Nuestra Ciencia: Transforming microbiology for Spanish-speaking elementary and college students

This forward-looking perspective describes the university-elementary bilingual partnership program Nuestra Ciencia. This program aims to simultaneously tackle two parallel sets of challenges, the first related to recruitment and retention of Latinx into STEM fields, and the second related to generalized microbiology misconceptions. Latinxs are severely underrepresented in STEM fields, in part because they face systemic barriers and typically arrive at college with a weaker science foundation from their K-12 education and thus are less likely to be drawn to STEM majors. Beyond grappling with the science content, Latinx students reach college with assumptions about who belongs in science practices and professions, which in turn negatively affect their representation in STEM careers. Misconceptions also plague microbiology education, and most students reach college with deep-seated yet inaccurate ideas about the microbial world, such as the ways in which vaccines and antibiotics work. Unfortunately, lack of microbiology literacy has a direct impact on personal choices that can affect individuals but also the success of public health and environmental policies. Nuestra Ciencia addresses both sets of problems, as we work with interdisciplinary groups of undergraduates to develop engaging experiments for elementary classrooms that illustrate microbiology concepts, and then visit bilingual classrooms to lead the experiments in Spanish. Lessons have accompanying resources in Spanish and English for teachers and students, including background information, handouts, and assessment tools. In this manuscript, we outline the background, goals and components of the program, review activities developed for elementary students, and share potential impact and lessons learned. Additionally, we explore future directions and outreach activities, especially in relation to online learning.

Perspectives on Community STEM: Learning from Partnerships between Scientists, Researchers, and Youth

Given our rapidly changing world and the pressing challenges of climate change and health care, it is more important than ever for youth and the broader public to learn scientific knowledge and skills. To reach the most people possible and increase diversity in STEM fields, we need compelling educational approaches that incorporate the lived experiences of students. Partnerships between researchers, scientists, educators, and community groups can enrich and extend scientists' research while providing authentic scientific learning experiences for undergraduate and K-12 students, especially from STEM-underrepresented groups. However, more research is needed on equitable long-term partnerships, including how these projects are organized and how partners align their interests and goals. In this paper, we present recommendations from research-practice partnership projects that utilize a Community STEM Model, an approach which draws from individual and collective strengths, contextualizes science learning, and positions youth as producers of content and artifacts. To situate this work, we review and highlight biology-related citizen and community science projects designed for youth. We characterize projects according to their goals and format, provide illustrative examples of three programs, and provide recommendations for other scientists and researchers. Overall, this paper reviews research on all three approaches for partnerships (citizen science, community science, and community STEM) to provide recommendations for scientists who are interested in establishing partnerships within their communities. Limitations of each approach are described as well as areas for further research.

Designing for Broad Understanding of Science Insights from Practice

With the acceleration and increasing complexity of macro-scale problems such as climate change, the need for scientists to ensure that their work is understood has become urgent. As citizens and recipients of public funds for research, scientists have an obligation to communicate their findings in ways many people can understand. However, developing translations that are broadly accessible without being "dumbed down" can be challenging. Fortunately, tenets of visual literacy, combined with narrative methods, can help to convey scientific knowledge with fidelity, while sustaining viewers' interest. Here we outline strategies for such translating, with an emphasis on visual approaches. Among the examples is an innovative, National Science Foundation-funded professional development initiative in which National Park rangers use scientists' imagery to create compelling explanations for the visiting public. Thoughtful visualizations based on interpretive images, motion pictures, 3D animations and augmented, immersive experiences complement the impact of the natural resource and enhance the role of the park ranger. The visualizations become scaffolds for participatory exchanges in which the ranger transcends the traditional roles of information-holder and presenter, to facilitate provocative conversations that provide members of the public with enjoyable experiences and well-founded bases for reflection and ultimately understanding. The process of generating the supporting visualizations benefits from partnerships with design professionals, who develop opportunities for engaging the public by translating important scientific findings and messages in compelling and memorable ways.

Beyond the Brown Bag: Designing Effective Professional Development for Informal Educators

Most researchers are keenly interested in disseminating their work beyond traditional publication routes. With an eye to increasing broader impacts, scientists can benefit from partnerships with informal educators who interact daily with the public and see their role as translating science to increase the public's intellectual and emotional connections with the natural world. Typically, researchers give a one-time lunch hour talk, generally a modified version of a presentation aimed at scientific peers. Talks during which scientists show slides and interpreters mainly listen are a missed opportunity. They leave the scientist no wiser about the public's interests and the nagging questions interpreters have. Such talks leave the conscientious park educator with insufficient resources for overcoming challenges in interpreting the science for the public. The Interpreters and Scientists Working on Our Parks (iSWOOP) project proposes a model of professional development (PD) that involves a deliberate partnership where scientists and educators work together. During site-based PD sessions, they tease out the relevance to public audiences and begin to develop programs about the science. This article describes iSWOOP's approach to supporting productive collaborations that promote an understanding of scientific research to public audiences. Results from a pair of surveys indicate that both sides of this partnership benefit from extended contact and clear communication.