We present results from the first year of a three-year extramurally funded project involving a partnership between an ethnically diverse urban high school and professional research botanists. The goals are to provide students exposure to real-world science, broaden interest in scientific fields of study, and increase floristic data and herbarium specimen collections in under-sampled areas of Solano County, California. A floristic survey was conducted in a 425-acre, open-space public park in Vacaville, California, that is actively grazed by cattle and characterized by grasses, forbs, and oaks. A total of 77 students were enrolled in the course associated with the partnership, and 47 participated in four visits to the collection site. Twenty-five unique plant specimens were collected, including 14 native and 11 introduced species. Results of a student perception survey suggest that the partnership has had a positive impact on students’ understanding of scientific methodology and interest in pursuing a science career. Perception survey results were disaggregated by ethnicity; Hispanic students, more than any other group, indicated that they feel more confident in scientific research and writing skills. There was no significant difference between male and female students’ responses.
Broadening Student Perceptions of Science through Participatory Data Collection & Research-Education Partnerships: A Case Study in California’s Central Valley
SUMMER RAGOSTA is a Teacher on the Science Faculty, St. Patrick–St. Vincent Catholic High School, and a Temporary Affiliate, Department of Plant Sciences and Center for Plant Diversity, University of California, Davis; e-mail: [email protected].
DANIEL POTTER is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Center for Plant Diversity, University of California, Davis; e-mail: [email protected].
HEATH BARTOSH is a Senior Botanist, Nomad Ecology, and a Research Associate, University of California and Jepson Herbaria; e-mail: [email protected].
Summer Ragosta, Daniel Potter, Heath Bartosh; Broadening Student Perceptions of Science through Participatory Data Collection & Research-Education Partnerships: A Case Study in California’s Central Valley. The American Biology Teacher 17 November 2020; 82 (8): 515–521. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2020.82.8.515
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