STEMCyclists: Advancing Youth STEM Learning through Bicycle Engineering and Biomechanics

This project will advance knowledge in informal STEM learning through the design and research of learning environments that use common objects and experiences, such as cycling, as vehicles for developing proficiency with STEM practices. In this project, youth (ages 13-15) will learn physics, biology, and engineering design principles through redesigning bicycles, and they will learn biomechanics, including anatomy and physiology, through learning activities associated with bicycling in the community. The project leverages longstanding partnerships among universities and bicycling-oriented community organizations. The team will conduct the project across three years, with each year featuring a two-week summer camp followed by continuity events and rides in the fall and spring. Recruitment will be open to all youth, including youth with disabilities who require adaptive bicycles. The summer camp will feature science, technology, and engineering bike-centered curricula and learning activities related to the building or rebuilding of bicycles, the function and design of bicycle parts, the science of how the bicycle works, related protective and safety equipment, and safe cycling training. Youth will use their bicycles to engage in curated rides that feature opportunities to apply understandings of physics, biomechanics, and engineering design principles, as well as learn about STEM assets in the natural and built world in the local region. The goals of the project include understanding: the ways youth learn science and engineering across connected learning opportunities; how and why youth develop STEM-related identities as scientists, technologists, and engineers; the role of play while learning and applying science and engineering principles; and the significance of community-based assets for youth STEM learning. Design methodology will be used to iteratively develop and study bicycle-centered curriculum and place-based learning opportunities with four overlapping foci: (a) applying engineering design practices and scientific inquiry practices to the design and rebuilding of bicycles; (b) documenting understandings of physics, engineering, and biomechanics using the bicycle and bicycling as a medium in interest-driven, playful contexts; (c) bicycling to experience and uncover STEM phenomena in the community; and (d) facilitating the development of youth STEM identities. The goals of the project include understanding: the ways youth learn physics, biology, and engineering across connected learning opportunities; how and why youth develop STEM-related identities; the role of joy and play while learning and applying science and engineering principles; and the significance of community-based assets for youth STEM learning. The STEMCyclists project involves co-planning and co-constructing strategic opportunities for capacity building and sustainability with university-community partnerships. The project will result in educational materials that will be disseminated widely to informal learning institutions and bicycling organizations, as well as empirical findings that will be shared with relevant professional audiences. This project was funded by the STEM K-12 program, which supports fundamental, applied, and translational research on STEM learning in both formal K-12 education and informal learning environments. 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.