Urban STEM Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Brandy Huderson ◽  
Ashley Huderson
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Clear Pattern ◽  
Critical Part ◽  
Urban Education Reform ◽  
Diversity In Stem ◽  
Us Cities

Students in underserved urban communities often lack access to educational opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Evidence reveals a lack of STEM access in urban environments, displaying a clear pattern impacting predominantly impoverished neighborhoods the hardest. The issue of STEM education in urban schools reflects an increased interest in expanding and diversifying the future workforce to compete in a STEM-centered future. STEM has been positioned as a critical part of urban education reform efforts and a potential vehicle to broadening participation in STEM. In various US cities, schools labeled as failing are being repurposed as selective STEM-intensive academies to build a STEM education infrastructure. In this chapter, the authors discuss the barriers associated with urban STEM education and how this underserved population is a vital vehicle to increase diversity in STEM.

scholarly journals On the complexity of assimilation in urban communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renita Murimi
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Sociological Perspective ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Information Theoretic Measures ◽  
Urban Complex ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractCities are microcosms representing a diversity of human experience. The complexity of urban systems arises from this diversity, where the services that cities offer to their inhabitants have to be tailored for their unique requirements. This paper studies the complexity of urban environments in terms of the assimilation of its communities. We examine the urban assimilation complexity with respect to the foreignness between communities and formalize the level of complexity using information-theoretic measures. Our findings contribute to a sociological perspective of the relationship between urban complex systems and the diversity of communities that make up urban systems.

scholarly journals Teachers at the Center: Place and Education Displacement in Southwest Atlanta

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Council ◽  
Shaeroya Earls ◽  
Shakale George ◽  
Rebecca Graham
Keyword(s):  
Urban Education ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Black Families ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Black Schools ◽  
Urban Education Reform ◽  
Personal Experiences

In Southwest Atlanta, urban education reform and gentrification have intersected to create the perfect collision of housing and educational displacement of Black students, Black families, and Black teachers. While Black communities are dealing with the impacts of gentrification, Black schools are simultaneously witnessing shifts that uproot students and their teachers. As a teacher participatory action research (PAR) collective, we share our personal experiences of housing displacement and how it has impacted our students, our communities, and our ability to maintain our positions as community-centered teachers. In this article, we acclimate readers to Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southwest Atlanta region in which we serve. We also illustrate how we have confronted the displacement of our students and ourselves. Finally, we highlight the significance of community-centered teachers operating within a Critical Studyin’ for Human Freedom praxis in the struggle against systemic inequities that persistently plague our students and communities.

scholarly journals Evidence and theory for lower rates of depression in larger US urban areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (31) ◽  
pp. e2022472118
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Stier ◽  
Kathryn E. Schertz ◽  
Nak Won Rim ◽  
Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez ◽  
Benjamin B. Lahey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
City Size ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Us Cities ◽  
Systematic Framework

It is commonly assumed that cities are detrimental to mental health. However, the evidence remains inconsistent and at most, makes the case for differences between rural and urban environments as a whole. Here, we propose a model of depression driven by an individual’s accumulated experience mediated by social networks. The connection between observed systematic variations in socioeconomic networks and built environments with city size provides a link between urbanization and mental health. Surprisingly, this model predicts lower depression rates in larger cities. We confirm this prediction for US cities using four independent datasets. These results are consistent with other behaviors associated with denser socioeconomic networks and suggest that larger cities provide a buffer against depression. This approach introduces a systematic framework for conceptualizing and modeling mental health in complex physical and social networks, producing testable predictions for environmental and social determinants of mental health also applicable to other psychopathologies.

scholarly journals Rethinking Depression in Cities: Evidence and Theory for Lower Rates in Larger Urban Areas

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Stier ◽  
Marc G Berman ◽  
Luis M.A. Bettencourt ◽  
Kathryn E Schertz ◽  
Nak Won Rim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
City Size ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Us Cities ◽  
Systematic Framework

It is commonly assumed that cities are detrimental to mental health. However, the evidence remains inconsistent and, at most, makes the case for differences between rural and urban environments as a whole. Here, we propose a model of depression driven by an individual's accumulated experience mediated by social networks. The connection between observed systematic variations in socioeconomic networks and built environments with city size provides a link between urbanization and mental health. Surprisingly, this model predicts lower depression rates in larger cities. We confirm this prediction for US cities using three independent datasets. These results are consistent with other behaviors associated with denser socioeconomic networks and suggest that larger cities provide a buffer against depression. This approach introduces a systematic framework for conceptualizing and modeling mental health in complex physical and social networks, producing testable predictions for environmental and social determinants of mental health also applicable to other psychopathologies.

SciAccess: Making Space for All

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S367) ◽  
pp. 124-127
Author(s):  
Anna Voelker ◽  
Caitlin O’Brien ◽  
Michaela Deming
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Space Science ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
International Working Group ◽  
Stem Programs ◽  
Mentorship Programs ◽  
Diversity In Stem ◽  
Education Outreach

AbstractThe SciAccess Initiative (“SciAccess”) is dedicated to advancing disability inclusion and diversity in STEM education, outreach, and research. In this paper, the authors present an overview of accessible STEM programs run by the SciAccess Initiative, including an annual conference, international working group, and space science mentorship program for blind youth. Recommendations for creating accessible mentorship programs and networking events, both virtually and in-person, are detailed so that these inclusion-focused efforts may be replicated by others.

Nonformal Educational Settings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe E. Heimlich ◽  
Jennifer D. Adams ◽  
Marc J. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Community Institution ◽  
Urban Environmental Education ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Sports Leagues

This chapter examines the pedagogy of nonformal environmental education for urban audiences, focusing on different types of urban nonformal educational opportunities and situating them in the lives of urbanites using the concept of “learningscapes.” Urban nonformal environmental education involves relating environmental content to the everyday lives of urban learners, ensuring learner autonomy, and integrating the institutions of environmental education providers within the broader array of social institutions in the urban environment. Nonformal urban environmental education programs according to participant choice and goals and provider goals include school field trips or related programs, casual visit to a community institution (for example, nature center), and recreational programs. The chapter suggests that urban environmental education providers have unique opportunities for connecting beyond traditional audiences due to the dense and diverse networks of programs within urban environments, from youth sports leagues to literacy clubs and neighborhood watches.

Enhancing Diversity in STEM Interdisciplinary Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 997-1019
Author(s):  
Reginald A. Blake ◽  
Janet Liou-Mark
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Disciplines ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Diversity In Stem

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines have traditionally been woefully unsuccessful in attracting, retaining, and graduating acceptable numbers of Underrepresented Minorities (URMs). A new paradigm of STEM practices is needed to address this vexing problem. This chapter highlights a novel interdisciplinary approach to STEM education. Instead of being siloed and mired in their respective STEM disciplines, students integrate real world, inquiry-based learning that is underpinned by a strong foundation in mathematics and a myriad of other pillars of STEM activities. These activities include Peer-Assisted Learning Workshops, Mentoring Programs, Undergraduate Research Experiences, STEM Exposure Trips, Conference Participation, and Peer Leadership. This strategy enhances STEM education among URMs by purposefully connecting and integrating knowledge and skills from across the STEM disciplines to solve real-world problems, by synthesizing and transferring knowledge across disciplinary boundaries, and by building critical thinking skills in a manner that is relevant to their experiences and yet transformative.

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