Underrepresented minorities (URMs) represent 33% of the US college age population and this will continue to increase (1). In contrast, only 26% of college students are URMs. In the area of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), only 15% of college students completing a STEM major are URMs (2). While there have been gains in the percent of Hispanic and Black/African Americans pursuing college degrees, the number of Native American college students remains alarmingly low. In 2013, Native Americans represented only 1% of entering college students and less than 50% finished their degree. Moreover, 1% of students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM-related fields are Native American/Alaska Native. With regards to high school graduation rates, the percent of Native American/Alaska Native students completing high school has decreased with only 51% of students completing high school in 2010 compared to 62 % and 68% for Black and Latino students respectively. While identifying ways to retain students from all underrepresented groups is important, developing programs targeting Native American students is crucial. In collaboration with the Hopi community, a three-week summer course for Native American high school students at Harvard was initiated in 2001. Within three years, the program expanded to include three additional Native American communities. 225 students participated in the program over a 10-year period; and 98% of those responding to the evaluation completed high school or obtained a GED and 98% entered two or four year colleges including 6 students who entered Harvard. This program was reinitiated in 2015 and we plan to build on the existing structure and content of this successful program. Specifically, in collaboration with two Native American communities, the goal of the program is 1) to increase participants’ knowledge of STEM disciplines and their relevance to issues in participants’ communities via a three week case-based summer course for Native American high school students; 2) to help enhance secondary school STEM education in Native American communities by providing opportunities for curriculum development and classroom enhancement for secondary school teachers in the participating Native American communities; and 3) to familiarize students with the college experience and application process and enhance their readiness for college through workshops, college courses and internships. Through these activities we hope to 1) increase the number of Native American students completing high school; 2) increase the number of Native American students applying and being accepted to college; 3) increase the number of Native American students pursuing STEM degrees and careers; 4) increase the perception among Native American students that attending and Ivy plus institution is attainable; 5) increase the feeling of empowerment that they can help their community by pursuing advanced degrees in STEM.
PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE:
This proposal supports a summer program for high school students and teachers from Native American communities. The program goals are to encourage students to complete high school and prepare them for college and to also consider degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The goals of this proposal are: 1) to provide opportunities for underrepresented students to consider careers in basic or clinical research by exciting them through an educational Citizen Science research project; 2) to provide teachers with professional development in science content and teaching skills using research projects as the infrastructure; and 3) to improve the environments and behaviors in early childcare and education settings related to healthy lifestyles across the state through HSTA students Citizen Science projects. The project will complement or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. It will encourage interactive partnerships between biomedical and clinical researchers,in-service teachers and early childcare and education facilities to prevent obesity.
Specific Aim I is the Biomedical Summer Institute for Teachers led by university faculty. This component is a one week university based component. The focus is to enhance teacher knowledge of biomedical characteristics and problems associated with childhood obesity, simple statistics, ethics and HIPAA compliance, and the principles of Citizen Science using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The teachers, together with the university faculty and staff, will develop the curriculum and activities for Specific Aim II.
Specific Aim II is the Biomedical Summer Institute for Students, led by HSTA teachers guided by university faculty. This experience will expose 11th grade HSTA students to the biomedical characteristics and problems associated with obesity with a focus on early childhood. Students will be trained on Key 2 a Healthy Start, which aims to improve nutrition and physical activity best practices, policies and environments in West Virginia’s early child care and education programs. The students will develop a meaningful project related to childhood obesity and an aspect of its prevention so that the summer institute bridges seamlessly into Specific Aim III.
Specific Aim III is the Community Based After School Club Experiences. The students and teachers from the summer experience will lead additional interested 9th–12th grade students in their clubs to examine their communities and to engage community members in conducting public health intervention research in topics surrounding childhood obesity prevention through Citizen Science. Students and teachers will work collaboratively with the Key 2 a Healthy Start team on community projects that will be focused on providing on-going technical assistance that will ultimately move the early childcare settings towards achieving best practices related to nutrition and physical activity in young children.
The purpose of the proposed project, Community of Bilingual English-Spanish Speakers Exploring Issues in Science and Health (CBESS), is to increase linguistic diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-healthcare fields, including biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research careers. With support of the large group of Spanish-English bilingual (SEB), STEM-healthcare professionals that was formed during this proposal preparation, CBESS will contribute to the pipeline between K–12 and higher education/career.
CBESS will recruit Spanish-English bilingual (SEB) high-school students at the end of tenth grade and implement several language-supported STEM-healthcare interventions during the eleventh and twelfth grade (17 months): family-engaged career exploration; Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned, inquiry-based, youth-led summer research residential program; community outreach/dissemination, internships, and mentoring.
Applying methods that are known to be effective with the target population, CBESS will also train undergraduate, near-peer instructor-mentors—STEM-healthcare Leadership Trainees (LT)—in inquiry-based instruction and strategies for positioning K–12 bilingual students as “insiders” in STEM-healthcare, as well as in the responsible conduct of research and mentoring skills, followed by practical application with SR.
CBESS will develop and expand the nascent SEB STEM-healthcare community of practice (CoP) that was created during CBESS proposal preparation. Committed academic, clinical, research, and community partners will contribute to research and evaluation efforts, and support the pipeline between K–12 and higher education/career through Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), framing priority community health issues to be addressed by each cohort of SR from among issues identified by the SR during the application process. Finally, the CoP will target long-term institutional sustainability for linguistically diverse students in STEM-healthcare education and careers.
The National Building Museum contracted RK&A to conduct an evaluation Investigating Where We Live (IWWL), a long-running program that has brought together creative youth in the Washington, D.C. area every summer since 1996 to explore, document, and interpret the local built environment. The study goal was to examine program strengths and challenges to help NBM strategically plan for the program’s future.
How did we approach this study?
To hear a variety of perspectives on the program, RK&A conducted in-depth telephone interviews with a number of stakeholders with different
Increased exposure to STEM content and career pathways during out-of-school time contexts can significantly extend STEM learning and aspirational interests among middle and high school youth. Using a collective impact approach, the STEM CareerLaunch pilot project tests the feasibility of redesigning a widely used, national youth and career focused program for and by the National Boys & Girls Clubs of America to extend STEM learning and promote awareness, interest, and readiness for STEM-related occupations among youth. STEM CareerLaunch integrates extant STEM programs, such as First Robotics, Girls Who Code and Jason Learning, with newly developed STEM content and opportunities to create and test a comprehensive STEM learning and career program for youth. The results of this pilot will inform a more expansive effort to bring STEM CareerLaunch to an already networked 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs, reaching over four million youth from predominately underrepresented groups in STEM, and youth participating in other afterschool/summer program throughout the United States.
Approximately 100 youth and informal educators in Boys & Girls Clubs in Fitchburg and Leominster, Massachusetts will participate in this pilot feasibility study. A five-pronged approach will be instituted including: (1) high quality out of school time STEM programming, (2) connected STEM career education, (3) mentorship, (4) professional development for the informal educators, and (5) incentives such as internships and field experiences for youth participants. The developmental evaluation will focus on program implementation, participant outcomes, and scale-up. Data collection methods will include quantitative and qualitative approaches such as baseline student data, project tracking logs, retrospective surveys, focus groups, staff interviews, and observations. A summative evaluation will also be conducted.
This endeavor is led by a collaborative partnership between the National Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Worcester Polytechnic Institute STEM Center, the Fitchburg and Leominster Public School Districts, and others. It is primarily 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. It is also co-funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program which is committed to better understanding and promoting practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, and or mathematics (STEM).
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.
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. The project will conduct a feasibility study of an informal youth STEM learning program. High school students from under served communities in New York City will use existing historical, cultural and environmental data to investigate selected UNESCO World Heritage sites. Participants will apply the skills and knowledge they have developed from their analysis of the UNESCO sites and apply them to their local communities. Participants will identify, map, and analyze their own community heritage sites, using relevant citizen science, environmental and cultural data. Throughout the program, the project will involve participants in maker-related activities. Participants will design devices to collect data, explore variables through model making, and communicate findings through models and artistic forms with the to spur both individual and community action for selected heritage sites.
The project will be implemented as a 9-month weekly after school program in Long Island City, New York. Most students from the school will be from low-income families and are youth of color. The research the question for the study is "How does access to STEM increase for historically underrepresented youth populations when culturally relevant curriculum connects citizen science and making practices?" During the first phase of the program, participants will engage with core STEM concepts and making/design processes through an engaging curriculum that explores damaged UNESCO World Heritage Sites. During the second phase, youth will identify, map, and plan enhancements for their own community heritage sites or environmental landmarks. A condensed version of the program will be piloted in the summer with youth from across the city. The Educational Development Corporation will conduct a process and summative evaluation of the project. Process evaluation, which will provide ongoing feedback to the project team, will include document review, observation of program implementation, and interviews with project partners. Summative evaluation will continue these methods, supplemented by pre- and post-participation participant surveys and focus-groups. Validated survey instruments, such as the Growth Mindset Scale, and the Common Instrument Suite (PEAR Institute) will be used. Resources from research and program practices will be disseminated through publications and conference presentations to the education research community, global learning and design fields, and practitioners from after school and other informal learning environments. Participants will share project results with their communities.
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.
This Research in Service to Practice project will bring together representatives from six long-standing youth programs, experts in the field of out-of-school-time youth programming, and education researchers to collaboratively explore the long-term (15-25 years) impact of STEM-focused, intensive (100+ hours/year), multi-year programming. The six partnering programs have maintained records with a combined total of over 3000 alums who participated between 1995 and 2005. This four-year research project uses an explanatory, sequential, mixed-method design to carry out four steps: (1) identify and describe the impact on the lives of program alums who are now ages 30 to 45; (2) identify causal pathways from program strategies to long-term outcomes; (3) develop an understanding of these pathways from the perspective of the people who experienced them; and (4) disseminate this knowledge broadly to those associated with STEM-focused programming. Research questions include: How did these programs affect youth's lives as they progressed toward and into adulthood? What program strategies and what participant attributes contributed most to the staying power of these effects? What life events and social structures supported and inhibited participant outcomes? This project describes the effects, identifies the causal pathways, and produces materials that programs can use for both strategic planning and generating support resources. Additionally, this project provides research methodology for organizations that want to conduct their own retrospective research and lays a foundation for a more comprehensive study that includes programs without historical documentation. The project aligns with NSF's Big Idea "NSF INCLUDES: Transforming education and career pathways to help broaden participation in science and engineering" by providing essential information about the long-term effect of interventions on educational and career pathways in STEM.
The project's approach involves three phases: (1) research preparation, (2) causal structural modeling of survey data from approximately 2,000 respondents, and (3) rich qualitative follow-up. Human ecological and self-determination theories inform data collection and analyses at every project phase. In the preparation phase, program staff complete program profiles from an historic perspective by identifying program strategies that may have included, for example, scientific research, robotics development, teaching science in informal settings, and working in scientific research labs. In the quantitative phase, the project will recruit alums who attended one of the 6 youth programs between 1995 and 2005 to submit a current resume and complete an online questionnaire, based on the following scaled variables: retrospective recall of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration in relation to perceived program strategies; STEM identity (at three time periods: pre-program; post-program; and current); current well-being; career influences; and career barriers. The questionnaire also includes open-ended questions about life events related to the following categories: family and friends, school and work, and living conditions. Analysis of the questionnaire will lead to development of a causal structural model. In the qualitative phase, data will be collected from a purposefully selected sample of 30 alums based on findings from the quantitative phase. Methods include interviews, photo journals, and STEM pathways maps. Analysis of interviews, resumes, and photo journals take place within the structure of basic psychological need satisfaction and motivational quality across ecological systems over time. Qualitative analysis uses the constant comparative method, and findings are used to update and refine the final causal structural model and inform overall findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the project.
Since the 1990s, out-of-school time programs have engaged youth from underserved communities in STEM learning and in building interest in STEM careers, yet these programs often based on untested assumptions that participation has lasting effects on education, career, and life choices related to STEM. This Research in Service to Practice project has the potential to 1) guide practitioners in program improvement and improved program outcomes; 2) provide insight into achieving program goals, such as equity, increased well-being of participants, an informed citizenry, and a diversified STEM workforce; and 3) inform multi-stakeholder decision-making with respect to this type of programming. This research also builds a foundation of research data collection and analysis methods to guide and support future research on long term-impacts and youth STEM programming. Dissemination strategies include a website, webinars, video, infographics, conference presentations, and written reports to reach stakeholders including practitioners, researchers, administrators, and funders.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of learning settings.
The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School conducted a year-long study of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA). Funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, this study is the first of its kind among 68 national and international STEM Ecosystems.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kristin Lewis-WarnerPatricia AllenGil Noam
An in-depth case study of one of America’s first STEM Learning Ecosystems in Tulsa, Oklahoma, conducted by researchers at The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience, finds that strong leadership, deep partnerships, and data-informed methods have led to the creation of diverse, high-quality, STEM-rich learning opportunities for Tulsa’s youth. Additionally, these efforts improved the capacity of STEM educators through high-quality professional development and supported youth pathways to STEM careers by increasing mentoring opportunities for STEM professionals.
These findings
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kristin Lewis-WarnerPatricia AllenGil Noam
This annual report presents an overview of Saint Louis Science Center audience data gathered through a variety of evaluation studies conducted during 2015. This report includes information on the Science Center's general public audience demographics and visitation patterns, gives an overview of visitors' comments about their Science Center experience, summarizes major trends observed in the Science Center's tool for tracking educational programs, and presents highlights from a Membership study, a formative evaluation of a new Makerspace exhibition, and program evaluation of a workshop for the
This Conference Paper was presented at the International Soceity for the Learning Sciences Confernece in June 2018. We summarize interviews with youth ages 9-15 about their failure mindsets, and if those midsets cross boundaries between learning environments.
Previous research on youth’s perceptions and reactions to failure established a view of failure as a negative, debilitating experience for youth, yet STEM and in particular making programs increasingly promote a pedagogy of failures as productive learning experiences. Looking to unpack perceptions of failure across contexts and