ABSTRACT

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this Track 1 project aims to attract and retain more Latinx students in biology and chemistry by incorporating a culturally relevant theme into undergraduate STEM education. The Monarchs and Milkweeds Project seeks to develop a vertically integrated curriculum that spans from high school to lower- and upper-level college courses. The curriculum will focus on the biology, ecology, and chemistry of monarch butterflies and their principal food source, milkweed plants. Monarch butterflies overwinter in Mexico and return to the United States each year, and the symbolism of monarchs is prominent in some Latin cultures. Teachers and faculty from three Latinx-serving high schools, two 2-year colleges, and the University departments of biology and chemistry will collaboratively build learning activities, laboratory exercises, and other content based on the science of monarchs and milkweeds. The project also includes an intensive summer research experience in which students will investigate urban plant communities as habitat for monarchs and engage in community participatory science. The project expects to reach thousands of students, including hundreds of Latinx students, at participating high schools and colleges in the Chicago area. Further, the curriculum and related materials will be shared with other institutions, thus promoting incorporation of research experiences for students at other high schools, colleges, and universities.

Monarch larvae are specialist herbivores of milkweeds that sequester toxic steroids from milkweed plants as a defense against predators. Every fall they leave feeding grounds in the United States to overwinter in Mexico, a migration unmatched by any other insect. The complex relationship between monarchs and milkweeds spans scientific fields ranging from ecology to pharmacology and provides a rich case study to develop curriculum content in science classes from high school to upper-level university courses. The Monarchs and Milkweeds Project will focus on building learning activities, laboratory exercises, and other content based on the science of monarchs and milkweeds. Other components of the Monarchs and Milkweeds Project include an intensive summer research experience, community participatory science, dialogues to promote synergies between cultural and scientific knowledge, and opportunities for students to explore their identities as Latinx scientists. The Monarchs and Milkweeds Project aims to contribute to science education by creating new knowledge regarding improving outcomes for students in STEM, including Latinx students. The project will explore how culturally relevant content in biology and chemistry classes impacts interest in and the academic performance of Latinx students. Since all students in the courses will participate in the learning modules, the project seeks to disaggregate the impacts of integrated content versus cultural relevancy. The collaboration across urban public secondary and post-secondary education institutions will allow an assessment of the challenges and opportunities associated with designing a broad, culturally relevant science curriculum. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and to build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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