Building and sustaining student engagement in genomic and environmental health sciences through a community-school partnership
Key Outcomes and Achievements - 2021 - 2022
Project collaborators: Community Based Organization Partners of Flint, CRIM Foundation, Flint Community Schools, Atherton Community Schools, Genesee County Health Department, Genesee Intermediate School District, Greater Flint Health Coalition, Health Alliance Plan, MiSTEM Network, Michigan State University (Human Medicine & Extension), University of Michigan-Flint (Discovering PLACE). This project is supported by a Science Education
Partnership Award (SEPA), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) National Institutes of Health. For more information: Renee Bayer, PI rbayer@msu.edu CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University
Renee Bayer, Consuelo Morales, Hildah Makori, Maria Salinas
Michigan State University, CREATE for STEM Institute
Tania Jarosewich, Censeo Group
Goal: inspire engagement in STEM learning and careers for underrepresented middle and high school students through;
- research-based, community-connected curriculum and assessment
- innovative professional development - supporting NGSS, PBL, and community-connected instruction
- community health/science education partnership to support and sustain the program
Total: 10 secondary school science teachers used the HiOH curriculum and assessments of student learning with ~491 students in three districts.
Middle School Field testing
- What controls my health? (Diabetes) Grades 6-7, 4 teachers, ~333 students
- How can looking for thrills make me miserable? (Substance Use Disorder [SUD]) Grade 8, 2 teachers, ~144 students
High School Pilot testing
- Mystery of the Monkeyflower (plant field research and online comic), Grades 9-11, 3 teachers, ~158 students
Teacher Support & Partnership
Innovative professional learning and supports for teachers and informal educators created a cross-district professional learning community (PLC) to support instructional shifts needed to enact NGSS-aligned, project-based, community-connected science curriculum. In-person and weekly virtual PLs.
Community health/science education partnership to support and sustain the HiOH program post-SEPA funding. The HiOH-Flint / Genesee Partnership met monthly by Zoom to support students, discuss opportunities for collaboration, and plan for sustaining and expanding HiOH.
Coordinated Sustainability Planning
Piloted New Unit: Mystery of the Monkeyflower
- 85% of partners have participated in sustainability planning.
- 16 partners, including 2 teachers, met for a retreat hosted by partner, Genesee Intermediate School District. Partners discussed vision and mission alignment for sustainability.
- Members are clarifying personal & organizational motivations for participating in the partnership and how our coordinated efforts can support STEM education in the community.
Key Outcomes and Achievements |
Integrated Evaluation & Research Agenda - Collected student, teacher, participant data through online instruments, classroom observations and interviews.
- Investigated effectiveness of project-created assessments, comic as instructional tool, SEL in science, how to support STEM career interest.
- Shared information with HiOH-Flint Genesee Partnership.
- Disseminated findings: publications, presentations, and social media.
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Organized Community Action Research Projects & Health Summit Events |
- Middle school students conducted research and shared findings with peers, family and community members.
Summary of student research projects and findings - “What is the impact of health education on diet?” (Diabetes unit). 140 students in two schools found a significant impact of their health education on attendees’ knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviors.
- “How does technology impact my well-being?” (SUD unit) 85 students developed a model of well-being, surveyed their peers and family members, kept logs, and piloted interventions. Students found that technology significantly impacted measures of well-being including sleep, healthy eating, and spending time with loved ones or outside.
3 Health Summit Events - Aligned with each school community’s health & safety precautions. Two in school settings and one as a field trip to the Genesee Career Institute during which students toured the facility and explored STEM programs.
- Co-created a video: “Flint Youth Take Charge of Their Well-Being.”
- Disseminated results on social media and at partnership meetings.
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- High school, NGSS-aligned, project-based learning unit with an embedded comic and authentic field science research in which students figure out how gene-environment interactions affect living organisms.
- In partnership with Dr. David Lowry, MSU plant biologist, with NSF funding for broader impacts.
Health in Our Hands is a school-community-academic partnership that designs and tests PBL NGSS-aligned middle and high school science curricula coordinated with community activities focused on critical public health issues.