This white paper examined the process of evaluating a new Growth Mindset youth program developed for youth in Grades 3-5 in the Northwest suburb communities in Dundee Township, IL.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Luci HanstedtDrew Glassford Mike LoPrestiMallory NamoffRobert Tai
Informal STEM learning experiences (ISLEs), such as participating in science, computing, and engineering clubs and camps, have been associated with the development of youth’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics interests and career aspirations. However, research on ISLEs predominantly focuses on institutional settings such as museums and science centers, which are often discursively inaccessible to youth who identify with minoritized demographic groups. Using latent class analysis, we identify five general profiles (i.e., classes) of childhood participation in ISLEs from data
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Remy DouHeidi CianZahra HazariPhilip SadlerGerhard Sonnert
Well-designed out-of-school time experiences can provide youth with rich opportunities to learn. However, to design effective out-of-school time experiences, it is critical to have a research basis that clarifies the features of programs that support increased youth engagement that then leads to better outcomes for youth. This project explores the features of programming that integrates sports, mathematics and science concepts, and growth mindset for 4th through 8th grade aged Latinx and African American youth. To accomplish this, the investigators refine curricular resources for out-of-school time programs and develop a model for professional learning experiences for informal educators and facilitators to support their implementation of integrated sports and STEM programming. To identify critical features of the programming, the researchers explore the ways that the program activities are implemented in two different contexts as well as the impact of the programming on youth participants' mindset, understanding of science and mathematics concepts, STEM interests, and self-perceived science and mathematics abilities. Additionally, researchers will explore the ways that the sports-themed programming supports (or could better support) girls' engagement.
The project builds on the University of Arizona researchers' existing partnerships with Major League Baseball (MLB) and Boys/Girls Club programs and an existing school-based MLB program for schools to (a) expand and refine Science of Baseball activities to enhance engagement among girls and incorporate growth mindset experiences that focus on the value of effort, determination, and learning from mistakes in both athletics and STEM; (b) study the enactment and outcomes of the program with 4th-8th grade aged youth in the two distinct informal learning settings; and (c) develop and refine a model for professional learning that includes in-person and on-line components for training informal STEM learning facilitators. The work will focus on two study contexts: afterschool programs of Boys and Girls Clubs in AZ, CA, and MO and summer programs of MLB in CA and MO. Participants will include 300 youth and up to 28 informal STEM learning facilitators split across the two contexts. Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) will be used to a) iteratively refine the activities and professional development model, and b) study the enactment and outcomes of the program. Research questions focus on outcomes for youth participants (i.e., impact on growth mindset, STEM dispositions, and understanding of science/math concepts), and the elements of effective professional development for informal STEM educators. Outcomes of the project include empirical evidence of what works and what doesn't work in the design, implementation, and professional development for STEM learning programs that integrate sports and growth mindset principles. In addition, outcomes of the project will advance knowledge of how different out-of-school program structures with similar sports-focused STEM programming can similarly (or differentially) support youth learning.
This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
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.
The independent evaluation firm Knight Williams, Inc. conducted a formative evaluation during Year 2 of the SciGirls CONNECT2 program in order to gather information about the partner educators’ use of, reflections on, and recommendations relating to the draft updated SciGirls Strategies. The evaluation aimed for two educators from each of 14 partner organizations – specifically the program leader and one educator who was familiar with the original SciGirls Seven – to provide reflections on their use of the draft SciGirls Strategies in their programs through an online survey and follow-up
The independent evaluators at Knight Williams Inc. developed a front-end survey to gather background and baseline information about the 16 partner organizations selected to conduct outreach programs as part of SciGirls CONNECT2. The goal was for two people from each partner organization to complete the online survey about their background and prior use of the SciGirls Seven and related strategies. A total of 30 partner representatives completed the survey by the requested deadline, resulting in a response rate of 94%. The majority identified as program leaders, with smaller groups saying they
The goal for this research study was to determine the role of the SciGirls gender-equitable strategies on participating youths’ STEM identity changes in 16 participating SciGirls’ programs across the nation. The definition of STEM identity was based on Eccles (2007), Carlone and Johnson (2007) and Calabrese Barton and colleagues (2013). According to these researchers, individuals must have a positive STEM identity in order to persist in STEM careers. This positive STEM identity is affected by an individual’s expectations of success in STEM and the value they see in STEM and STEM careers
This project responds to the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) solicitation (NSF 17-537) and is sponsored by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning program at the National Science Foundation. CAREER: Talking Science: Early STEM Identity Formation Through Everyday Science Talk (Talking Science) addresses the critical issue of the development of children's identification with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and the limited knowledge about the development of STEM identity through conversations, particularly among very young children from underserved and underrepresented populations. Talking Science is based on the premise that individuals who develop STEM interests and identify with STEM at a young age tend to participate in STEM fields more so than individuals who develop these later in life. This study investigates how STEM-related conversations outside of school with friends and family during formative years (i.e., 7 - 12 years old) shape youths’ STEM identity later in life and their engagement in STEM. The goals of Talking Science are (1) To develop an understanding of the features and context of conversations held between children and their caregivers/teachers that support STEM identity development in both majority and Hispanic/Latine populations; and (2) To translate the research outcomes into informal STEM learning practices that positively contribute to young people's perceptions of STEM fields in their future.
To achieve its goals, this work addresses the following research questions: (1) What is the content, context, and structure of STEM-related conversations with friends and family that youth ages 7 - 12 participate in?; (2) How do the features of conversation (i.e., content, context, structure) relate to the development of youth's STEM interests, sense of recognition as STEM people, and self-identification with STEM?; (3) How do the cultural values and science talk experiences of Hispanic/Latine youth shape conversation features related to youth's STEM interests, sense of recognition as STEM people, and self-identification with STEM?; and (4) Does professional development for practitioners that focuses on encouraging youth to engage in STEM-related conversations with friends and family positively contribute to youth's STEM interest, sense of recognition, and self-identification with STEM? To address these questions, the study adopts a qualitative research approach that applies phenomenological strategies in research design, data collection, and analysis to allow for exploration of the meaning of lived experiences in social and cultural contexts. Participants include elementary-age youths (ages 7 - 12) and caregivers from socially, culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse backgrounds. To inform the development of interview protocols in terms of the kinds of childhood talk that leave a long-term impact on students, including the kinds of talk experiences remembered by students who choose or persist towards a STEM career in college, the project also recruits college students pursuing STEM degrees as participants. Data gathering and interpretation strategies include surveys and interviews. The outcomes of this research will constitute a theoretical framework and models that guide the development of both professionals and programmatic activities at informal learning institutions, particularly around scaffolding participation in STEM through family science talk.
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.
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. This exploratory Pilot study project brings together a diverse set of partners that include the Watertown Children's Theatre (WCT) which is west of Boston, and, from Boston College a team of science educators, learning science researchers, and positive youth development experts. The goal is to design and develop a project for middle school-aged youth. The pilot project, which integrates hands-on science learning experiences, experiments, and field trips with the student-led production of short plays, will engage youth in expressing their beliefs, passions, and their own identities about STEM by examining how the intersection of skills and practices used in both domains (science and theatre) can enable them to learn about science concepts, principles and methods as well as to develop science-focused identities. Middle-school youth will be engaged in a three-week summer program where they will be led by science teachers, playwrights, and high school students to conduct hands-on investigations in science in conjunction with developing original, ten-minute plays around a specific scientific theme relevant to their life experience, for example, the potential impact on their lives of heavy metals in water and poor air quality. After a science theme is chosen, the principal investigators will identify the big ideas that are important for youth to understand and be able to explain. Upon identification of the key science ideas, youth will then engage in pertinent science activities, visits to local sites, reading current news articles and then in identifying the local impacts and how the underlying science relates to those local impacts. The youth will perform their ten-minute plays at the end of the summer program. Following this showcase event, they will engage in additional science learning experiences and also revise their productions throughout the academic year in preparation for a youth science festival, where their creations will be performed by professional adult actors as a part of the Cambridge Science Festival taking place in the spring. The broader impact of the work focuses on broadening participation in STEM, specifically, the engagement of youth from under-represented populations in the sciences, such as African-Americans, Latinxs, and women with partner Boston Public Schools. The Pilot study will investigate the student learning and organizational dimensions of the model being developed.
The Boston College researchers will study youth's sense of purpose and identity toward science, particularly how youth's identity discrepancy changes through participation in the project. The work places youth voice at the center of the creation of STEM-based theatre plays. The theoretical foundation of the work is grounded in part in the concept of "path to purpose." The major research questions are: How do youth perceptions (interest, science anxiety, identity) toward science shift as they participate in the project? What is the residual impact on parents (family members) and youth on their discussions about science, and how does participation in the project impact those discussions? Research methods include surveys, interviews and observations. The external evaluation study will focus on understanding project implementation and progress toward meeting the project goals, in particular, how well the initiative works to establish a model for the informal STEM learning field that the team and others can apply beyond the Pilot study.
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.
The purpose of this study is to thoroughly describe a program designed to strengthen the pipeline of Latino students into post-secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and present evaluation data to assess multiyear effectiveness. The program includes a suite of interventions aimed at students and families, and was implemented in a low-income school cluster with a high Latino population in metro Atlanta. Our intervention includes a high school and middle school mentoring program, STEM-focused extracurricular activities (summer camps, research and community
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Diley HernandezMarion UsselmanShaheen RanaMeltem AlemdarAnalia Rao
To reach its full potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the United States must continue to recruit, prepare and maintain a diverse STEM workforce. Much work has been done in this regard. Yet, underrepresentation in STEM fields persists and is especially pronounced for Hispanic STEM professionals. The Hispanic community is the youngest and fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States but comprises only seven percent of the STEM workforce. More evidence-based solutions and innovative approaches are required. This project endeavors to address the challenges of underrepresentation in STEM, especially among individuals of Hispanic descent, through an innovative approach. The University of San Diego will design, develop, implement, and test a multilayered STEM learning approach specific to STEM learning and workforce development in STEM fields targeting Hispanic youth. The STEM World of Work project will explore youth STEM identity through three mechanisms: (1) an assessment of their individual interests, strengths, and values, (2) exposure to an array of viable STEM careers, and (3) engagement in rigorous hands-on STEM activities. The project centers on a youth summer STEM enrichment program and a series of follow-up booster sessions delivered during the academic year in informal contexts to promote family engagement. Paramount to this work is the core focus on San Diego's Five Priority Workforce Sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Information and Communications Technology, Clean Energy, Healthcare, and Biotech. Few, if any, existing projects in the Advancing Informal STEM learning portfolio have explored the potential connections between these five priority workforce sectors, informal STEM learning, and identity among predominately Hispanic youth and families engaged in a year-long, culturally responsive STEM learning and workforce focused program. If successful, the model could provide a template for the facilitation of similar efforts in the future.
The STEM World of Work project will use a mixed-methods, exploratory research design to better understand the variables influencing STEM learning and academic and career choices within the proposed context. The research questions will explore: (1) the impacts of the project on students' engagement, STEM identity, STEM motivation, and academic outcomes, (2) factors that moderate these outcomes, and (3) the impact the model has on influencing youths' personal goals and career choices. Data will be garnered through cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys and reflective focus groups with the students and their parents/guardians. Multivariate analysis of variance, longitudinal modeling, and qualitative analysis will be conducted to analyze and report the data. The findings will be disseminated using a variety of methods and platforms. The broader impacts of the findings and work are expected to extend well beyond the project team, graduate student mentors, project partners, and the estimated 120 middle school students and their families from the predominately Hispanic Chula Vista Community of San Diego who will be directly impacted by the project.
This exploratory pathways project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Perla MyersVitaliy PopovOdesma DalrympleYaoran LiJoi Spencer
Utah Valley University (UVU) with partners Weber State University (WSU) and American Indian Services (AIS) are implementing UTAH PREP (PREParation for STEM Careers) to address the need for early preparation in mathematics to strengthen and invigorate the secondary-to-postsecondary-to-career STEM pipeline. As the preliminary groundwork for UTAH PREP, each partner currently hosts a PREP program (UVU PREP, WSU PREP, and AIS PREP) that identifies low-income, under-represented minority, first-generation, and female students entering seventh grade who have interest and aptitude in math and science, and involves them in a seven-week, three-year summer intensive program integrating STEM courses and activities. The course content blends skill-building academics with engaging experiences that promote a clear understanding of how mathematical concepts and procedures are applied in various fields of science and engineering. Courses are enhanced through special projects, field trips, college campus visits, and the annual Sci-Tech EXPO. The purpose of the program is to motivate and prepare participants from diverse backgrounds to complete a rigorous program of mathematics in high school so that they can successfully pursue STEM studies and careers, which are vital to advancing the regional and national welfare.
UTAH PREP is based on the TexPREP program that originated at the University of Texas at San Antonio and which was named as one of the Bright Spots in Hispanic Education by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in 2015. TexPREP was adapted by UVU for use in Utah for non-minority serving institutions and in regions with lower minority populations, but with great academic and college participation disparity. With NSF funding for a two-year pilot program, the project partners are building UTAH PREP through a networked improvement community, collective impact approach that, if demonstrably successful, has the ability to scale to a national level. This pilot program's objectives include: 1) creating a UTAH PREP collaboration with commitments to a common set of objectives and common set of plans to achieve them; 2) strengthening existing PREP programs and initiating UTAH PREP at two or three other institutions of higher education in Utah, each building a sustainable local support network; 3) developing a shared measurement system to assess the impact of UTAH PREP programs, adaptations, and mutually reinforcing activities on students, including those from groups that are underrepresented in STEM disciplines; and 4) initiating a backbone organization that will support future scaling of the program's impact.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Daniel HornsAndrew StoneVioleta Vasilevska
This project seeks to prepare female Hispanic students for leadership in the STEM workforce. The project seeks to determine if a blended set of STEM engagement activities including summer intensive laboratory-based experiential learning and out-of-school STEM activities, peer support, mentoring, and financial assistance can help to take target students through a traditional leaky workforce and educational pipeline resulting in matriculation to and graduation from undergraduate STEM programs. If successful, the work will increase participation and leadership of Hispanic women in the STEM workforce. To accomplish these goals, the PIs will: (1) work with partners to identify, recruit, and screen bright, energetic Hispanic females in their freshman year of high school who show promise and interest in STEM disciplines; (2) engage selected students and their families in formal and informal STEM learning both throughout the school year and during summer residential experiences to enable the students to further develop and clarify their STEM calling; (3)prepare the students to matriculate to undergraduate college; (4) provide program participants with full-tuition scholarships to ensure undergraduate education is attainable; and (5) at our institution and partner colleges, provide dedicated advisors and mentors and cohort activities to ensure undergraduate persistence and success.
Technical Summary
The PIs seek to prepare female Hispanic students for leadership in the STEM workforce. To compete in the global economy, maintain national security, and meet serious environmental challenges, more skilled graduates are needed to fill STEM jobs. An untapped source of talent exists in those populations that continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields, including women and people of color. This work will help to determine if a blended set of STEM engagement activities including summer intensive laboratory-based experiential learning and out-of-school STEM activities, peer support, mentoring, and financial assistance can help to take target students through a traditional leaky pipeline resulting in matriculation to and graduation from undergraduate STEM education. The work builds on research that shows that mentored research opportunities and peer support and interaction improves persistence in female students. It also builds on regional models of collective impact whereby a variety of corporate, nonprofit, and foundation organizations successfully join together for large-impact projects. If successful, the work will increase participation and leadership of Hispanic women in the STEM workforce.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
April MarchettiCharles EnglishRebecca MichelsenRachele DominguezLaurie Massery