The goal of this project is to investigate best ways to prepare the youth to confront future science and engineering problems. A team of educational researchers, science teachers, and scientists investigate the design of educational digital environments to promote engagement, interest, and learning in computation and science. Middle school aged learners are presented with science problems inspired by real-world challenges that are hard to solve and particularly suited to computational solutions with creative thinking skills.

This project provides opportunities for high school teachers to learn how to integrate QIS into their STEM classrooms. Educators attend professional development and then teach what they have learned to students at STEM camps. The learn and practice approach will hopefully allow teachers to be more confident when implementing lessons in their classrooms. 

This one page summary presents the work over the past year as we have transitioned from home-based instructional settings back to in-person and hybrid-settings in the context of engaging our partner youth in learnign about coding, transparent soil, and novel technologies.

CELI uses a networked improvement community (NIC) approach to school-wide transformation, teacher, agency, and minoritized students’ climate science and belonging in two low-income public schools (a middle school and a high school) receiving all of the District’s new-immigrant students in Hayward, CA.

An interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff at Illinois State University (ISU) is collaborating with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Community-Based-Organizations (CBOs) in four Chicago neighborhoods to develop an after-school STEM program focused on renewable energy, robotics, and automation.

We designed, developed and implemented an innovative, transmedia curriculum (called CryptoComics) to teach 3rd-5th grade African American females and other afterschool learners about cryptography and cybersecurity and related careers. https://theconversation.com/comic-book-introduces-kids-to-key-concepts-and-careers-in-cybersecurity-171163

This project will provide critical insights and research into effective strategies for supporting female students in rural communities, and all students, in exploring STEM careers, and how Universal Design for Learning can play a role in removing barriers and increasing access for a broad range of learners.

The project engages high school students in exploring science-based climate scenarios and co-creating an interactive digital narrative. Project research investigates outcomes related to the project goal to improve STEM career aspirations among Latinx teens.

We will collaborate with 3 annual teacher cohorts (80 teachers total) from Florida Title I middle schools to develop innovative STEM curriculum. This will be done via week-long summer PDs, scientist-teacher partnerships, periodic virtual sharing and planning meetings, and standards-based curricular instruction during the school year. Our project activities integrating fossil sharks and AI will reach at least ~2K to 4K students each year.