Our project goals were to: increase adults' and teens' knowledge and skills in STEM fields; promote adults' and teens' interest and confidence in using geospatial technologies to understand and solve environmental problems; and foster STEM identity authoring/learning in adult community conservation leaders and high school-aged adolescents. To this end, we developed an informal STEM learning program for intergenerational (teen-adult) teams to learn geospatial technologies and conservation science that they then applied to community conservation projects. Through the five years of the program, 148 teens and 118 adults participated collectively in the twelve training workshops that were held in both rural and urban areas across the state. Of the 118 intergenerational teams, 71% completed a local conservation project (https://nrca.uconn.edu/projects). Furthermore, of the 86 community conservation projects completed as part of the program, 119 participants presented their work at a local or regional conference.

The quantitative and qualitative research conducted as part of this project, alongside our experiences planning and leading the associated informal STEM learning program, led to a set of four design principles: (1) connect the project to teen and adult interests and identities, (2) connect the project to community needs and real-world challenges, (3) connect the project to disciplinary knowledge and practice, and (4) connect the project to community by sharing it publicly, and four communication pillars: (a) building relationships, (b) creating equal partnerships in action, (c) honoring the strengths of all teammates, and (d) establishing feedback systems. 

Part of our research centered on developing Conservation Science and Technology Identity (CSTI) instruments as an empirical way to measure STEM identities and the intersection of identity constructs such as competence, performance, recognition, and ways of seeing and being. We found teens and adults had historically similar STEM identities, with stronger conservation science than technology. Both science and technology competences, as well as technology ways of seeing and being, significantly increased, suggesting CSTI can be a valuable instrument in empirically assessing STEM identities.

Our results indicate that participants increased their understanding, engagement, and self-recognition of conservation science and technology content and performances. The participants benefited from the workshops and long-term projects, both in how they reported feeling more competent to engage in a community conservation project utilizing geospatial technologies and the ways they demonstrated facility in using disciplinary knowledge (i.e., competences) and practices (i.e., performances) to accomplish meaningful community conservation science projects. Post-program survey respondents indicated that the program positively impacted their interest and understanding of areas related to environmental issues and how to address them. For example, participating in the program increased their understanding of: 1) conducting research on environmental problems, 2) restoring the environment, 3) protecting the environment, and 4) using geospatial (mapping) technology. The majority of adults and teens who responded to the post-program survey continued to be involved in some conservation-related activities, and many of those individuals reported that their involvement was influenced by their participation in the program. Most students who responded to the survey agreed or strongly agreed that involvement in the program increased their interest in taking courses related to the environment and conservation and that their experience in the program influenced their choice of a college major. 

We also explored the nuanced and complex ways that families develop interests, identities, and learning across time and space. Mapping the previous learning experiences of two families in our informal STEM learning program allowed us to gain a much more complete picture of their knowledge and their developing identities. Our family cultural learning pathways have illuminated the repeated and diverse ways that families have constructed these identities across time and space. Additionally, this project revealed how parents created contexts for supporting the academic and values learning of their children, all within a culturally specific context. The CTP project allowed parents to act as learners alongside their children in our workshops and for the young adults to take leadership of, and ownership over the project - trying on a new role.

This project has provided training in identity authoring research and teaching experiences to diverse audiences, as well as professional development via collaboration with our interdisciplinary faculty team to numerous undergraduate interns and graduate students from the departments of Natural Resources and the Environment, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geography, Digital Media and Design, and the Neag School of Education. Given the interdisciplinary and intergenerational nature of this project, we have shared the results and outcomes through a variety of means to reach researchers and academics, informal and formal educators, local conservation volunteers and youth and the general public. To date, project findings have been disseminated through nine peer-reviewed journal articles and more than two dozen conference presentations, including five STEM for All Video Showcases. 

Last Modified: 11/07/2022
Modified by: John C Volin