Sparking Rural Students ’ Interest in STEM

When asked why he leads the NIGMS-supported Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program at Dartmouth College in Hannover, New Hampshire, Roger D. Sloboda, Ph.D., the Ira Allen Eastman Professor of Biological Sciences (emeritus), shares a story. Several years ago, he learned of a public-school science teacher in rural New Hampshire who had a very limited budget for classroom equipment. With her annual budget, she’d been able to buy a single stainless-steel laboratory cart. “Next year, I hope to buy a piece of equipment to put on it,” she said. A short time later, Dr. Sloboda attended a scientific meeting and talked to a student from a private school in Washington, D.C., who was presenting a poster about his research project studying the effects of household chemicals on zebrafish development. Dr. Sloboda asked the student how he was able to work with zebrafish, because they require specialized, expensive facilities. The student responded that his school maintained its own zebrafish facility. The Dartmouth Rural STEM Educator Partnership is only one of many SEPA programs that NIGMS supports. Credit: Michelle Otto. “That’s the disparity of education in our country. Some students have a stainless-steel cart, and others have a functioning and well-equipped zebrafish facility,” says Dr. Sloboda. He hopes that the Dartmouth Rural STEM Educator Partnership can help lessen this disparity by bringing hands-on STEM projects and the resources needed to complet...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Being a Scientist STEM Education Scientific Process Training Source Type: blogs