WIP: Rural Water Education (RWE) Partnership for Place-Based STEM Learning in Out-of-School Programs

This innovative practice WIP paper describes a cross-disciplinary collaboration between middle school educators, educational researchers, and civil engineers and scientists to design a series of community-centered STEM learning activities focused on water quality and local water concerns in the southeastern United States. The RWE partnership promotes STEM literacy and workforce readiness for students in grades 6–8 through hands-on STEM learning, student-led research projects, and advocacy opportunities based on water treatment and wastewater-related research occurring in a rural community.