How do we connect youth-in-custody creatively to STEM?

Suitable for 14 to 19-year-olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom or shared with students online.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 citizenship, sociology and human geography.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Professor Nalini Nadkarni at the University of Utah in the US. Along with Program Manager Laura George, Nalini runs the STEM Community Alliance Program, which connects scientists to youth-in-custody (YIC). While it is the law that all YIC have access to education, there was no doubt in Nalini’s mind that more needed to be done to give these young people better opportunities. To her, a creative connection to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) could be the key to a brighter future.

• This resource also contains an interview with Nalini and Laura. If you or your students have a question for them, you can submit it online – go to the article using the Futurum link below and scroll to the bottom of the page. Nalini or Laura will reply!

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Nalini’s research, and tasks them to research YIC education provision in their area.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

If you like these free resources – or have suggestions for improvements –, please let us know and leave us some feedback. Thank you!