Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Explora is an experiential learning center in Albuquerque, NM that provides inquiry-based programs and exhibits to illuminate basic concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for people of all ages. In this proposal, Explora describes a two-year Extension Project, Roots & Routes: Rural Women, STEM, and Sustainability, that will address the educational need areas of 1) student experiential learning, and 2) recruitment, retention, & educational equity in STEM for women & underrepresented minorities (URMs) from rural areas. In partnership with University of New Mexico Center for Water and the Environment, New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service 4-H and Master Gardeners, the Village of Los Ranchos, the La Familia Growers Market, the Railyards Growers Market, Zuni Youth Enrichment Program, Desert Hives, Mustard Seed Flowers, Rio Grande Community Farm, Chispas Farm, and the school garden teams at Moriarty Elementary, Los Ranchos Elementary, Valle Vista Elementary, and Dorn Charter Community School (Project Team), Explora will utilize our combined resources and expertise to address underrepresentation of the target audience in STEM through a focus on the science, technology, engineering, and math embedded in New Mexico's rich agricultural traditions, which include ecological awareness and sustainability practices.Participants will engage in two different extension activities: 1) a series of school-based programs, and 2) family workshops at local growers' markets. These activities will take place in four project hubs, each of which are primarily rural, URM areas with deep agricultural traditions: Albuquerque's South Valley, the Village of Los Ranchos, the small town of Moriarity, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The activities will be supported by the presence of local STEM professionals and farmers, who can serve as role models and mentors and help students see themselves in STEM career pathways.With the goal of increasing rural female & minority participation in food, agricultural, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences, Roots & Routes: Rural Women, STEM, and Sustainability will focus on increasing the target population's: 1) Awareness of STEM already happening in the local farming community; 2) Exposure to STEM role models--especially female farmers of color--in local food systems; 3) Interest in FANH content and careers; and 4) Self-identities as scientists. Students will develop a deep understanding of the power of roots for helping plants grow and of how their own community roots can give them the nourishment they need to explore routes to STEM careers.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
With the goal of increasing rural female & minority participation in food, agricultural, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences, Roots & Routes: Rural Women, STEM, and Sustainability will focus on increasing the target population's: 1) Awareness of STEM already happening in the local farming community; 2) Exposure to STEM role models--especially female farmers of color--in local food systems; 3) Interest in FANH content and careers; and 4) Self-identities as scientists. Students will develop a deep understanding of the power of roots for helping plants grow and of how their own community roots can give them the nourishment they need to explore routes to STEM careers.Participants will engage in two different extension activities: 1) a series of school-based programs, and 2) family workshops at local growers' markets. These activities will take place in four project hubs, each of which are primarily rural, URM areas with deep agricultural traditions: Albuquerque's South Valley, the Village of Los Ranchos, the small town of Moriarity, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The activities will be supported by the presence of local STEM professionals and farmers, who can serve as role models and mentors and help students see themselves in STEM career pathways.
Project Methods
The Project Team has chosen one question as the frame for all of our collaborative work: Can we increase the participation of females & minorities in STEM by working systemically to increase awareness of the STEM content and mentors already embedded in the rich agricultural traditions of New Mexico, while looking to our future with a focus on ecological awareness and sustainability? During conceptual design of our project plan, we utilized the guiding principles & recommendations in the recently released report, Early STEM Matters (Early Childhood STEM Working Group). Roots & Routes utilizes two of the report's four guiding principles, both addressing the role of adults in developing STEM literacy and affecting STEM attitudes & interests. According to the report, young children "need adult assistance to foster, guide, and build on their interests to ensure adequate early STEM experiences." (EarlyChildhood STEM Working Group, pg. 12). Our project focuses on adult-child engagement in STEM and includes adults who interact with children in many different contexts, with a focus on families of color living and working in four farming regions of NM: the Tribal community of Zuni Pueblo, the small central NM town of Moriarty, Albuquerque's South Valley, and the Village of Los Ranchos. The report also states that we must work to change adults' existing attitudes about STEM "by building adults' and children's self-efficacy around their ability to learn and do STEM, especially in groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM careers, such as women and minorities" (Early Childhood STEM Working Group, pg. 16). Explora's project focuses on community-embedded STEM activities that build interest and confidence in STEM for children of color in local rural areas. Explora will serve as the backbone organization for this collaborative project, which creates rich learning opportunities that build on students' heritage, highlights the STEM taking place at local community farms, and connects students with neighbors working in agriculture, ecology, and sustainability fields. Programming facilitated during a pilot project demonstrated that these strategies are highly impactful, and research backs up this experience. Recent research by a team at University of Wisconsin demonstrated that students who see science applied in the real world are more likely to remain in STEM degree programs; this effect is especially strong for students from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in STEM (Asher, Harackiewicz, Beymer, Hecht, Lamont, Else-Quest, Priniski, Thoman, Hyde, and Smith, 2023). Moreover, outdoor experiences have a positive impact on children's mental well-being, overall health and cognitive development, attention restoration, memory, competence, supportive social groups, self-discipline, stress moderation, behaviors and symptoms of ADHD, and even standardized test scores (McCormick, 2017).The long-term goal of Roots & Routes is to work strategically with a variety of community-based organizations to increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in FANH STEM education and career exploration. Supporting objectives include 1) to use hands-on, experiential learning to increase the awareness of and appreciation for the many ways in which NM's Hispanic and Indigenous communities use STEM every day, particularly in their long-held agricultural traditions, and 2) to build and strengthen relationships and intersectional, interdisciplinary collaboration among academia, STEM professionals, and local agriculturalfamilies.In Year One (09/2024-08/2025) Explora will convene bi-monthly Project Team meetings for planning, brainstorming, vetting ideas, activity co-development, reflection, review of prototyping and evaluation, and ongoing relationship-building. The first year will begin with the Project Team reflecting on learning gained through the pilot project and building on the interest that was expressed for an additional focus on sustainability and ecological awareness. Collaboration with new project partners and students in the South Valley, Zuni Pueblo, Morarity, and the Village of Los Ranchos will occur. New programs will be facilitated in English, Spanish, and Ashiwi (Zuni), as needed. Families at schools participating in programs will be given no-cost family memberships to Explora, which will allow them unlimited access to continued family engagement with STEM. Learning from these programs will inform curriculum for family workshops, which will occur during the spring/summer of Year 1 at growers' markets. Also, the external evaluator will provide ongoing evaluation throughout Year 1 to inform the Project Team's work and allow us to change course, as needed. University professionals from University of New Mexico and NM State University will serve as additional mentors for young people, providing models of New Mexicans who went away to school to become STEM professionals and returned to serve their communities. Near the end of the year, the Team will start drafting a Sustainability Plan and will present at a conference.In Year Two (09/2025-08/2026) bi-monthly Project Team meetings will continue. Explora, with feedback from project partners, will refine the curriculum & program design, based on results of the evaluation & research. Multigenerational family programs will continue at local growers' markets, and the school-based series of programs will continue to be held in Los Ranchos, Zuni Pueblo, Morarity, and the South Valley. The project evaluator will continue evaluation throughout Year 2 and will produce a summative evaluation report, while the researchers will finalize & disseminate findings. The Project Team will finalize a Sustainability Plan and will present the project results at two annual conferences.