For 5 years, I had the fortune of working in science outreach at Duke (Building Opportunities and Overtures in Science and Technology; BOOST). These experiences helped me understand what the scientific community stands to gain from a robust STEM pipeline starting as early as middle school.
Below is an outline of the efforts we made to the describe the BOOST program - a longitudinal STEM pathway program that can be implemented at any university infrastructure with relatively low financial burden. Keep in mind that the way I decided to interact with my community will likely be much different than how you choose to do so, and that's perfectly fine. Find what ways of helping that naturally motivate you, and go out there and take action. Like research, genuine engagement with your community takes time, effort, and motivation.
Below is an outline of the efforts we made to the describe the BOOST program - a longitudinal STEM pathway program that can be implemented at any university infrastructure with relatively low financial burden. Keep in mind that the way I decided to interact with my community will likely be much different than how you choose to do so, and that's perfectly fine. Find what ways of helping that naturally motivate you, and go out there and take action. Like research, genuine engagement with your community takes time, effort, and motivation.
A blueprint for longitudinal, sustainable STEM outreach
Racial inequities are pervasive in all fields of STEM, often manifesting as participation and performance gaps between white students and their black/hispanic counterparts. To get an idea of what participation and performance looked like across black & hispanic vs. white students in Durham, NC, we surveyed the Durham public school database (figure above). The results were clear: even in schools that are majority black and latino, white students singificantly outperformed their counterparts.
Underlying this representational gap are complex factors that include socio-economic disadvantages (Caro et al., 2015; Taningco et al., 2008), limited access to role models (Lawner et al., 2019; Simard, 2009), inadequate science instruction (Rainey et al., 2019; Bell et al., 2009) and pervasive achievement gaps in early education (Gándara, 2006; NSF, 2018). STEM outreach programs have emerged as a way to address these complex challenges by preparing students through relevant and engaging curricula for early and sustained success in STEM.
The goal of this work was to describe an effective STEM pathway program, "Building opportunities and overtures in science and technology" (BOOST) that empowers students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and seeks to enact long-lasting change in their future career plans.
Underlying this representational gap are complex factors that include socio-economic disadvantages (Caro et al., 2015; Taningco et al., 2008), limited access to role models (Lawner et al., 2019; Simard, 2009), inadequate science instruction (Rainey et al., 2019; Bell et al., 2009) and pervasive achievement gaps in early education (Gándara, 2006; NSF, 2018). STEM outreach programs have emerged as a way to address these complex challenges by preparing students through relevant and engaging curricula for early and sustained success in STEM.
The goal of this work was to describe an effective STEM pathway program, "Building opportunities and overtures in science and technology" (BOOST) that empowers students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and seeks to enact long-lasting change in their future career plans.
BOOST is based on principles of
1) Near-peer mentorship. Students benefit from having role models that look and act like them. BOOSTs ecosystem model prioritizes this need by placing kids (scholars, 5th grade at start) in groups that undertake a year-long scientific project. Each group is assigned a coach for guidance (typically a graduate student or medical student or postdoc), as well as a junior coach (typically 9th-10th graders) and junior coach in training (7th-8th graders).
The goal of this model is to enable multidirectional learning, with all components of the team acting as a team, rather than a purely student-teacher dichotomy.
Typically we break down a class of ~30 into teams of 4-5 students that will work together for an entire year, and this process is repeated as students stay onboard for up to 3 years before they move on to being junior coaches in training.
1) Near-peer mentorship. Students benefit from having role models that look and act like them. BOOSTs ecosystem model prioritizes this need by placing kids (scholars, 5th grade at start) in groups that undertake a year-long scientific project. Each group is assigned a coach for guidance (typically a graduate student or medical student or postdoc), as well as a junior coach (typically 9th-10th graders) and junior coach in training (7th-8th graders).
The goal of this model is to enable multidirectional learning, with all components of the team acting as a team, rather than a purely student-teacher dichotomy.
Typically we break down a class of ~30 into teams of 4-5 students that will work together for an entire year, and this process is repeated as students stay onboard for up to 3 years before they move on to being junior coaches in training.
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2) The second goal of BOOST is to combine this social peer-learning ecosystem with hands-on learning. We designed and made a protocol for over 20 lectures with salient scientific experiments that would get kids as engaged as possible. Every lecture, we break down the concepts of the lesson and link them to the ongoing scientific projects that are being developed by every team.
With these components in place, we have a sustainable ecosystem that doesn't depend solely on new coach volunteers or short-term experiences. Instead, students themselves take on part of the mentorship role, allowing them to develop new skills, and reducing the need for extra personnel.
The core program (monthly scientific projects) is supplemented by field trips. In the past, we've taken advantage of local wild life organizations, national science and engineering festivals, and even trips to google headquarters. Of course, this requires institutional support and funding. BOOST funding comes from an NIH grant we obtained.
So far, BOOST has graduated over 400 students, and has evolved into an entire community and support network.
More info on BOOST: https://sites.duke.edu/boost/
So far, BOOST has graduated over 400 students, and has evolved into an entire community and support network.
More info on BOOST: https://sites.duke.edu/boost/
