LOCAL MENTOR PARTNERSHIP IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL TO PROMOTE POST-SECONDARY STEM CAREER PATHS

Collaborative partnerships between local government agencies and business, Lehigh University faculty and graduate students, and urban high school teachers during a year-long Socio-Environmental Science Investigation (SESI) curriculum has been used to promote STEM career paths with urban high school students. The SESI activities consist of digital field data collection and classroom web based analysis of the natural and man-made environment surrounding the high school property using GIS software that is freely available for K-12 schools. Investigations were developed in collaboration between Lehigh professors in natural science, social science and education and high school science and social studies teachers to meet Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Seven investigations and a culminating project were prototyped with 161 ninth grade students during the 2017-2018 academic year. During these investigations, external mentors from local business and government agencies worked directly with students to relate classwork to real life careers such as city planning and urban forestry. Mentors were given access to video tutorials and written documents prior to working with students so that they could understand the objectives of each investigation and to become familiar with the user interface. By conversing with students about how each investigation reflects real-world problems, such as the urban heat island effect and CO₂ emissions from transportation, these external mentors play a critical role in promoting STEM careers. All students were surveyed after completing the investigations and of the 112 responses many (46%) reported that they were curious about jobs that use mapping or GIS. Additionally, a majority of students (70%) reported that they would like to use mapping or GIS more in school.