Field research experiences and middle school girls: Supporting ecological literacy and improving science perceptions

Background/Question/Methods

Research focused on understanding the experiences of girls outdoors is needed to support educators in helping students learn key ideas in ecology to incorporate findings in formal and non-formal biology education.  Over three summers, a total of 81 girls, mean 27 participants per year, ages 10-14, spent one week designing, implementing and evaluating STEM projects related to ecology with the guidance of a facilitator. Sixty percent of the participants were from backgrounds typically underrepresented in the sciences. Qualitative analysis of journals, interviews, content knowledge assessments and researcher observations makes clear this field ecology opportunity provided a transformative experience for girls to conduct place-based inquiry investigations pertaining to the local watershed and improved their decision-making abilities for environmental issues locally and globally.

Reseach questions: What ecological knowledge do middle school girls have before and after this field experience ? What effect, if any, does a summer field experience have on middle school girls’ science perceptions? What impact, if any, do field experiences have on facilitators’ ability to deliver ecological content knowledge in a non-formal educational setting?

Results/Conclusions

This field experience highlighted that science became more accessible to the participants and served as a venue for self-empowerment concluding with the notion that science is something they can pursue as a career if they so chose.  Although exposure to field ecology research enhanced middle school girls’ attitudes and perceptions towards science, and increased their ecological literacy and decision-making abilities, increased facilitator training may have led to greater gains in content knowledge, ecological literacy, and leadership skills for the participants.