An interdisciplinary team of UC Santa Cruz faculty and doctoral students led by Distinguished Professor of Psychology Barbara Rogoff submitted a three-minute research video titled “Learning with Purpose as a Cultural Strength,” for the National Science Foundation’s 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase. This annual competition features innovative ways to improve learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The team’s submission is based on interviews with mothers of young Mexican-heritage children and observations of UC Santa Cruz students. It shows how students learn to be community-minded based on their inclusion as contributors in family activities from an early age. The research found that having a greater purpose for learning is important, especially for students for underserved backgrounds. This approach could aid national efforts to broaden children’s participation in science, engineering, and other academic fields.
The STEM For All Video Showcase competition is open to public voting and comment through May 18th. Prior video submissions from Rogoff’s team have taken top awards during the past five years of the competition. Assistant Professor of Education Samuel Severance collaborated on this year’s video, alongside psychology graduate students Gloriana Lopez and Itzel Aceves-Azuara, chemistry graduate student A’Lester Allen, computational media graduate student Dustin Palea, and ecology and evolutionary biology graduate student Joshua Smith.
