Middle School Students' Experiences with Place-Based STEM Outreach

A five-day workshop, rooted in place-based approaches, was offered to 24 underserved/underrepresented middle school students. The workshop's activities centered around three key concepts of disease ecology: 1) the interactions between living things and their environment, 2) the impact of environmental interactions on health, and 3) the role of scientists and students in improving health. Throughout the week, students reflected on the disease ecology concepts in relation to their own lives and communities after each session. Daily reflections and student interviews were used to explore students' successes and challenges with the activities, as well as the relevance of place-based learning for their understanding of these three disease ecology concepts. The analysis revealed that the workshop was influential not just in teaching disease ecology to middle school students but also in fostering a deeper interest in science through hands-on learning and place-based activities. The connection to their places made the learning more relevant and interesting for students. The student reflections on each of the disease ecology questions showed that while students faced challenges in connecting disease ecology concepts to personal and community health practices, the overall trend indicated a positive trajectory in students' understanding and application of disease ecology topics. We conclude that the workshop demonstrated the effectiveness of combining place-based pedagogies in engaging underserved middle school students in disease ecology and its real-world implications.