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Project Descriptions

STEM Interest and Engagement Study

October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2017 | Public Programs

During middle school, many young people disengage from and consequently do not achieve in school-based STEM subjects. This phenomenon is more pronounced among young people in low-income communities than elsewhere. Many summer, out-of-school STEM programs are designed to offer young people opportunities to engage in hands-on, inquiry-based learning that promote interest and engagement in STEM. Research on the effect of these types of programs is limited, however. This research project seeks to fill this gap by identifying and studying practices that promote interest and engagement in STEM-related topics. The central goal of the summer STEM Interest and Engagement Study is to identify instructional practices associated with cultivating and sustaining young people's interest and engagement in out-of-school STEM summer learning programs for middle school youth. The project is based on a model of change developed from existing theory and empirical research on the cultivation of youths' interest and engagement in STEM. The project is a descriptive study that will apply multiple data collection and analytic methods, including the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), to determine instructional practices and the resulting interest, engagement, and perceptions of youth as they participate in STEM activities. In addition, survey data provided by program participants will allow the researchers to account for individual differences in preexisting interest and background factors, such as gender and ethnicity, and to measure changes in dispositions toward STEM. By better understanding these connections, practitioners can better understand how the design of their programs may influence the outcome of the participants' experience, including their education and career decisions.

Funders

NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 1421198
Funding Amount: 1186977

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Deborah Moroney
    Principal Investigator
    American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences
  • REVISE logo
    Principal Investigator
    American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences
  • Lee Shumow
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Northern Illinois University
  • Jennifer Schmidt
    Co-Principal Investigator
  • Discipline: Education and learning science | Engineering | General STEM | Mathematics | Technology
    Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | Educators/Teachers | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Summer and Extended Camps
    Access and Inclusion: Low Socioeconomic Status

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