Participant Recruitment and Retention

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Sarah MacGillivray — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 20:52:52 +0000

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Sarah MacGillivray Mon, 12/16/2019 - 15:52

Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach To Engaging Underserved Populations In Science - Final Report

Description

The initiative called Integrating Science Into Afterschool: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Engaging Underserved Populations in Science set out to promote science learning in three out-ofschool settings (afterschool programs, home, and community), to promote rich and varied science experiences to underserved Philadelphia communities, and to assess the value of this model for the broader field of out-of-school time and informal learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project was funded through the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Student and Teachers (ITEST) program, and one of its intended contributions was developing a model to enhance STEM career readiness among elementary school children from communities underrepresented in STEM fields. The project’s framework was articulated in the following way in the initial funding proposal to the National Science Foundation: By offering science program experiences and support structures for those facilitating children’s science learning in out-of-school programs for Philadelphia youth and engaging families and the community in extensions of these science experiences, science will eventually become an integral part of numerous communities throughout the Philadelphia area. As described in the funding proposal, this initiative had five major goals:

Goal 1: Embed project-based science learning into the program offerings of five afterschool sites serving children grades 3-5, with approximately 50 children at each site.
Goal 2: Create a rich and comprehensive professional development program that will be offered to afterschool facilitators at the five sites.
Goal 3: Establish family programs that support engagement with science and accessing scientists and their careers in relevant and meaningful ways, across the contexts of afterschool, home, and community.
Goal 4: Develop home-based science activities that continue children’s science learning initiated in the afterschool setting into the home setting with families.
Goal 5: Evaluate the effectiveness of this 3-D approach in engaging children, families, afterschool facilitators, and community-based organizations in science learning and the promotion of STEM professions.

These goals and associated objectives draw on The Franklin Institute science museum’s extensive history of implementing evidence-based science curricula and on the Principal Investigator’s strength in developing and researching informal science opportunities that emphasize the social nature of science learning and professional development. The three dimensions of this initiative – afterschool, home, and community – are designed to create strong STEM career pathways for children in underserved communities by:

Leveraging and supporting informal learning opportunities in out-of-school settings.
Engaging parents as critical adults in children’s science learning.
Providing children concrete examples of meaningful engagement with science and with scientists with whom they can identify.

In order to accomplish these goals, The Franklin Institute partnered with Philadelphia’s Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that aims to build healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, businesses, and community-based organizations. PHMC is the city’s intermediary for contracting, managing, supporting, and monitoring more than 100 community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs. It also facilitates and coordinates professional development about project-based learning to OST program facilitators.

In this report, we demonstrate that although specific activities of the project (whose name we shorten as STEM 3D) have evolved from the original plan, the overall vision has provided a powerful impetus for change in participating individuals and OST sites and has provided valuable resources to the larger informal STEM ecosystem of Philadelphia.

Authors: Creative Research and Evaluation, LLC. Philadelphia, PA, The Discovery Center, Murfreesboro. TN , The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. PA

Resources submitted by ITEST projects may be hosted on third-party sites or require a fee or membership for access. Permission to use these materials must be obtained from the publisher or the author listed on each resource.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Report

Author

S. Blanc

Publisher

Creative Research & Evaluations

Publication Website URL

https://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/2017.%20INTEGRATING%20SCIEN…

Topic(s)

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

2017. INTEGRATING SCIENCE INTO AFTERSCHOOL. FINAL EVAL REPORT .pdf

Publication Year

2017

Additional Disciplines

Engineering - design

Exploring I-poems to Explore the Identity of Underrepresented Engineering Student Makers

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 20:17:15 +0000

Exploring I-poems to Explore the Identity of Underrepresented Engineering Student Makers

Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/01/2019 - 15:17

Exploring I-poems to Explore the Identity of Underrepresented Engineering Student Makers

Description

This Work in Progress Paper presents an NSF funded study focused on understanding the role that makerspaces play in the identity development of engineering students from underrepresented groups (URGs). In recent years, makerspaces have become a popular addition to universities, with an implicit assumption that makerspaces will increase students choosing to major in STEM disciplines. The research question that guided this work is the following: How well do I-poems and thematic analysis help us uncover complex and nuanced understandings of the identities of engineering students and makers who are from URGs? For this paper, we share a passage from an interview and conduct an analysis of that passage using the I-poem analytic strategy and thematic analysis. In particular, we explore the possibilities inherent in using these analytic approaches to understand identity development. We discuss how the I-poem was effective in developing a more complex and nuanced understanding of the identity development of engineering student makers. Further implications of this novel approach are that Ipoems show promise to resonate better with the reader and position the researcher and reader as ‘standing alongside’ the participant, instead of a more traditional approach of ‘gazing at’ our participants.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Article

Author

N. Kellam

A. Cirell

A. Boklage

B. Coley

Topic(s)

Maker

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

Exploring I-poems to Explore the Identity of Underrepresented Engineering Student Makers

Publication Year

2018

Additional Disciplines

Engineering - general

University of Florida COE celebrates National Fossil Day

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 13:24:06 +0000

University of Florida COE celebrates National Fossil Day

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/11/2018 - 09:24

University of Florida COE celebrates National Fossil Day

Description

This video highlghts the iDigFossils project that is designed for teachers and students to use 3-D printers and scanners in order to create fossils.

Click the fullscreen icon in the video for better viewing Expand

All resources

Topic(s)

Accessibility

Participant Recruitment and Retention

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

STEM Content and Standards

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Broadening Participation Projects: Report from a National Science Foundation Workshop

Bernadette Sibuma — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 18:53:16 +0000

Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Broadening Participation Projects: Report from a National Science Foundation Workshop

Bernadette Sibuma Fri, 12/16/2016 - 13:53

Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Broadening Participation Projects: Report from a National Science Foundation Workshop

Description

Background

This report grew out of a workshop and follow-up session sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). The two-day workshop and subsequent meeting sought to develop and validate evaluation practices to assess the value of NSF’s investment in broadening participation across all directorates and programs. Invited participants included NSF grantees, professional evaluators, and the policy community (which included representatives from Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NSF staff, and staff from other federal agencies).

The workshop, funded by EHR's Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Systems, was structured around responding to two questions:

what metrics should be used for project monitoring; and

what designs and indicators should be used for program evaluation?

The workshop resulted in providing information for program monitoring and program evaluation as well as advice for data gathering from NSF awardees.

The report is available in Acrobat PDF format: [framework-evaluating-impacts-broadening-participation-projects_1101.pdf].

Inquiries

For further information concerning NSF's Broadening Participation programs, please contact:

Dr. Suzanne Iacono
National Science Foundation
Phone: 703-292-8040
E-mail: broadpart@nsf.gov

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Author

B. Clewell

N. Fortenberry

Publisher

The National Science Foundation

Publication Website URL

https://www.nsf.gov/od/broadeningparticipation/framework_evaluating_impacts.jsp

Topic(s)

Evaluation

Participant Recruitment and Retention

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

File Attachment(s)

framework-evaluating-impacts-broadening-participation-projects_1101(2).pdf

Publication Year

2009

STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit 2017: Building the Foundational Skills of the Future Science and Engineering Workforce

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:31:44 +0000

STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit 2017: Building the Foundational Skills of the Future Science and Engineering Workforce

Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/11/2016 - 14:31

STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit 2017: Building the Foundational Skills of the Future Science and Engineering Workforce

Thursday, Jun 15, 2017

DESCRIPTION

The STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit is an annual opportunity for ITEST Principal Investigators (PIs) and evaluators to come together and share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the ITEST program.

The 2017 Summit's theme of "Building the Foundational Skills of the Future Engineering Workforce" was explored over two days, as we examined ways in which our community can collaborate and build on each other's work. The Summit featured engaging plenary addresses and project flash talks, as well as in the 4 strands: Sharing effective approaches and instrumentation for ITEST research and evaluation; Fostering innovation through inclusion and diversity in STEM education and the workforce; Work at the frontier: Preparing students for the future STEM workplace; and Big data: ITEST’s role in developing career pathways and data literacy skills.

This year's event drew more than 185 attendees representing 90 ITEST projects! Event hashtags used during the Summit were #ITEST2017 #STELAR2017, click here to view tweets from the event: STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit 2017

View the Online Conference Program, which includes our agenda, session descriptions, keynote bios, appointed fellows, and the conference participant list (log in to view). Links to individual presentation slides and keynote videos are listed below.

Presentation Slides

Day 1 slides, including opening remarks by:
David Haury, Program Director, Division of Research on Learning, NSF
William (Jim) Lewis, Deputy Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources Directorate, NSF

Day 2 slides including NSF Town Hall and closing remarks by:
David Haury, Program Director, Division of Research on Learning, NSF
Evan Heit, Division Director, Division of Research on Learning, NSF

Keynote Sessions:

Day 1 Keynote: The frontier for the future workforce, Reginald Brothers, Principal, The Chertoff Group
Presentation slides

Day 2 Keynote Panel: Career development theory: From theory to practice in ITEST projects
Each presentation is featured below, or click here to view the panel in its entirety (1 hr 8 min).

Keynote Panel Introduction: Joyce Malyn-Smith

Career Development Theory: A Pathway to Enhancing STEM Interventions
David Blustein, Professor, Boston College

Girls of Color in STEM Careers: A Culturally Responsive Approach
Kimberly Scott, Arizona State University

Humans in Career Development: Considerations for Equity
Eli Tucker-Raymond, TERC

Panel Q&A Session:

Strand Session Slides

Strand 1. Sharing effective approaches and instrumentation for ITEST research and evaluation

Day 1: Locating robust, rigorous, and relevant instruments and protocols
Instruments and protocols for measuring learning activation, Mac Cannady
Professional development, Nancy Peter
Career awareness, Tandra Tyler-Wood
Computational thinking, David Webb

Day 2: Considerations for instrument selection and strategies for instrument adaptation
What to consider when selecting tools that best match research and evaluation efforts to programmatic goals, Melissa Demetrikopoulos
A primer on validity and modifying instruments and protocols, Tandra Tyler-Wood
Using instruments and protocols in mixed methods designs, Hilarie Davis

Strand 2. Fostering Innovation through inclusion and diversity in STEM education and the workforce

Day 1: The NSF INCLUDES and ITEST Programs: Synergies & Opportunities, Monya Ruffin, Caitlin Dooley, Bob Russell

Day 2: Student engagement and teacher PD in ITEST: Successful, inclusive strategies and lessons learned
Closing the achievement gap & diversifying the STEM workforce, Dr. Julia Clark, NSF
Student engagement: Javed Khan & Chadia Affane Aji, Kimberly Scott, Jacob Martinez
Teacher PD: Kathryn Guimond, David Reider, Berri Jacque

Strand 3. Work at the frontier: Preparing students for the future STEM workplace

Day 1: Defining the work at the human-technology frontier
Panelists: Amy Baylor, David Blustein, Joyce Malyn-Smith; Moderator: Chadia A. Aji
ITEST Project Presenters: Kathryn Guimond, Dagen Valentine, Alexander Repenning

Day 2: STEM career competencies at the human-technology frontier
Career Competencies: Joyce Malyn-Smith

Strand 4. Big data: ITEST’s role in developing career pathways and data literacy skills

Day 1:
Big Data for Little Kids: Data Modeling with Young Learners and their Families, Catherine Cramer
Expanding Exposure, Career Exploration and Interactive Projects in Basic Genome Analysis and Bioinformatics, Stephen Koury
Dream sweet dreams: a new framework for sleep tracking and body change predictions, Janet M. Roveda

Day 2:
Best Practices and Tools for Engaging K-12 Students in Big Data, Sam Janis

Questions? Contact us at stelar@edc.org.

ALL EVENTS

EVENT DETAILS

Start date

Thursday, 15 June, 2017 07:00 AM

End date

Friday, 16 June, 2017 04:00 PM

Timezone

Link

Summit Program

Registration Open Date

Thursday, Apr 06, 2017

Registration Close Date

Tuesday, Apr 25, 2017

Additional Disciplines

Bioscience - general

Computer Science - general

Engineering - general

Environmental Science - general

Topic(s)

Accessibility

Computational Thinking

Evaluation

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Partnerships and Collaboration

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

STEM Content and Standards

Sustainability and Scale-Up

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

Address

801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203

Additional Link(s)

2016 STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit

Registration Capacity

Location

Westin Arlington Gateway

Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

Bernadette Sibuma — Tue, 24 May 2016 16:15:21 +0000

Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

Bernadette Sibuma Tue, 05/24/2016 - 12:15

Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

Description

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, community, and policy leaders in addressing the question, "How can research-based findings and advances help society to re-envision STEM learning and education?" and related questions. Key Forum takeaways discussed in the report focus on four thematic areas: (1) research-based advances; (2) multiple stakeholder communities; (3) social justice and equity; and (4) scale and sustainability.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Report

Author

Caroline Parker; Sarita Pillai; Jeremy Roschelle

Publication Website URL

http://ltd.edc.org/next-gen-STEM-learning-for-all-report

Topic(s)

Accessibility

Computational Thinking

Evaluation

Informal Learning and Afterschool

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Partnerships and Collaboration

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

STEM Content and Standards

Sustainability and Scale-Up

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

Publication Year

2016

Additional Disciplines

Bioscience - general

Computer Science - general

Engineering - general

Environmental Science - general

ITEST Data Brief: ITEST in Action

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 21:38:49 +0000

ITEST Data Brief: ITEST in Action

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/29/2016 - 17:38

ITEST Data Brief: ITEST in Action

Description

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2016

This data brief provides information on the composition of ITEST project participants, what activities they engage in, in what settings, and what projects feel contributes to their project's success as they meet the ITEST program's goals for youth:

increase student awareness of STEM and ICT careers

motivate students to pursue the education necessary to participate in STEM and ICT careers and technology-rich experiences, and

provide students with technology-rich experiences that develop their knowledge of related content and skills (including critical thinking skills) needed for entering the STEM workforce.

ITEST projects can be designed in many different ways to meet these goals, and each project engages in multiple activities with a variety of participants. The 2014-2015 ITEST Management Information System (MIS) Annual Survey asked projects to describe how their projects have been implemented, with some of the results presented in this brief.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Report

STELAR MIS Report

Author

STELAR Center

Publisher

STELAR Center

Topic(s)

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Partnerships and Collaboration

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

File Attachment(s)

STELAR_2016-Data Brief_v3_Issue_1.pdf

Publication Year

2016

Design-based Information Technologies Learning Experience Project for K-12 STEM Outreach

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:04:06 +0000

Design-based Information Technologies Learning Experience Project for K-12 STEM Outreach

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/03/2016 - 13:04

Design-based Information Technologies Learning Experience Project for K-12 STEM Outreach

Description

This paper presents the design of the Design-Based Information Technologies Learning Experiences (DITLE) project, a large K-12 STEM outreach project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It impacts IT education among six public high schools in a metropolitan area. The designed activities of the project are presented and shared with the education research community to invoke discussion. The project is currently in its first year of a three-year grant period. The lessons and experiences learned so far are also summarized for discussion.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Conference proceeding

Author

Chengcheng Li

Helen Meyer

Hazem Said

Johnson Marcus

Rebekah Michael

Publisher

American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Publication Website URL

http://people.cst.cmich.edu/yelam1k/asee/proceedings/2015/Paper%20files/Faculty…

Topic(s)

Computational Thinking

Participant Recruitment and Retention

STEM Career Opportunities and Workforce Development

Sustainability and Scale-Up

Teacher Professional Development and Pedagogy

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

Chengcheng 2015 Design-based Information Technologies Learning Experience.pdf

Publication Year

2015

Additional Disciplines

Computer Science - general

Computer Science - computer hardware

Computer Science - general skills and mathematics

Computer Science - programming

Computer Science - web development

Engineering - general

Restoring Water, Culture, and Relationships: Using a Community Based Participatory Research Methodology for Engineering Education

Rebecca Bangura — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:54:08 +0000

Restoring Water, Culture, and Relationships: Using a Community Based Participatory Research Methodology for Engineering Education

Rebecca Bangura Thu, 01/22/2015 - 08:54

Restoring Water, Culture, and Relationships: Using a Community Based Participatory Research Methodology for Engineering Education

Description

Despite current educational reform, efforts to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education have failed to affect the number of STEM degrees awarded to American Indian students. 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. Community engagement and support for education is a recommended approach to inspire and increase academic achievement in American Indian students. This approach is also critical to validate theoretical research, which recommends culturally relevant curriculum and pedagogies as a method for making STEM education more accessible to American Indian students however; empirical research on these practices is missing. A challenge with validation is that Tribal communities generally distrust the research process used to inform educational methods due to a history of abusive research practices.

This case study focuses on the first half of the grant, specifically the curriculum development and implementation for the first-year summer camp, and the post-camp reflections. The following objectives guided this study, specifically to describe: 1) how the CBPR methodology is applied to develop and implement a culturally relevant STEM curriculum that emphasizes engineering, 2) the impact of the summer camp experience on student's knowledge and attitudes about STEM content, and 3) how the CBPR methodology is used to facilitate partnerships and relationships with the community. We address these objectives using multiple data sources and observations to define the case study activities. We then consider the impact of the camp on students by qualitatively assessing student camp surveys. Qualitative assessment of community data sources (i.e. reflections and surveys) guided the grant partners in evaluating the application of the CBPR methodology for building community relationships. These reflections are summarized as lessons learned and include plans for modifying the research approach to strengthen the partnership and support tribal youth.

Aimee S. Navickis-Brasch, Anne Liu Kern, Fritz Fiedler, Jillian Rae Cadwell, Laura Laumatia, Kathy Haynie, and Christine Meyer... presentation at the 121st ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, June 2014.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Conference proceeding

Author

A. Navickis Brasch

A. Kern

F. Fiedler

J. Caldwell

L. Laumatia

K. Haynie

C. Meyer

Publisher

American Society for Engineering Education

Topic(s)

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Partnerships and Collaboration

STEM Content and Standards

Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM

File Attachment(s)

Navickis-Brasch et al. 2014 - 121st ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition

Publication Year

2014

Additional Disciplines

Engineering - general

ITEST Data Brief: Project Strategies to Engage Underrepresented Populations

Becca Schillaci — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:21:53 +0000

ITEST Data Brief: Project Strategies to Engage Underrepresented Populations

Becca Schillaci Tue, 12/30/2014 - 10:21

ITEST Data Brief: Project Strategies to Engage Underrepresented Populations

Description

ITEST Data Brief Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2015

The ITEST program specifically targets its work toward engaging the participation of youth who have been traditionally underrepresented in post-secondary STEM education and the STEM workforce, including, but not limited to, “… women, underrepresented minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders) and persons with disabilities” (2014 NSF ITEST solicitation). How do projects do this?

A 2012 DataBrief describing the work of ITEST projects found that many ITEST projects do indeed target their services to underrepresented populations. Approximately 70% of projects in the 2011-2012 school year targeted African American students, Hispanic students, and/or students eligible for free or reduced price lunch. Other underrepresented populations were also targeted, albeit by a smaller number of projects. This DataBrief extends the previous findings by presenting data on how projects engage these participant populations. Specifically, the 2012-2013 MIS asked ITEST project leaders to describe the strategies they used to engage participants from underrepresented groups. The ITEST program funded 75 projects during the 2012–2013 school year and 64 projects completed the MIS. This DataBrief reports on the strategies described by project leaders and the patterns that emerged across projects.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type

Report

STELAR MIS Report

Author

STELAR Center

Publisher

STELAR Center

Topic(s)

Evaluation

Participant Recruitment and Retention

Partnerships and Collaboration

File Attachment(s)

STELAR 2015 - Data Brief v2 issue1

Publication Year

2015