Four guiding principles for effective trainee-led STEM community engagement through high school outreach

Abstract

The education system in the US displays troubling disparities in academic performance of different racial and income groups, known as the achievement gap. During summer 2020, our research group committed to promoting racial and ethnic diversity in academia to reduce the achievement gap in Los Angeles. Since educators with a growth mindset employing active learning in their classrooms can elevate performance of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields, we initiated QBio-EDGE (Quantitative Biology - Empowering Diversity and Growth in Education), a trainee-led outreach program for high schools in Los Angeles. We developed active learning modules focused on quantitative biology. Here, we describe our outreach effort, key factors that contributed to its success, and the challenges we overcame. We hope that this practical guide may inspire research trainees of all levels to support local schools by participating in science outreach with active learning. We challenge institutions to actively support these efforts.