(539f) Strategies for the Promotion of K-12 Science Education for Impacted, Multicultural Student Populations

The recruitment of talented U.S. students for technical careers is key for the development of the future workforce or Workforce 2020. For Workforce 2020, the goals for the future U.S. workers include higher level technical skills (i.e., computer programming, fundamental science and mathematics skills, and critical thinking skills) and a highly diverse employee talent pool. One important factor in producing significant amounts of highly-trained technical U.S. workers is the successful recruitment, retention and training of K-12 students in mathematics and the sciences. Pre-college students have been reported, especially female and underrepresented group students, to become less interested or to be discouraged from pursuing a technical educational track as early as grades 3-7. As the U.S. professional workforce continues to increase in gender and racial diversity, it becomes more important than ever to increase the numbers of K-12 students from the U.S. who seek college degrees in science, math, engineering and technology (SMET) areas.

Other challenges to meeting U.S. workforce development goals include the current de-emphasis of science in elementary education, the challenges in recruiting and retaining veteran science-trained faculty for elementary education, and the shortage of SMET role-models for U.S. K-12 students; and the use of end-of-grade assessment exams which typically focus on math and reading learning only. Proposed strategies for addressing these challenges may include: (1.) The use of integrated science-base learning units which serve to simultaneously instruct and stimulate students in mathematics, reading/language skills and other areas; (2.) Educational tools which utilize hands-on and group learning opportunities to teach pupils relevant science-based topics such as environmental and polymer chemistry; and (3.) collaborative partnerships between schools, academia and industry which use field trips / site visits, school visits by technical professionals, and resource sharing of items such lab equipment, computers, etc. to enhance K-12 educational opportunities.

In this ongoing project, third and fourth graders at Archer Elementary School a Title I school with a highly multicultural student population in Greensboro, North Carolina were exposed to several levels of science-emphasized education techniques. These techniques included onsite science lectures conducted by University faculty, science-themed reading and math activities, in-class science lessons and hands-on science demonstrations facilitated by teams of University faculty, college & high school students. This work will discuss the challenges faced in providing effective learning opportunities for students in impacted schools and the techniques utilized to increase student interest in science-related fields.