Fall 2019 Series
October 28th: What Does ‘Community’ Mean in ‘Community-Based Programming?’: The Urban Ecosystem Project and Informal Science Learning in Neighborhood Spaces
Presented by Dr. Katie Richardson Bruna, Professor, Multicultural Education
4:00 – 5:00pm in 3512 Memorial Union.
Dr. Richardson Bruna will share insights about partnerships and engagement strategies used to establish and sustain the Urban Ecosystem Project (UEP). The project has focused on enhancing science education through partnerships with the Des Moines Independent School District but plans are evolving to facilitate the broader dissemination of this partnership project.
November 11th: Intentional Engagement: A model of translational community-based research
Presented by Dr. Connie Beecher, Assistant Professor, Literacy Education
4:00 – 5:00pm in Cardinal Room, Memorial Union
Dr. Beecher will provide an overview and some lessons learned from implementing statewide literacy programs and initiatives. Programs such as these require not only intentional engagement with community stakeholders, but also with the families and caregivers which receive these services.
December 2nd: Moving from Research Interest to Community Impact: Citizen Science and Agent-Based Modeling in an Urban-Rural Watershed
Presented by Dr. Laura Merrick, Assistant Teaching Professor, Agronomy & Dan Haug, Watershed Educator at Prairie Rivers of Iowa
3:00 – 4:00pm in Oak Room, Memorial Union
Dr. Merrick & Dan Haug will describe the synergies involved in setting up partnership related to environmental science and watershed systems in central Iowa. The presentation will include perspectives from both the research team and partners from Prairie Rivers of Iowa and emphasize the novel ‘citizen science’ approaches and agent-based modeling strategies used to build and sustain programming over time.