I am the principal investigator of Health in Our Hands. Funded by the Science Education Partnerships Award (National Institutes of Health), this project, lead by CREATE for STEM Institute at Michigan State University in collaboration with the Health in Our Hands-Flint/Genesee Partnership (PI Bayer, Co-PI Krajcik), is developing, assessing, and disseminating a novel design for science education that focuses on genomic and environmental health curriculum materials and instructional strategies, and inspires student engagement in STEM learning and a focus on careers for underrepresented middle and high school students. The project uses three strategies to achieve its goals; high quality curriculum materials, innovative professional development, and a community health/science education partnership to support and sustain HiOH in schools and community. Health in Our Hands (HiOH) connects the science classroom to the community to give youth and adults an understanding of modern concepts in genetics. Designed to meet the Next Generation Science Standards, HiOH curriculum uses Community-Inspired Project-Based Learning. Students investigate critical community health concerns and use these real-world contexts to appreciate the importance of both genetic and environmental factors in their risk for disease. HiOH partners with family and community members to bring students’ cultural background and family experience into the science class as a resource and asset for learning. Biomedical research and health-related careers are introduced throughout the curricula. For their final project, students conduct an action research project to improve their school or neighborhood to help prevent or reduce disease. Students present the results and recommendations at a Youth Health Summit to their peers, family and community.

I reported on school year 2020-2021, I believe, in last year's survey.

In school year 2021-2022, we partnered with 3 school districts in Genesee County (Flint, Atherton, and Montrose). Two curricula were enacted by 7 teachers in middle schools with about 555 students - one on Type 2 diabetes and one on Substance Use Disorder. 3 days of professional learning workshops were held for teachers face-to-face and weekly check-ins (professional learning communities) were conducted virtually while the teachers enacted the curriculum. Our community partners, the HiOH-Flint/Genesee Partners, met monthly by Zoom, identified experts to help teachers in the classroom with their community action projects, and also helped plan health summits (which were held in Jan/Feb 2022). Health Summits this schoolyear did not include outside partners due to the pandemic, but one school was able to visit the Genesee Career Institute, present their results to some of their family members and the HiOH team. They also got a fabulous tour of the GCI programs. Research conducted: Pre/post surveys of STEM interest, health summit questionnaires for students, teachers, and other adults who attended, Pre/post and embedded 3-dimensional assessment of student learning.