Research suggests that trajectories toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) emerge early and are influenced by multiple factors. This paper presents a longitudinal study, which uses data from 76 high school students to explore how a student’s vocational self-efficacy and interest are related to his or her middle school behavioral and affective engagement. Measures of vocational self-efficacy and interest are drawn from STEM-related scales in CAPAExplore, while measures of middle school performance and engagement in mathematics are drawn from several

This paper describes the findings of a pilot study that used robotics and game design to develop middle school students’ computational thinking strategies. One hundred and twenty-four students engaged in LEGO® EV3 robotics and created games using Scalable Game Design software. The results of the study revealed students’ pre–post self-efficacy scores on the construct of computer use declined significantly, while the constructs of videogaming and computer gaming remained unchanged. When these constructs were analyzed by type of learning environment, self-efficacy on videogaming increased

For over a decade, the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program has funded researchers and educators to build an understanding of best practices, contexts, and processes contributing to K-12 students’ motivation and participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities that lead to STEM career pathways. The outcomes from these projects have contributed significantly to the national body of knowledge about strategies, successes, models, and interventions that support and encourage youth to pursue

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 3, September 2016 The ITEST program requires that all proposals include a research component. This data brief examines the 63 projects that described their research between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 as reported in the 2015 Management Information System (MIS) survey. Questions addressed include: - What kinds of study designs do projects use? - Which tools do projects use to measure outcomes? - What kinds of instruments do projects use to measure outcomes? - What data do projects intend to collect from participants after funding is over? - How do

This article proposes a STEM workforce education logic model, tailored to the particular context of the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. This model aims to help program designers and researchers address challenges particular to designing, implementing, and studying education innovations in the ITEST program, considering ongoing needs and challenges in STEM workforce education in the USA. It is grounded in conceptual frameworks developed previously by teams of ITEST constituents, for their part intended to frame STEM

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 2, July 2016 In 2015, 30 ITEST projects were awarded funding. STELAR surveyed these projects as part of the the Fall 2015 Management Information System (MIS) Survey and received a 97% completion rate. This data brief presents information from the 29 responding projects around the following questions: Which of the 7 ITEST Guiding Questions do projects choose to address? In what settings projects plan to conduct their work? What grade levels do projects serve? Who are included as project participants? In what locales do projects coduct their work? In what states

A new survey of American teenagers from the Amgen Foundation and Change the Equation offers real cause for optimism about the future of high school science and biology education in the United States. Teens generally like science—and biology in particular—and they grasp the importance of the field to people’s lives. They know good biology teaching when they see it, and they would like the opportunity to do more engaging, hands-on science in school.

This report presents important takeaways from a one-day National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Forum, “ Next Generation STEM Learning for All,” organized by Education Development Center (EDC) and SRI International through the STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) at EDC, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) at EDC, and the Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning (CIRCL), working in close collaboration with NSF and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Forum engaged prominent scientists in STEM learning research and school

One of today’s equity challenges is the need to increase media literacy among all students, especially traditionally marginalized students. Watkins (2012) challenges educators when he states, “Tools literacy is foundational; design literacy is tranformational” (p. 9). In this chapter, implementation models for seven different types of media projects that have been successfully piloted with 78 secondary students primarily from impoverished backgrounds are provided (Gold et al., 2015; Rooney-Varga et al., 2014). Results from the evaluations show that students’ experiences while participating in