Youth Motivation

Jun | 2014

The STELAR Monthly Highlights showcase existing resources on the STELAR website around a particular theme. This month we are focusing on the theme of Youth Motivation. Since its inception, the ITEST program has funded projects developing strategies, tools, and models focused on increasing students' awareness of STEM and STEM careers and motivating students to pursue the appropriate education pathways for those fields. ITEST projects often have a focus on social learning outcomes and on learning environment conditions that enhance learners' motivation, mindset, identity and interest in STEM learning and careers. For this highlight, STELAR has collected a number of different resources, including webinar archives and publications from the former ITEST Learning Resource Center. For example, the NSF ITEST Convening Report on Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM (2013) pulls together the expertise of many ITEST PIs, evaluators and researchers from other disciplinary communities including sociology and psychology. Also highlighted here are videos produced by an ITEST project and a selection of instruments to measure youth motivation (more can be found by clicking on ‘instruments’ and ‘youth motivation’ in the Resources section).

We hope you find these resources useful. If you have others you would like to contribute, or would like us to highlight a particular theme in the future, please contact us at stelar@edc.org.

Resources

STELAR Webinar: Youth Motivation Webinar - Findings from ITEST

(Event)

This webinar focused on current findings from the ITEST program related to youth motivation and STEM career development. Participants heard from ITEST projects working across the U.S. to learn specific strategies for as well as successes and challenges with fostering and assessing youth motivation and STEM career interest.

Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM: A Report on the NSF ITEST Convening

(Publication)

This report outlines the discussions and outcomes of the Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM Convening held at Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA) in September 2011. The convening was hosted by the ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC) at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC).

The 10 Step Guide to Program Planning

(Publication)

The YouthLearn Initiative has outline some action steps to help you plan a successful and effective youth program. Whether you're offering an in-school or out-of-school program, good planning is very often the key to success. You may find that you have the time and resources to do some of these action steps while others may be beyond the scope of your current priorities or capacity. Just remember, it's never too late to embark on a particular phase of planning, even after a program has launched.

Place-Based Education and Geographic Information Systems: Enhancing the Spatial Awareness of Middle School Students in Maine

(Publication)

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.

Ten Years of Youth Programs at The American Museum of Natural History: An Independent Perspective and Lessons Learned

(Publication)

In this report, Inverness Research summarizes their findings based on evaluating the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)'s high school program over 10 years. The report includes:

A discussion of the theory of action and the rationale that underlies the AMNH youth programs
A description of three of the programs that have been offered and the evolution in program design that has taken place over the years
A description of the core common features of the programs

ITEST Idea Brief: Summer Programs Tips & Tricks

(Publication)

ITEST LRC Idea Brief Volume 1, June 2005

This Idea Brief shares tips and tricks from four different ITEST projects around planning and implementing summer programs.

STELAR Webinar: Youth Motivation Webinar - Findings from ITEST

(Event)

ITEST Webinar: Youth Motivation, Interest, and Identity and STEM Career Development

(Event)

During this webinar, participants heard from ITEST projects working across the U.S. to learn specific frameworks for fostering and assessing youth motivation and STEM career interest. This webinar discussed recent developments in theory and measurement of youth interest in STEM careers. The purpose of the webinar was to share Principal Investigator knowledge of measurement techniques, analysis problems, and theories of youth motivation.

ITEST Webinar: Using Gaming & Computer Simulations for Youth Engagement & Learning

(Event)

Presenters: David Gibson, Global Challenge Award; Steve Bean/Jacob Martinez, Girl Game Company

Summary: This webinar explored how educators leverage games and computer simulations to create dynamic learning experiences and was based on an IdeaBrief by the same name.

Role Model Videos

(Curricular Materials)

Through these role model videos, professionals' real world views and application of math show high school students just how relevant math is to their futures. Filmed on location, professionals tell students about how they use math in their careers and what math meant to them in high school.

Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II)

(Instruments)

The Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II) contains 25 items regarding students' motivation to learn science in college courses. Students respond on a 5-point rating scale of temporal frequency ranging from (0) never to (4) always. The SMQ-II contains five montivation components: intrinsic motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, career motivation, and grade motivation. Each component is measured with 5 separate items.

Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI)

(Instruments)

The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) is a multidimensional measurement device intended to assess participants' subjective experience related to a target activity in laboratory experiments. It has been used in several experiments related to intrinsic motivation and self-regulation (e.g., Ryan, 1982; Ryan, Mims & Koestner, 1983; Plant & Ryan, 1985; Ryan, Connell, & Plant, 1990; Ryan, Koestner & Deci, 1991; Deci, Eghrari, Patrick, & Leone, 1994).

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