Greensboro, NC — For the week of May 13-20, 2019, the National Science Foundation (NSF) 2019 STEM for All Video Showcase featured more than 240 STEM education projects from around the country. Among them were projects by UNC Greensboro Teacher Education and Higher Education (TEHE) Department’s Dr. Edna Tan, Dr. Aerin W. Benavides, and Ti’Era Worsely (“Equitably-Consequential Making Among Youth from Historically Marginalized Communities”), and Dr. Heidi Carlone and Dr. Sara Heredia (“Broadening identities for diverse groups engaging in STEM”).
Edna Tan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education (TEHE) at the UNCG School of Education, Aerin W. Benavides is a TEHE postdoctoral researcher, and Ti’Era Worsely is a TEHE graduate student. Heidi Carlone is a Professor of Science Teacher Education and the Hooks Distinguished Professor of STEM Education in TEHE, and Sara Heredia is an Assistant Professor of Science Teacher Education in TEHE.
Dr. Tan’s team’s presentation, entitled “Equitably-Consequential Making Among Youth from Historically Marginalized Communities,” looks at community-based equitable and consequential making in STEM among youth of color. STEM-rich making works to make a difference in the lives of youth who are historically marginalized from science and STEM careers.
“We highlight how youth engage in projects with transformative outcomes to benefit them and their community,” says Dr. Tan. “This is our third year to participate in the STEM for All video showcase open to the public in order to share our findings from our research into equitable and consequential community-based making.” The team includes Dr. Angela Calabrese Barton from Michigan State University, Dr. Edna Tan from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and their respective research teams.
Dr. Carlone and Dr. Heredia’s presentation, entitled “Broadening identities for diverse groups engaging in STEM,” highlights an integrated STEM curriculum for middle school youth focused solving problems of storm water runoff during Saturday Academies at UNCG. The project (BRIDGES) targets youth during early adolescence, a key time when they develop interests and identities toward academic learning that enable or prevent access to STEM academic and career opportunities. Youths’ teachers are brought on as co-designers of the STEM learning experiences. Through participation in BRIDGES, youth begin to understand that science, engineering, and computing can be used to solve interesting problems in service of “doing good” for the natural world and for human health. The project was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant #1657194).
“The BRIDGES project includes out-of-school STEM learning where youth with diverse interests and strengths are celebrated. Our focus on an environmental problem like stormwater runoff makes the curriculum relevant. For example, designers, tinkerers, animal-lovers, naturalists, altruists, and innovators all feel like they belong and that they can make unique contributions to the learning community. STEM people are not cut from the same cloth, despite popular belief.” says Dr. Carlone, Hooks Distinguished Professor of STEM Education at UNCG. “These youth give up their Saturdays to come do STEM! It’s exciting! We wanted to participate in the STEM for All Video Showcase because this is an excellent venue to share with the public innovative ways to approach equitable STEM education and the incredible potential, imagination, and motivation middle school youth bring to STEM problem solving.”
For more information, contact:
Edna Tan (e_tan@uncg.edu)
Aerin W. Benavides (awbenavi@uncg.edu)
Heidi Carlone (hbcarlon@uncg.edu)
About NSF’s Annual STEM for All Video Showcase:
Now in its fifth year, the annual showcase will feature more than 240 innovative projects aimed at improving STEM learning and teaching, which have been funded by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies. During the week-long event, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and members of the public are invited to view the short videos, discuss them with the presenters online, and vote for their favorites.
The theme for this year’s event is “Innovations in STEM Education.” Video presentations address improving K-12 STEM classroom, informal environments, undergraduate and graduate education, teacher professional development, and community engagement. Collectively the presentations cover a broad range of topics including science, mathematics, computer science, engineering, cyber-learning, citizen science, maker spaces, broadening participation, research experiences, mentoring, professional development, NGSS and the Common Core.
Last year’s STEM for All Video Showcase is still being accessed, and to date has had over 81,000 unique visitors from 186 countries.
The STEM for All Video Showcase is created and hosted by TERC, a non-profit, research and development organization, located in Cambridge, MA. TERC partners with six NSF funded resource centers: MSPnet, CADRE, CAISE, CIRCL, STELAR, and CS for All Teachers. The Video Showcase is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (#1642187).
