Staggering statistics show that our society is in need of populating future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professional careers. “STEM jobs are the fastest growing occupational category and, by 2020, 65% of all jobs in the U.S. will require a post-secondary degree with STEM literacy skills.” (Call to Action 1st page) As a former STEM educator of the urban School District of Philadelphia (2003-2017), I have seen a desperate need to provide the educational STEM tools required to successfully graduate students after their K-12 public school education with even the confidence to attempt the secondary education necessary to attain a professional STEM career. My Culturally Creative Science (CCS) writing project proposed will definitively transform my underserved and underrepresented 7th-12th grade urban public school STEM students into published science writers by the end of their school year with me. Students will be fully engaged in learning scientific curriculum to the level of mastery where they can easily utilize their newly gained scientific literacy skills to effectively engage in scientific explanation of this acquired knowledge to elementary students via the creation of science-related storybooks. Research has proven that increasing students’ scientific literacy skills leads to overall improvement in student comprehension of lesson objectives at levels of proficiency and mastery. In addition, STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading/ELA, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) educational instructional practices seek to educate the whole student by adding into STEM practices focus on reading and literacy skills along with incorporation of art and creative uses of student intellect. There is a design process that is intrinsic to both engineering and artistic pursuits. The Engineering Design Process (EDP) functions to aid students in engineering and designing new solutions to real-world global problems. The design process is the central element through which students may apply knowledge and construct deeper understandings. It is “a process by which human intellect, creativity and passion are translated into useful artifacts,” as my scientific writing project seeks to capitalize on student mastery of comprehension.(Gess, 40)
Current national policy reforms reflect the problems caused by an achievement gap existing and subsequently excluding students of color, lower socio-economic status, and the historically underrepresented, underserved, and marginalized. Exclusionary to science studies also include lack of females and students with disabilities pursuing STEM degrees of higher learning post K-12 schooling as well. My research notes that “the current STEM workforce is predominantly male and White or Asian, even as women and racial and ethnic minority groups are projected to comprise greater percentages of the U.S. population in the coming decades.” (Jones et al, 40-41) Thus, as a STEM/STREAM educator who preferences working in poorer urban communities, it is my passion to close the achievement gap and equip all of my students with the necessary educational tools and confidence to pursue future STEM careers.
By not graduating students equipped to tackle STEM professional careers, we are doing a disservice to the future global economy. In order to strengthen the economy, we need to graduate a vast many more students willing to pursue the growing amount of technology-advanced STEM professions. “To meet the growing global demand for a STEM workforce, every segment of the U.S. population will need to be engaged in a successful STEM education.” (Jones et al, 41) Research shows that in order to not further weaken our future 21st century society we need to fully equip underserved, underrepresented, marginalized and traditionally discriminated against student populations with STEM knowledge and skills needed to successfully complete matriculation at colleges and universities earning STEM degrees. However, “colleges and universities have three key problems and challenges that demand action. First, to improve the STEM pipeline, greater numbers of URMS need to major in STEM fields and graduate with a STEM degree. Second, \to reduce the achievement gaps mentioned above between URMS and majority college STEM majors, higher education must comprehensively analyze and effectively address disparities in educational experiences through evidence-based interventions. Third, there is currently an absence of a data infrastructure at colleges and universities to identify, assess, and address the educational experiences of diverse STEM students.” (Jones et al, 41) More URMS (underserved, underrepresented, and minority students) are graduating and pursuing higher education than in the past, however, a lot of these students are failing to complete graduation requirements to successfully obtain STEM degrees. A lot of these students are facing matriculation problems at their respective colleges and universities due to suffering under an achievement gap during their K-12 educational journeys leaving them ill-prepared to successfully complete a STEM degree program. My CCS scientific writing project seeks to strengthen these specific student weaknesses and their collective resolve to tackle these unique problems because all of my students leave my STEM class having fully immersed themselves in several aspects of actual professional scientific work. There is a direct correlation between strengthening student literary skills and student success in mastery of the subject. “Actively engaging students in traditional and digital storytelling activities offers students an opportunity to make authentic connections between their experiences and academic content.” (Lisenbee, P., Ford, C., 129) Thus, having my students work on creating scientific storybooks for elementary students ultimately strengthens their abilities to use scientific explanation to display their full mastery of scientific concepts to others. Graduating STEM students to the next grade of their lives with the tools garnered from my Culturally Creative Science (CCS) Storybook writing project enables students to see themselves as potential science professionals due to the experiences gained of performing the actual work and speaking the language of professional STEM workers worldwide.
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