The 11th grade students at Kearny High School of Digital Media and Design (DMD) are a group of innovative influencers who use their critical thinking and media skills to practice civic engagement and bring positive change to our community. This year, DMD’s class of 2022 began their investigation into the issue of underrepresentation in STEM with a close reading of the National Science Foundation’s 2019 report on “Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.” Students also evaluated the “Draw a Scientist” studies which illustrate the importance of young people seeing populations in STEM of their same gender and ethnic background; students then came to the conclusion that individuals who are a part of underrepresented populations and have a mentor of similar gender and ethnic background are more likely to pursue occupations in STEM fields. DMD students were then able to define the problem of the lack of representation of specific groups in STEM and begin the process of seeking solutions to share with our Linda Vista community.
As a part of the solution to the problem DMD students identified, we decided to share the stories of local STEM professionals with the community of San Diego so that more people will see themselves reflected in the field of STEM. This year our students worked in small production teams with a local STEMist from an underrepresented population in STEM. Students interviewed their STEMist and used the interview as a resource to create STEAM-a-zines. Each STEAM-a-zine includes a biographical Story Card featuring the STEM professional’s inspiration and motivation to work in STEM, his or her struggles, as well as the highlights of being part of an underrepresented group in a STEM profession. The STEAM-a-zine will also include directions for building an InvestiCrate inspired by the STEMist and a physics concept. Other content of the STEAM-a-zine will include a historical timeline focused on people and events that broke barriers helping to pave the way for the STEMist's success. Students will use these products to target our Linda Vista community with the goal of providing people with stories of STEM professionals who reflect the gender and ethnic background of the community. As educators, empirical research shows us that individuals who are a part of underrepresented populations and have a mentor of similar gender/ethnic background tend to seek higher level education in STEM fields, which then allows for access to higher level STEM jobs. Therefore, one of the goals of this project is to provide our students with opportunities to develop relationships with women and other minorities in STEM with the hopes that they will ultimately be more apt to consider STEM careers. |