Project Overview
Through innovative project-based learning, GRRATE will help students gain the competencies and self-efficacy needed to succeed in STEM fields. This project will introduce students who are often underrepresented in STEM, including minority, low-socioeconomic, rural and female students, to the possibility of high-paying, rewarding careers in STEM. GRRATE will accomplish this by creating an ISC1006 Wide World of Science course that will be offered at Santa Fe College’s three rural education centers in Starke, Keystone Heights and Archer. This interdisciplinary course will use culturally responsive pedagogy and project-based learning to expose students to scientific method, research and analysis, technology, engineering and math.
Program Objectives:
- Create and implement a project-based research and analysis course with three interchangeable hands-on experiential learning options: guitar building, robotics or rocketry.
- Provide faculty professional development to ensure consistent implementation of the pedagogy at three rural educational centers.
- Engage a minimum of three local businesses in development and implementation of career exploration presentations and/or videos.
- Evaluate the change in STEM career attitudes and intentions of program participants through a pre- and post-test research study.
The project’s broader impact will be to address local and regional workforce needs by increasing the number and diversity of students who are interested in entering STEM-related careers and who continue on an educational path towards that goal, ultimately enhancing the STEM technician workforce. Students served will include a higher percentage of low socioeconomic, minority, female and first-generation college students than generally found in STEM programs. This has broad ramifications for addressing diversity inequities in STEM fields. Emphasis is placed on collaborating with industry partners so that students gain firsthand knowledge of what careers are available and what the day-to-day job will be like. The change in STEM attitudes and interest in STEM careers will be measured by a validated pre-post analysis. The results of the project itself will be disseminated through project presentations and publications and will be shared in the local community as well as regionally and nationally. The project includes significant collaboration with business and industry, and the evaluation and research will inform others and lead to evidence generating outcomes.