The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation have made a compelling call to action not only to strengthen the pipeline of available STEM-trained talent, but in addition to foster students who are members of populations currently under-represented in science. Furthermore, the scientific community must not only increase the accessibility of STEM-related education, but also implement and test evidence-based practices. Presented here, we detail the proceedings of a hands-on, science-focused informal learning opportunity aimed at educating an underrepresented population in cancer biology. Fifteen undergraduate and graduate student volunteer instructors from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center engaged with 89 high school students, mostly Native American, in an informal learning event called "Cancer Biology and You Day." Throughout the event, students completed two independent lessons focusing on breast cancer and skin cancer and demonstrated strong learning gains associated with the lessons as assessed by KWL charts. Exit surveys of the students indicated high levels of satisfaction with the event, and positive attitudes associated with considering a career in science/research were evident in survey responses. Overall, we report the event as a success and outline how similar experiences may be achieved. Although the rate at which American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students start an undergraduate degree is Cancer Learning Event for Native American Students -Herek Vol. 2, September 2019 Journal of STEM Outreach METHODSInstitutional Review Board. All protocols and data collections were systematically collected about the activities and outcomes of the specific program event to contribute to continuous improvement and inform future program development. Thus, this study was approved by the UNMC Institutional Review Board as an educational exempt program assessment. All administered surveys were voluntary, and identities anonymized prior to electronic upload and analysis. Journal of STEM OutreachDetails of the Event. Eighty-nine registered student attendants, mostly Native American, attended the event, accompanied by their teachers. The group was comprised of students from five schools on Native American Reservations in Nebraska and South Dakota. The exact number of students who were Native American is not known, since the attendees were not required to identify their race; however, most of the partner schools invited have a student population that is >95% American Indian. The invitation issued to the schools by the UNMC YES Program did not specify any subset of students (e.g., science class students); whether the schools selected specific subsets of students to bring to the event is
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