Collaboration and Near-Peer Mentoring as a Platform for Sustainable Science Education Outreach

Decreased funding for middle and high school education has resulted in reduced classroom time, which, when coupled with an increased focus on standardized testing, has decreased the exposure of many middle school students to hands-on science education. To help address these challenges, we developed an integrated outreach program, spanning grades 6–12, designed to engage students by bringing students to the University of Oregon to perform hands-on laboratory experiments. Initially developed to supplement science education lost to state-mandated furlough days, the programmatic design can be applied readily in other contexts including afterschool, weekend, or summer programs. The outreach activities and scaffolding rely heavily on near-peer mentoring, which provides a visible pathway for younger students to envision themselves as future scientists while also providing mentoring and leadership opportunities for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. The use of near-peer mentoring is also critically important for the program’s sustainability because it enables a more efficient allocation of graduate student and faculty time. In the first 2.5 years, over 450 middle school students have participated in the program and student feedback shows that students are engaged and excited about the outreach activities.