Evaluating the Impact of Interaction between Middle School Students and Materials Science and Engineering Researchers

Greco, Shannon; Steinberg, Daniel J.

doi:10.1557/opl.2011.1180

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Several universities and science research institutes have reported on their experience with facilitating short, often one-day, interactions between researchers and school students. A prominent set of activities involves inviting school students to institutions to meet scientists and see laboratories 22 , 40 , 51 , 52 , or to attend open days comprising science demonstrations facilitated by scientists 53 . An alternative approach in the USA is the ‘Scientists In Classrooms’ (Fitzakerley, Michlin 54 where neuroscientists enter classrooms to provide a 40–60-minute talk about their work aiming to promote neuroscience literacy and positive attitudes towards neuroscience.…”

Section: International Experience Of School Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of a programme to engage school students with health research and science in Kenya

Davies¹,

Mwangome²,

Yeri³

et al. 2019

Wellcome Open Res

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Facilitating mutually-beneficial educational activities between researchers and school students is an increasingly popular way for research institutes to engage with communities who host health research, but these activities have rarely been formally examined as a community or public engagement approach in health research. The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi, Kenya, through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach involving students, teachers, researchers and education stakeholders, has incorporated ‘school engagement’ as a key component into their community engagement (CE) strategy. School engagement activities at KWTRP aim at strengthening the ethical practice of the institution in two ways: through promoting an interest in science and research among school students as a form of benefit-sharing; and through creating forums for dialogue aimed at promoting mutual understanding between researchers and school students. In this article, we provide a background of CE in Kilifi and describe the diverse ways in which health researchers have engaged with communities and schools in different parts of the world. We then describe the way in which the KWTRP school engagement programme (SEP) was developed and scaled-up. We conclude with a discussion about the challenges, benefits and lessons learnt from the SEP implementation and scale-up in Kilifi, which can inform the establishment of SEPs in other settings.

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Section: International Experience Of School Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of a programme to engage school students with health research and science in Kenya

Davies¹,

Mwangome²,

Yeri³

et al. 2019

Wellcome Open Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the King David School in Australia a mentor program has positively influenced student attitudes toward STEM (Cerovac, 2013). A one day event for middle school students at the Princeton Centre for Complex Materials resulted in more positive attitudes toward science and scientists (Greco and Steinberg, 2011). So there are indications that targeted interventions have an effect on student attitudes.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Using Young Professionals to Influence STEM Career Choices of Secondary School Students

Williams

Mangan

2016

J-STEM

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There is a concern in many countries that secondary school student interest in careers in the STEM areas is declining. In response, a program has been developed in New Zealand for young professional technologists, engineers and scientists (known as ambassadors) to visit schools and carry out a variety of interventions to educate and encourage students to choose STEM careers. The interventions include careers talks and classroom activities, organized by regional facilitators who are employed by the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) to co-ordinate the programme across New Zealand. The goal of this research was to ascertain whether ambassador interventions are influential on students’ attitudes to careers and curriculum choices in school. The objectives were 1) To investigate the impact of the interventions on students’ views and perceptions of STEM careers; and 2) To discover any specific factors that must also exist in a given context for an intervention to be effective. The main finding was that the ambassador interventions were influential on student career decision processes, though not all students were influenced. The facilitators work effectively in recruiting, training, organizing and supporting the ambassadors, and the ambassadors belief in the value of what they are doing helps ensure effective interventions. The research outcomes are presented as a range of recommendations.

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Initiating a network to support engagement between health researchers and schools: recommendations from an international meeting of schools engagement practitioners held in Kilifi, Kenya

Davies¹,

Mwango²,

Appiah³

et al. 2019

Wellcome Open Res

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Engagement between health researchers and local schools, or School Engagement, has become incorporated into the engagement strategies of many health research institutions worldwide. Innovative initiatives have emerged within Wellcome Trust-funded African and Asian Programmes (APPs) and elsewhere, and continued funding from the Wellcome Trust and other funders is likely to catalyse further innovation. Worldwide, engagement between scientists and schools is well-described in the scientific literature (1-4), however, engagement between health researchers and schools is much newer, particularly in Africa, and rarely documented in the academic literature. In November 2018 the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) hosted an international meeting in Kilifi, Kenya, drawing on an emerging community of School Engagement practitioners towards exploring the broad range of goals for School Engagement, learning about the breadth of evaluation approaches and exploring the usefulness of a practitioner network. The workshop was attended by 29 participants representing 21 institutions in 11 countries and comprised: engagement staff from Wellcome Trust-funded Africa and Asia Programmes (AAPs); facilitators of previously funded Wellcome Trust African School Engagement projects; collaborators of Wellcome Trust funded school engagement projects; and long-established UK and Africa-based School Engagement with research projects. Workshop sessions combining small group discussions with plenary presentations, enabled a range of goals, activities and evaluation approaches to be shared. This report summarises these dicussions, and shares the possible function of a network of School Engagement practitioners. Four broad goals for schools engagement emerged: contributing to science education; capacity strengthening for health research; contributing to goals of community engagement; and health promotion. These aimed ultimately at improving health, but also at supporting development in low- and middle-income countries through promoting science-career uptake. Practitioners identified a range of benefits for creating a network to strengthen School Engagement practice: sharing experiences and resources; facilitating capacity strengthening; and fostering collaboration.

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Evaluating the Impact of Interaction between Middle School Students and Materials Science and Engineering Researchers

Cited by 5 publications

References 4 publications

Evolution of a programme to engage school students with health research and science in Kenya

Evolution of a programme to engage school students with health research and science in Kenya

The Effectiveness of Using Young Professionals to Influence STEM Career Choices of Secondary School Students

Initiating a network to support engagement between health researchers and schools: recommendations from an international meeting of schools engagement practitioners held in Kilifi, Kenya

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