DILAFRUZ WILLIAMS
Science in the Learning Gardens
NSF Awards: 1418270
2015 (see original presentation & discussion)
Grades 6-8
To address the troubling trends of underrepresentation of ethnic and racial minority students, especially African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native-Americans, in STEM and of student disengagement in schools, Portland State University and Portland Public School District are partnering in the creation of “Science in the Learning Gardens (SciLG): Factors that Support Ethnic and Racial Minority Students’ Success in Low-Income Middle Schools.” SciLG brings together two recent education movements: alignment of science curriculum, instruction, and assessment with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); and a surge of national interest in school gardens for academic learning.
SciLG is unique in the following ways: (1) Unlike many school garden programs that focus on elementary students, SciLG is offered in grades 6 through 8 at Portland’s Lane and Lent schools, which have 70% to 80% non-white and low-income students. Both schools have gardens. (2) The curriculum is designed to align with NGSS and performance expectations, and school gardens serve as milieu for experiential science learning. (3) An interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and cross-organizational partnership model is used that includes teachers in its design. (4) Research on motivational engagement is a critical component of the project. We are now in the eighth month of our project, gathering research data on curriculum assessment and motivational engagement. We plan to share the promising outcomes that we are seeing on an ongoing basis.
Related Content for Science in the Learning Gardens (SciLG) for Middle Grades
-
2017Science in the Learning Gardens Motivates Middle Schoolers
Dilafruz Williams
-
2022Engineering in the Garden
Emily Harris
-
2020The School Gardener's Southwest Desert Almanac
Steve Zuiker
-
2016Citizen Science Research = Student Motivation and Engagement
W. Robert Midden
-
2019Chicago Botanic Garden Addressing Local Environmental Issues
Beatriz Canas
-
2015Broad. Participation: One Woman’s Journey Towards Comp. Sci.
Richard Ladner
-
2021COVID Connects Us: A Culture-Setting Collaboration and Unit
April Luehmann
-
2017Women Advancing Through Technology
Linda Christopher
Ben Sayler
Professor of Physical Science and Mathematics
Delightful presentation! I’d be curious to know more about the types of assessments that you’re using to measure the impact of SciLG.
Dilafruz Williams
Professor, Director/Principal Investigator
Thank you, Ben. I hope that some day you will be able to visit the project.
We are collecting various sets of data: Pre-post assessments based on NGSS aligned curriculum and we are researching motivational engagement derived from Self-Determination Theory. A previous longitudinal study showed promising trends in terms of students’ sense of self-efficacy. Dr. Ellen Skinner, professor of Psychology, serves as co-Investigator on this NSF project.
Here is the source: Skinner, E. et al. (2012). Intrinsic Motivation and Engagement as “Active Ingredients” in Garden-Based Education: Examining Models and Measures Derived from Self-Determination Theory. The Journal of Environmental Education, 43(1), 16–36.
Ben Sayler
Professor of Physical Science and Mathematics
Excellent – thank you!
Jackie DeLisi
Research Scientist
Fun video. I love the music and the feeling of being outdoors. How do students experiences in the gardens support their development of science and engineering practices?
Dilafruz Williams
Professor, Director/Principal Investigator
Thank you, Jackie. We love the marimba music which comes from one of the K-8 schools in the same district: Portland Public Schools. We have integrated research related to motivational engagement for this project. How can I send you an attachment to a longitudinal study that was done? This study shows promising trends in terms of students’ sense of self-efficacy. Dr. Ellen Skinner, professor of Psychology, serves as co-Investigator on this NSF project.
Here is the source: Skinner, E. et al. (2012). Intrinsic Motivation and Engagement as “Active Ingredients” in Garden-Based Education: Examining Models and Measures Derived from Self-Determination Theory. The Journal of Environmental Education, 43(1), 16–36.
Tracy Williams-Murphy
Will the project ascertain longitudinal efficacy by following the students into high school (science)?
Dilafruz Williams
Professor, Director/Principal Investigator
Thank you, Tracy. for the three year duration of the grant, we will follow them through eighth grade. Our team hopes to write a grant to do exactly what you suggest: also offer science in the learning gardens at the high school level. Since we are researching motivational engagement and have already seen positive trends, it would be important to pursue this path in high school too.
Randy Kochevar
Senior Research Scientist
This looks like a fun program! How many students will be involved?
Dilafruz Williams
Professor, Director/Principal Investigator
Thank you, Randy! There are approximately 230 sixth graders this year; we will follow the students to seventh and eighth grades in years 2 & 3 respectively, through 2017.
If you are come to Portland, let us know. We can arrange a site visit.
Jean Aguilar-Valdez
Such a powerful program! I hope to visit the Gardens someday and chat about it from many angles!
Nakisha Nathan
Jean, thank you for your support! It was great to meet and speak with you about our students’ perspectives on science earlier today. I look forward to seeing you in the gardens.
Gulnar kawas
This was awesome. It brought back memories of the fun times my kids had, with their gardening projects and the composting science project they had done. Thank you
Debra Clemans
What a great way to engage middle school students in STEM learning. They get so much more than they do from a textbook! Fun, fresh air, lifelong gardening skills and learning science, too!
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.