Increasing Access to STEM Education through Independent Research Projects Inspired by the Smithsonian National Zoo
Abstract
In addition to hosting approximately 20 local high school students (in two cohorts each over the summers of 2020 and 2021) in the Leftwich Lab at the George Washington University (GWU) to complete independent, mentored research projects inspired by the animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo (SNZ), we will produce two sets of lesson plans based on the program that will be made freely available for public use: a guideline for others to reproduce a similar experience for upper high school aged students; and, a set of low-cost activities aimed at younger (elementary aged) children that incorporate basic science and biomechanics. This second set will aim to engage and teach students around animal inspired projects in a way that resources and cost willnot be a barrier. In this project, we will improve upon a pilot project that combines the common experience of a trip to the zoo with an in-depth independent research project. The PI will use her existing relationship with the SNZ, and the American Trail and pinniped staff, to help high school students make connections between animals and engineering problems. We will include lessons learned and feedback from our program evaluations from the 2019 pilot experience to improve on the week-long in-depth research experience for approximately 10 local high school students from the DMV area.While highly successful, the impact of the pilot program is limited to the 10 students that participate. Based on the number of applications received for the pilot program (77) it is clear that there is demand for this program. By creating a template for others to follow, including guidelines for building partnerships with wildlife facilities, experimental protocols and lesson plans for seminars, we hope that many more students in many more communities can be exposedto the ideas and principles of bio engineering. Finally, with a longer timeline of this project, we will explore ways to adapt the laboratory bioengineering experiments to a younger student through low-cost activities appropriate for elementary aged students. There are three goals for this proposed project: (1) an in-depth, week-long experience for 10 local high school students based on the pilot program in the summer of 2019, (2) a guidebook for creating programs based on this template, and (3) a set of low-cost bioinspired projects forelementary school aged children. The biological systems housed on the American Trail at the SNZ have direct relevance to the Naval mission. After the participants select their system and begin to choose their projects, we will lead a discussion about Naval relevance and the path from basic research to application and deployable technology. This is often a connection that young scientists and the general public fail to make. We will offer case studies in fundamental research that leads to expected, and unexpected, technological breakthroughs. After the discussion, the participants will be asked to reflect on their own projects and write a brief statement of the potential applications of their research and the future Naval relevance of those applications. This reflection will become part of the project abstract described above. Additionally, the pilot project and program at GWU has a direct impact on the training and engagement of the future workforce. However, by creatingprograms that will be widely available, we will have an indirect impact on a potentially large number of future STEM students and, hopefully, workers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 08, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142012378
Entities
People
- Megan C. Leftwich
Organizations
- George Washington University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy