BRIDGE PROJECT
Building respect, inclusion, diversity, gratitude, and equity in rural Maine
Colby College and Benton Elementary
Benton Elementary School in Benton, Maine sought help from Colby's education department to enhance their DEI programming due to an influx of students from diverse backgrounds. Nine senior Colby students, along with Professor Adam Howard, formed a team to develop a research plan. They focused on curriculum, teachers, and community stakeholders, conducting interviews, reviewing literature, and visiting the school. Each subgroup provided recommendations. The team organized a two-day event at Benton Elementary (the lessons and resources we used are attached below). The success of this collaboration led to the continuation of Project BRIDGE and the creation of this website.
1 / Research groups and focuses were developed
After we finalized the research question, Colby students were split into three groups to continue with a more specific approach on community, curriculum, and educators. The overall research question was: What are ways of promoting DEI initiatives within the Benton Elementary community?
2 / Literature reviews
Each student in the class found a focus within their group's topic to look into for a literature review. For example, under the curriculum group, one student looked specifically at effective pedagogical approaches for DEI with elementary-age students, delving into an age-based research focus. These findings assisted in developing our interview questions. An extensive list of most of our cited studies is attached.
3 / Interviews and Data Collection
Shifting back to Benton, each group interviewed relevant people to their research to better understand the specific needs of Benton. We also looked for artifacts and documents that would further develop our research. It was important that we gave educators and community members a voice in the research process and how we could meet their needs.
4 / Two-Day Event
Throughout our projects, we also planned an interactive two-day event run by our Colby students. Our groups worked with each grade at a time and the event included a presentation, various activities, and a skit with a follow-up conversation. The resources we used are attached to this page.
5 / Recommendations/Conclusion
At the end of our research, each group came up with three comprehensive recommendations for Benton to consider and take with them when further developing their DEI-centered curriculum in the future. Due to surrounding schools' interest in our mission and research, this website was made to be accessible to teachers around the state of Maine with resources catered to them.