Engineering Learning at Rural Libraries Through Centering Families’ Cultural Practices of Making and Librarians’ Assets  (Poster 10)

• In Event: (Re)Imagining Different Educational Realities: Anti-Deficit Approaches in Informal Learning Environments Research

Abstract

 Purpose

While STEM education at public libraries is rapidly growing, a research-informed model for online educational programming at public libraries is almost non-existent. To bolster the benefit of online learning and broaden STEM learning to rural communities, this study aims to develop a culturally-relevant online engineering program that can be facilitated by library staff in rural libraries. We ask the following two research questions: (a) what are the challenges, goals, and assets of rural library staff and rural families with elementary-aged children for engaging in online engineering learning?; (b) what insights might emerge from co-design sessions with rural library staff to develop a culturally-relevant online engineering program? 



Perspectives

Our work is guided by culturally-relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 2014; Yosso, 2005) that foregrounds learners’ experiences and culture as critical assets for learning. Specifically, we focus on children’s everyday making practices, as making has shown promising results to engage learners in library-based makerspaces (Kim et al., 2022). Our work is aligned with efforts to promote equitable making practices as legitimate learning resources for engineering (e.g., Calabrese Barton et al., 2017). Importantly, we take every day sensemaking conversations (Goodwin, 2007; Ochs & Shohet, 2006) and family cultural practices (Tzou et al., 2019) as intergenerational mechanisms for engaging children in making and engineering. 



Methods

We interviewed eight rural library staff and 17 caregivers in Zoom, lasting from 45 min to 1.5 hours. Prior to each interview, participants completed maps to reflect on their goals, cultural practices, and assets. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using inductive approaches. In the fall, we will conduct six to eight co-design sessions with rural library staff in Zoom, which will be video-recorded and analyzed. 



Findings

Findings showed that rural library staff perceived their lack of content knowledge in engineering and limited experience with online technology as potential challenges for facilitating online engineering programming in the future. However, our analysis also highlighted that rural library staff had strong motivation to become the leader within their community to bring STEM learning resources for children. They shared confidence in navigating potential challenges and constructing engineering knowledge needed for this project by building on their prior experience in teaching at K-12 level, expertise in other content areas that can connect with engineering (i.e., literacy, history, art, science, theater), and their relational knowledge with the community. Our analysis also illustrated multiple cultural forms of making present in rural families that can connect with engineering, such as repurposing, upcycling, gardening, farming, and cooking. Multiple forms of knowing and making foregrounded in this study will provide the foundation for developing our online engineering program. We will further present insights emerged from the co-design sessions at the conference. 



Significance

Our work emphasizes the importance of leveraging families’ cultural practices of making and forms of everyday sensemaking to design for family learning in engineering. Importantly, the work highlights that rural library staff can support family learning in engineering by drawing on their personal experiences, relational knowledge, and non-engineering expertise as resources.  

Authors

• Soo Hyeon Kim, Indiana University - Indianapolis

• Gi Woong Choi, Florida State University

• Ju Hui Kang, University of Cincinnati