Water Dawgs is a paid summer program that provides freshwater science education, professional development, and internship opportunities for local high school students from groups typically underrepresented in STEM. Programs aimed at recruiting and retaining students in freshwater science typically focus on undergraduate and graduate students. However, students often make important decisions about their interest in STEM fields and STEM careers during their high school years. Thus, we need new educational approaches that increase interest in freshwater science and promote freshwater science careers beginning at an earlier age. The Water Dawgs program was funded through two awards from the National Science Foundation (1, 2).
Water Dawgs consists of two parts:
- Summer training program– participants will receive training in freshwater science and Adopt-A-Stream water quality monitoring protocols
- Internship– participants will intern with a community science water quality monitoring group
All instructional materials are available for download here.
- The summer training program includes the following materials:
- Program outline
- Supply list
- Pre-training instructor to-do list
- Pre-, mid-, and post-training surveys
- Student recruitment materials
- Parent meeting materials
- 17 learning plans (3.5 hours each)
- Each learning plan includes the following materials:
- Instructor guide
- PowerPoint
- Student handouts