The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Making STEM Accessible, Equitable and Environmentally Relevant

Abstract

Underrepresented and marginalized students have challenges when connecting their personal identities to STEM identities. This has a direct impact on the post-secondary educational and career choices of these students. Some factors which contribute to the disenfranchisement of marginalized students include inequity in academic preparation, students’ lack of self-efficacy and self-identity in STEM, students’ lack of connection to the STEM curriculum and students’ lack of role models and mentors. Although the opportunities in the STEM workforce are abundant and lucrative, students who identify as students of color, female and/or English language learners are poorly represented in the STEM professions. Through the CCERS STEM + C Program, students are asked to expand their STEM identity through near-peer mentoring, encounters with STEM experts and individual STEM Research projects that are focused on the environmental restoration of New York Harbor, its watershed and the native oyster population.