Project HEAT: Temperature as an Organizing Theme for Inquiry-Based Learning in the Environmental Sciences

Abstract:

Professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields do not reflect the diversity of the US population. Among the most effective ways to attract and retain underrepresented students in STEM disciplines is to provide opportunities for participation in the scientific process and interaction with practicing scientists.

Project HEAT (Hot Environments, Animals, & Temperature) is “boot-camp”-style workshop aimed at increasing interest in STEM topics among underrepresented, first-generation, college-bound middle school students. Linking to our NASA-funded research project “Desert Birds in a Warming World”, we focused on how surprisingly variable temperature is in space and time, why temperature is important to plants, animals, and people, and how we measure temperature in the field and from space. Perhaps more importantly, this theme was a vehicle for students to experience science as a process: field observations, brainstorming questions and hypotheses, designing experiments to test them, and analyzing and reporting their data. The centerpiece was a set of experiments with small temperature sensors and radiation shields that teams of students designed, executed at a local park, analyzed, and reported.

Two years of pre and post assessments revealed that Project HEAT participants increased understanding in content areas and showed slight increases in STEM interest. Year two results were markedly stronger than year one in both assessments as well as our perception. We attribute this to earlier summer timing of the workshop, a change from two half-day weeks to one full-day week, and a more age-homogeneous selection of students. In comments, participants expressed their special enjoyment of the hands-on nature of the program and the outdoor learning. Though providing such opportunities can be challenging, our experience here suggests that it can be worth while. Project HEAT also benefited our cadre of graduate student mentors by providing exposure to K-12 learning. Although successful on the whole, the limited improvement in STEM interest suggests a fundamental challenge of making an impact during a short period of time.