant preparation for success in graduate school and their perceptions of the program. In the first two studies from our initial cohort, we summarized that we effectively provided an independent research experience, increased participants perception of preparedness for success in the graduate application process and graduate school and increased their ability to communicate about Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB)1. In the follow up study we showed that by the end of the program students believed they were better prepared for success in graduate school, two students co-authored publications from their projects, and the majority were enrolled in a graduate program2. Here we share data across our first two cohorts which expands our outcomes associated with graduate school preparation and student perceptions of the REU SITE program. We used our site-licensed online survey tool Qualtrics to administer the surveys for data collection. We used the same pre- and post-survey data to assess changes for both ten student cohorts over the 10-week period. The data were analyzed using a paired t-test from GraphPad Prism 9.3.0 software. This study confirmed the findings from the first two studies while highlighting new information. The new analysis conducted across both cohorts showed participation in the program influenced student interest in applying to graduate school p< 0.05. Additionally, the data show that participants felt more prepared to conduct independent research after participating p<0.05. Of the twenty participants the twelve students who have graduated or will be graduating before summer 2023 are enrolled in a graduate program or have applied for admission. Six of those yet to graduate reported they plan to pursue a graduate degree after completing their BS degree. Additionally, students felt the program prepared them to find and read research articles p<0.01 and participate at a conference p<0.05, skills that will be beneficial for success in a graduate program. Ninety-five percent of the participants indicated the REU SITE met or exceeded their expectations and would recommend the program to others. Similarly, 95% were satisfied with the mentorship of their graduate ambassador and 100% indicated they were satisfied with the mentorship of their faculty. Additionally, we were excited to find that after an adjustment to our program after the first cohort, the second cohort felt prepared to contribute to the field of BMMB p<0.05. This was an objective of the program that was not achieved with the first cohort. Lastly, 85% of participants were from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds and 70% were female. Thus, the enrollment of our participants in graduate programs continues to enhance diversity in engineering and the field of BMMB. Going forward we will continue to track the progress of participants and the careers they choose after completion of their graduate degrees. We will also continue to use student feedback to improve the experience for participants.
We worked with local K–6 teachers to develop lesson plans that would connect a 50-minute engineering design challenge, completed during a field trip, to the students’ classroom learning. The result was a model for designing pre-visit classroom activities that develop students’ familiarity with phenomena, tools, and processes that will be used during the field trip and post-visit classroom activities that provide students with opportunities to reflect on some of their field trip experiences. While the field trip activity alone is an exciting and productive learning opportunity, students who complete the full set of classroom and field trip activities participate in a richer experience that engages them in more of the practices of science and engineering and more fully develops the disciplinary core ideas related to engineering and physical science. Each Engineering Exploration module includes four activities: an engineering design activity completed during a field trip to an interactive science museum, accompanied by two preactivities and one post activity done in students’ classroom and facilitated by their elementary school teacher. While each classroom activity was designed to take no more than 50 minutes, many teachers found it valuable to extend each lesson to allow for deeper discussion and engagement with the activities. The classroom experiences presented here are associated with a field trip program in which students iteratively design a craft out of paper and tape that will hover above a “fire” (upward moving column of air) while carrying a “sensor” (washer). The classroom activities surrounding this field trip help students develop conceptual understandings of forces to navigate the engineering design challenge.
Rakes, Christopher R.; Wesneski, Angela; Laws, Rebecca
(, Education Sciences)
This paper describes how plan-do-study-act cycles engaged a classroom mentor teacher and student teacher in a professional collaboration that resulted in two inquiry activities for high-school geometry classes. The PDSA cycles were carried out in four high school geometry classes, each with 30 to 35 students, in a mid-Atlantic urban school district in the U.S. The four geometry classes were co-taught by the second and third authors of this paper. The data consisted of classroom documents (e.g., activity prompts, tasks), classroom observations, student feedback about activities, and monthly PDSA reports. The PDSA cycles had a direct effect on the professional learning of the teachers. The resultant classroom activities used a data collection approach to engaging students in inquiry to learn about trigonometry functions and density. Student learning behaviors were noticeably improved during these activities compared with traditional mathematics instruction. We concluded that the data collection sequence provided an accessible entry point for students to begin scientific inquiry in mathematics. The process opened the conceptual space for students to develop curiosity about mathematical phenomena and to explore their own research questions. The use of culturally relevant topics was especially compelling to students, and the open-ended nature of these exploratory activities allowed students to see mathematics through their own cultural lenses.
Ramlo, Susan. Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10086387. The Urban Review . Web. doi:10.1007/s11256-018-0473-x.
Ramlo, Susan. Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve. The Urban Review, (). Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10086387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0473-x
Ramlo, Susan.
"Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve". The Urban Review (). Country unknown/Code not available. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0473-x.https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10086387.
@article{osti_10086387,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {Examining Urban, American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10086387},
DOI = {10.1007/s11256-018-0473-x},
abstractNote = {Nature field trips offer opportunities for urban students’ exploration, discovery, and learning which they may not experience otherwise. Seventh grade students at an economically disadvantaged urban school in the US Midwest sorted statements related to school, nature, and science before and after their field trip experience. These sorts provide a snapshot of students’ subjective thoughts on the topic. The statements were developed from student writings from the previous year’s 7th grade field trip. As a qualitatively focused mixed method, Q methodology [Q] requires only a relatively small group of participants (here just under 50). The sorts were then statistically grouped based on similarity of the sorts with the resulting three perspectives: Active Nature Learners, Not a Nature Lover, and The Environmentalists. Thus, Q provided differentiation of student views about nature before and after the field trip. Thirty-percent of those who provided sorts before and after the field trip changed their viewpoint to one that was more positive about nature (Active Nature Learners) or the environment (The Environmentalists). Students’ written comments and the descriptive viewpoints stakeholder feedback that can be used for program improvement. For instance, The Environmentalists view provides an outcome goal for the field trip experience for students.},
journal = {The Urban Review},
author = {Ramlo, Susan},
}
Warning: Leaving National Science Foundation Website
You are now leaving the National Science Foundation website to go to a non-government website.
Website:
NSF takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the views expressed or the accuracy of
the information contained on this site. Also be aware that NSF's privacy policy does not apply to this site.
An official website of the United States government
