Digging in the Dirt: Exploring a Garden-Based Learning Approach to Precollege STEM Preparation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Broadening Students' Identification With STEM Fields: Access, Participation, and Collaboration

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the garden-based learning experiences of 15 students at a high-poverty high school in a desert region of the southwestern United States. The study employs an experiential learning framework to explore the implications of these experiences on college-going in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The data demonstrate the ways in which students developed not only an appreciation for the life cycles of plants, but also a relationship with the school grounds. These findings suggest an opportunity to support the education of diverse democracies in the high stakes context of pre-college STEM-related experiences.

Author

• Stefani Robin Relles, University of Nevada - Las Vegas