ITEST Program Findings

In an effort to increase the number of American Indians in technical and leadership positions, local tribal communities are pursuing opportunities for their youth to connect with STEM education that is relevant to their community and honors the Tribe's values.

In this paper we lay out our strategy of our Scalable Game Design curriculum, which has been funded through a series of NSF (ITEST Strategy, CE21 Type II, and ITEST Scale Up) grants as well as the Google CS4HS program, and list some research questions relevant to bringing Computer Science education to middle schools.

 Drawing on a multi-year research and development program, the authors report on the promise of integrating locally-focused student investigations with ubiquitous access to advanced technologies. By doing this, students are better able to see the relevance of STEM skills and knowledge as they work to improve their local communities. Specific program examples cited show the paradigm as it has been implemented with upper elementary and middle school students. Contrasting examples show challenges in implementation.

Response-shift bias occurs when participants' initial constructs, such as self-efficacy in teaching science, are incomplete because they do not fully conceptualize something they have yet to experience. This study examines whether elementary pre-service teachers can consistently evaluate constructs such as self-efficacy and attitudes toward science throughout an elementary methods course.

This qualitative study examines data from eight elementary preservice teachers who transitioned into student teaching after participating in an alternative science methods course that included teaching afterschool science to elementary grade students. These eight participants had a chance to practice teaching inquiry-based science and reform their own thoughts about science teaching and learning through an 8-week afterschool science program situated within their elementary science methods course.

This virtual brief paper describes the efficacy of hybrid professional development used for the CoastLines Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) project. Over a three-year period, CoastLines introduced middle and high school teachers to the use of geospatial technologies as a tool for science instruction. Its hybrid professional development format included 40 hours of Webinars and an 80-hour summer institute. In response to formative feedback, the format was revised each year throughout the course of the project.

Analysis of baseline attitudinal data gathered from a National Science Foundation Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers project uncovered large contrasts between the perceptions of practicing professionals and students toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers (Tyler-Wood, Knezek, & Christensen, 2010). These findings have been reconfirmed in a second year analysis based on new data and are reported in this paper.

The iQUEST (investigations for Quality Understanding and Engagement for Students and Teachers) project is designed to promote student interest and attitudes toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project targets seventh- and eighth-grade science classrooms that serve high percentages of Hispanic students. The project design, student summer camp program, and professional development model have led to successful increases in student performance.

Understanding the dynamics of individual or group adaptation can provide valuable information for constructing professional development strategies to increase chances of instructional success. This paper reports on an exploratory study that identifies indicators of convergent vs. non-convergent adaptation in two cases of teachers working together on a technology-based curriculum construction activity and explores the relationship between group characteristics and adaptation processes.

The goal of this article is to present a description of a professional development program designed to immerse middle and high school teachers in an inquiry-based learning environment using a forensic science context and the consequent impact participating in this program had on teachers’ pedagogy. Teachers participated in a year-long program consisting of two summer institutes and one programming during the academic year. Teachers spent the first week of each summer institute exploring various science domains using a forensic science context.

EcoScienceWorks (ESW) is an ecology curriculum that includes targeted simulations and a code block programming challenge developed through an NSF-ITEST grant.

During the past three years we have been designing and implementing a technology enhanced urban ecology program using geographic information systems (GIS) coupled with technology. Our initial work focused on professional development for in-service teachers and implementation in K-12 classrooms. However, upon reflection and analysis of the challenges that our in-service teachers faced while implementing our projects in their classrooms, we began to infuse our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded ITEST work into our pre-service teacher preparation program.

The Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP) offered yearlong science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professional development to teachers in rural Alaska. Teacher training focused on introducing youth to workforce technologies used in Arctic research. Due to challenges in making professional development accessible to rural teachers, ACMP modified the traditional ITEST format, instead offering unique “curriculum resource-based professional development” that provided a year-round mix of training options for 165 teachers.

End-user game design affords teachers a unique opportunity to integrate computational thinking concepts into their classrooms. However, it is not always apparent in game and simulation projects what computational thinking-related skills students have acquired. Computational Thinking Pattern Analysis (CTPA) enables teachers to visualize which of nine specific skills students have mastered in game design that can then be used to create simulations.

This paper suggests a Cyberlearning tool based on a highly innovative assessment methodology that helps teachers with computer science education. Currently, there is a strong push to integrate aspects of programming and coding into the classroom environment. However, few if any tools exist that enable real-time formative assessment of in-class programming tasks.

The STEM College-Going Expectancy Scale (STEM CGES) was developed and validated in two studies conducted during 2010 and 2011. The STEM CGES is a self-report instrument measuring college-going expectancy, specifically for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains. In Study 1, 95 students in an urban high school completed an 11-item online questionnaire to measure college-going expectancy in STEM domains. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) retained 6 out of the 11 items for inclusion.

Two new instruments created to assess perceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines and careers are analyzed and found to have respectable to excellent internal consistency reliability, as well as good content, construct, and criterion-related validity for the areas assessed. Cronbach's Alpha for the individual scales on the STEM Semantics Survey and the STEM Career Interest Questionnaire ranged from .78 to .94 across the eight constructs represented.

Given that many urban students exclude Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics careers from their career choices, the present study focuses on urban high school students and adopts the social-cultural approach to understand the following questions: how do students envision their careers? What are the experiences that shape students’ self-reflections? And how do students’ self-reflections influence the way they envision their future careers? Five students were interviewed and data were coded in two ways: by topic domains and confidence levels.

A group of 60 10th grade students and 40 high school math and science teachers in Arizona, as members of scientific villages, explore integrated STEM and business-type problems with mentorship by college students, faculty, scientists, and professionals.

Given that many urban students exclude Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics careers from their career choices, the present study focuses on urban high school students and adopts the social-cultural approach to understand the following questions: how do students envision their careers? What are the experiences that shape students’ self-reflections? And how do students’ self-reflections influence the way they envision their future careers? Five students were interviewed and data were coded in two ways: by topic domains and confidence levels.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the changes found to occur pre- to post intervention in students' cognitive structures continued to persist two years later. Major findings were: 1) higher-order STEM-related constructs established during the treatment year tended to persist two years later, even as component dispositions varied, and 2) gender differences in level of persistence emerged in only one of the four higher-order constructs identified.

This paper describes the journey of a group of university students as they worked with underserved middle school students as mentors in a STEM-based afterschool program. Design thinking provided a frame within which students learned how to be mentors, how to create user-centered learning experiences, and how to share their experiences as developing STEM professionals with middle school students.

Using consensual qualitative research, the study examines urban high school students’ reactions to a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) enrichment/career development program, their resources and barriers, their perspectives on the impact of race and gender on their career development, and their overall views of work and their futures. The sample included nine students who participated in a semistructured interview at the end of the 2-week summer program and again 12–18 months later.

Middle school is a crucial stage in student development as students prepare for a fast changing future. The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills that students acquire in middle school lay the foundation for a successful career in STEM. Moreover, most STEM occupations require competencies in science, math and logical thinking prior to engagement in problem solving. Therefore, it is vital to prepare and develop interest in middle school students to  participate in the future STEM workforce.

Future school science standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), emphasize the integration of simulation and modeling activities in the classroom environment. The extremes of these activities have two vastly different implementations. On one hand, a teacher can have students experiment on a pre-made simulation associated with the material. On the other hand, students can use, for example, an end-user programming tool to create the simulation from scratch.

One of the most important challenges facing the citizens of the 21st century will undoubtedly be climate change. Yet, understanding about climate change remains problematic for students and teachers, particularly in the United States. Understanding the small fluctuations associated with long term changes in temperature and precipitation is a daunting task for the general public let alone for the middle-aged adolescent.

The development of analytical skills is a central goal of the Next Generation Science Standards and foundational to subject mastery in STEM fields. Yet, significant barriers exist to students gaining such skills. Here we describe a new “gentleslope” cyberlearning strategy that gradually introduces students to the authoring of scientific simulations via a Web-based modding approach called CyberMOD.

Spatial literacy is a new frontier in K-12 education. This article describes a place-based introductory GIS/GPS middle school curriculum unit in which students used measuring tools, GPS units, and My World GIS software to collect physical and spatial data of trees to create a schoolyard tree inventory. Maine students completed "memory maps" of their schoolyards as a pre/post exercise assessment. A statistically significant increase in students' spatial awareness was documented.

The STEM 3D approach draws on evidence-based research demonstrating the proven ability of informal environments to act as an entry point to STEM and 21st Century skills for elementary-aged youth, as well as the value of involving significant adults and local communities when providing STEM learning opportunities for minority youth.

Engaging middle school youth in STEM curricula resulting in desired conceptual changes is challenging. Furthermore, social media are identified as platforms where youth naturally congregate for sustained interaction. Studio STEM was designed as an after school programme to engage learners (ages 11–15) in design-based science inquiry within a studio environment, enhanced by social media and digital tools.

In this study we examined three after-school settings for 8 weeks focusing on storyboarding, chatting on a social network site, videotaped conversations with volunteer facilitators, presentations the youth made at the end of the program, and structured interviews with researchers to look for evidence of learning in afterschool spaces.

In this white paper we describe youth engagement in cyber-rich science in a community setting, involving both knowledge/practice development and identity work through scientifically rigorous, culturally responsive, and generative activities.

Visual programming in 3D sounds much more appealing than programming in 2D, but what are its benefits? Here, University of Colorado Boulder educators discuss the differences between 2D and 3D regarding three concepts connecting computer graphics to computer science education: ownership, spatial thinking, and syntonicity.

In order to get students interested in computing, we teach middle school teachers of different disciplines programming with Alice and work with them on integrating computing into their discipline. Alice provides an interface for novices to create animations easily and quickly, which is attractive to and fun for students. We have been developing Alice curriculum materials for integrating computing into middle school disciplines for six years.

Engaging young science learners today requires a plethora of tools that oftentimes leverages technology in novel ways. This paper describes the use of several 21st century technologies to engage science learners in locally relevant climate science research projects and the presentation of these projects in an entirely online virtual student conference. Case studies demonstrating the use of and effectiveness of 21st century technologies and GLOBE protocols are also included.

The University of Montana’s Paleo Exploration Project (PEP) was a professional development program for K-12 Montana teachers, which also provided authentic, field-based, residential summer research experiences for over 80 Montana middle school students. The program’s scientific focus was the ancient environments and fossils of eastern Montana, which to leveraged student’s innate interest in dinosaurs to build a deeper understanding of “doing science” and encouraged future pursuit of STEM coursework and careers.

A group of 60 10th grade students and 40 high school math and science teachers in Arizona, as members of scientific villages, explore integrated STEM and business-type problems with mentorship by college students, faculty, scientists, and professionals.

Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has spent the last eight years developing and implementing a comprehensive educational robotics program for youth ages 9-14. The program is delivered in informal (out-of-school) learning environments through robotics camps, clubs, and competitions and has provided robotics experiences to over 5,000 youth and 400 educators.

Findings included that the residential early admissions students had STEM dispositions more similar to STEM professionals and less similar to traditional high school students. Analyses of disaggregated data characteristics based on attributes such as gender are also presented.

Exergaming activities demonstrate how technology could be used as an instrument to reduce the impact of this disease. One can purchase commercial, technology-based exergames such as Nintendo Wii Fit or Xbox Kinect games; however, the authors developed a custom exergame using Phoenix Contact’s Nanoline microcontroller and nano Navigator software flowchart. The beauty of the flowcharting software is that people who have no or little programming experience can easily understand its structure.

In this paper, we investigate the correspondence between student affect in a web-based tutoring platform throughout the school year and learning outcomes at the end of the year, on a high-stakes mathematics exam.

Research shows that middle school is an important juncture for a student where he or she starts to be conscious about academic achievement and thinks about college attendance. It is already known that access to financial resources, family background, career aspirations and academic ability are indicative of a student’s choice to attend college; though these variables are interesting, they do not necessarily give sufficient actionable information to instructors or guidance counselors to intervene for individual students.

Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory states that a balance between challenge and skill leads to high engagement, overwhelming challenge leads to anxiety or frustration, and insufficient challenge leads to boredom. In this paper, we test this theory within the context of student interaction with an intelligent tutoring system. Automated detectors of student affect and knowledge were developed, validated, and applied to a large data set.

An ongoing and at times seemingly intractable issue in science education and STEM fields is the underperformance and underrepresentation of marginalized youth. This is often attributed to disconnect between school in general, school science specifically and the cultures that youth enact and experience in their daily lives. Although research demonstrates that youth become engaged in STEM when it is relevant to their well-being and that of their community, the question of what motivates underrepresented youth to pursue STEM interests is still not fully understood.

Insights from the COMPUGIRLS project have provided significant evidence that lack of motivation is a misrepresentation of our girls’ lived experience.

A group of 60 10th grade students and 40 high school math and science teachers in Arizona, as members of scientific villages, explore integrated STEM and business-type problems with mentorship by college students, faculty, scientists, and professionals.