Teens Becoming Researchers: Pedagogical Considerations When Designing Coresearch

Young Researchers is a multiyear research project that works with Illinois teenagers to collaboratively develop research and informal learning materials. The project examines how teens interact with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics, as well as their everyday technology use, with youth-driven research studies. The current stage of the project is working with a group of teens from a small community. These teens, or Young Researchers, are learning about how to conduct research by actively participating in study design, participant recruitment, data collection, and the analysis and reporting of research findings. In the future the project plans to work with additional groups of teens from around Illinois. The Young Researchers are building literacy skills, becoming researchers, and contributing to scholarship while exploring their potential to pursue research careers. This paper discusses the development of Young Researchers' first collaborative research project, with a focus on the teaching strategies used in encouraging the teens to engage with the research process. The paper highlights the considerations for conducting this approach with such teens, including a discussion of methods and pedagogy.