Rural Energy Futures: Facilitating community understanding of energy transition opportunities through middle-school math skills development

As climate change pressures increasingly weigh on communities across the United States, national policy and investment have signaled a priority in developing a capable energy transition workforce. These initiatives are often focused in rural areas where available natural resources support energy transition technologies. However, such efforts rarely account for the community and cultural threats that energy transitions pose to existing economies and social fabrics. This project directly acknowledges these tensions and opportunities in rural Maine by co-designing and implementing—alongside educators, students, policy leaders, and community workers involved in and affected by energy transitions—a middle school place-based learning experience aligned with state energy transition goals. The project develops and tests a culturally sustaining and standards-aligned approach to including energy transition topics in a middle school mathematics classroom. It also includes the participation of community members throughout–culminating in student-led community roundtable discussions. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. This Developing and Testing Innovations (DTI) project involves 48 middle-school teachers in 12 rural schools across Maine, with the potential to impact 720 students. Together, they are co-developing a place-based technology-mediated mathematical modeling learning experience. This initiative includes the active participation of local energy workforce mentors, policymakers, and community experts, all working together to enhance the educational experience and opportunities for these students. Students use mathematical modeling and statistical reasoning through co-designed Decision Support System technology to illustrate the breadth and complexity of local energy transition issues. Student models include data from policy and workforce sources as well as local knowledge from community and family members. Research associated with this work uses surveys, interviews, and observations to identify instructional and curricular supports that contribute to (a) gains in students’ mathematical modeling and data science competencies; (b) awareness and appreciation of local knowledge and expertise in energy transitions; and (c) awareness and appreciation of local career opportunities in energy transitions. The project also assesses community engagement in school efforts through caregiver surveys and observation of community events. Insights gained from this project advance energy transition education by promoting place-based learning models that directly engage students with local expertise, fostering a deeper understanding of complex socio-scientific issues related to energy transitions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.