Kaitlyn Krushefski will share results of STEAM in Action research at annual conference for NIH Science Education Partnership Awardees
When
MRA Lab Graduate Research Assistant, Kaitlyn Krushefski will represent the Lab at the annual conference for NIH-funded Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) projects. The 2026 event, SciEd 2026: Virtual Conference for the Science Education Partnership Community, will take place September 29 through October 1. Kaitlyn will present on Oct 1 about the outcomes of the Lab's STEAM in Action adult community training efforts. See below for full details of the presentation.
Session Information
Short Talk W4. Co-Creating a Better Future: Outcomes of STEAM in Action Adult Environmental Health Education
9:30-10:30am PDT. This talk is part of a larger session, and will last 10 minutes with 3 minutes for Q&A
Rural mining communities often face disproportionate environmental health risks and limited access to environmental health education and decision-making processes. The STEAM in Action (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) program was developed to help bridge this gap.
This presentation introduces the results of two adult environmental health training sessions held in Globe/Miami and Hayden/Winkelman, Arizona in the summer of 2024. Mixed methods are used to evaluate learning outcomes. A pre/post-survey set was administered before/immediately after the trainings and retained knowledge was measured qualitatively via follow-up interviews with ~30% of trainees 6-8 months after the training. This study evaluates whether participation in the STEAM in Action training improved environmental health literacy, environmental monitoring skills and confidence, critical thinking, and community efficacy related to decision-making. We also investigate the main lasting impressions of the training as expressed in the follow-up interviews.
Findings indicate a significant increase in environmental monitoring skills, with increased confidence reflected in the interviews. Critical thinking and community efficacy for change-making also appeared to increase. Main themes from the interviews included frequent use of environmental vocabulary, discussion of concerns about local environmental problems and possible solutions, and repeated expressions of empowerment and self-efficacy among interviewed participants.
Grade Level: Adult; Strands: Research & Evaluation; Funder: NIH SEPA
Presenter: Kaitlyn Krushefski, The University of Arizona
Authors: Kaitlyn Krushefski, The University of Arizona, Sanlyn Buxner, The University of Arizona, God’sgift Chukwuonye, The University of Arizona, Miriam Jones, The University of Arizona, Miracle Martinez, The University of Arizona, Regenerating Sonora, Inc., Carol Newbauer, The University of Arizona, Kunal Palawat, The University of Arizona, Illiana Samorano, The University of Arizona, Abigail Zettlemoyer, The University of Arizona, Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta, The University of Arizona