Multidisciplinary STEM Learning Through Archaeology Summative Evaluation Report

Through a partnership between the Public Archaeology Facility and the Department of Teaching, Learning & Education Leadership at Binghamton University, Binghamton University Community Schools, and three local, rural schools, middle school learners were engaged in an afterschool program that blended Western STEM concepts, practices, and processes emphasized in school standards with archaeological and Indigenous concepts, practices, and processes rooted in STEM disciplines. This was referred to as ARCH + STEM, as archaeology in this context wove together both Indigenous knowledge systems and approaches within STEM, alongside Western knowledge systems and methodologies. The educational team created curricular modules, each centered on an aspect of archaeology and/or Indigenous knowledge systems, rooted in specific Western STEM disciplines such as life sciences, technology, physics, mathematics, and ecology. The internal evaluation for this pilot study was grounded in qualitative methods. Content analysis of modules, field notes from the afterschool program, and interviews and reflective journals with learners and educators were the main data sources utilized to assess impacts and experiences of (a) the ARCH + STEM program on middle school learners’ development and participation as STEM learners; and (b) the perspectives of informal educators, including graduate and undergraduate students, on how to support the middle school participants as STEM learners. Highlights from the final evaluation report are included as an attachment.