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1. Success and retention model for biology and computer science majors in Two-year

   Ovueraye, Oberhiri Loretta (April 2019, Southeastern biology)

   STEM-Mia (“my STEM”) is a National Science Foundation funded project that provides scholarships and supports to academically talented, low-income STEM students at MDC InterAmerican Campus. Over a five-year period, the NSF - S-STEM funds will support 45 MDC students with scholarships and wrap around services toward preparing them for Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) careers, which are in high-demand and critical to building a competitive workforce that will help grow America’s economy. The grant project will target two primary populations – biology and computer science majors. This presentation will discuss the impact of embedding faculty mentoring, discipline immersions, self-analysis, financial support, toward fostering and shaping student perceptions of their personal agency and empowering them to achieve their STEM-related academic and professional goals by helping them connect with the sources of their STEM self-efficacy and identity. What we are accomplishing in MDC serves as a model for two-year colleges seeking to incorporate curricular changes focused on success and retention in biology and computer science majors for populations who are underrepresented in STEM fields in general. 

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2. GIFTS: Making Research Experiences Meaningful through Critical Self-Reflection

   DeCrescenzo, Peter; Jangha, S. (June 2023, American Society of Engineering Education)

   In this Great Ideas for Teaching Students (GIFTS) paper, we offer learning outcomes that we are beginning to recognize from our eight-week research experience for undergraduates (REU). There are four characteristics that have been found to be essential to success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields: a strong sense of STEM identity, scientific self-efficacy, a sense of belonging, and a psychological sense of community. This is especially true for first-year and transfer students pursuing STEM undergraduate degrees. A variety of studies have been published that go into detail about why these characteristics in particular have such a significant effect on student performance and retention. This paper will present Critical Self-Reflection as a practical way to integrate development of these characteristics into student research experiences to foster experiential learning that goes beyond increasing technical skills. STEM students are not often trained to critically self-reflect on their experiences in classroom and research settings. An inability for undergraduates to reflect intentionally on their experiences creates greater risk for attrition from STEM disciplines. Curated reflective experiences in collaborative learning settings can offer professional development opportunities to enhance students’ social and technical communication skills. There are four phases within the scaffolded Critical Self-Reflection framework: Learning to Reflect, Reflection for Action, Reflection in Action, and Reflection on Action. When applying the evidence-based practice, STEM undergraduate researchers describe their perceptions via three activities: creating a legacy statement, participating in facilitated dialogue sessions, and writing curated reflection journal entries within an REU. Through critical self-reflection exercises, we are beginning to find growth of first-year and transfer STEM undergraduates in the following areas: understanding of their role in the lab; confidence in their researcher identity; expression of agency; observation and communication skills; and intentionality for action. Participating in this self-reflection allows students to make meaning of their experience enabling them to hone the aforementioned characteristics that creates a pathway from their undergraduate experience to undergraduate degree completion, graduate degree attainment, and to the STEM workforce. 

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3. Creating Pathways for Equity in STEM Through Family Engagement: Highlighting the Experiences of Hispanic/Latine Youths

   Dou, R.; Cian, H. (November 2020, Connected science learning)

   null (Ed.)

   In order for children to identify with STEM fields, it is essential that they feel there is a place within STEM for individuals “like them.” Unfortunately, this identification is difficult for Hispanic/Latine youths because of lack of representation and even stereotyping that is widespread in educational institutions in the United States. Some research has been done, though, that suggests there is promise in understanding the ways that parents help children see themselves as “STEM people” in spite of these obstacles. Building on this work, we present some of our own research on the experiences of Hispanic/Latine youth in South Florida and how their parents use the resources they have (i.e., capital) to engage their children in STEM and help them develop positive self-perceptions. We find that parents use STEM capital they have, convert other capital into STEM capital, and establish family dispositions that are supportive of STEM identity development. We show how these ideas can be applied to make programming more inviting for Hispanic/Latine youths and emphasize the need to consider parental involvement in any efforts to increase children’s identification with STEM. 

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4. Correlation of STEM Interest and Career Intent in High-School Students

   https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2021.12  

   Nariman, Nahid; Davis, Jaymee Nanasi (January 2021, The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2021)

   Understanding high school students’ perceptions and dispositions toward STEM, and the role science and math self-efficacy play in establishing STEM career aspirations is imperative to preparing the STEM workforce of the future. Project STEMulate is an industry-aligned and technology-rich Problem-based Learning (PBL) model. The goal of this NSF ITEST grant-funded study (2018-2020) was to improve students’ attitudes towards STEM. Project STEMulate focuses on Upward Bound students in Hawaiˋi and was implemented at three sites: Maui, Hilo, and Oahu. The participants voluntarily selected to participate in this program. The current study reviews year one data collected on the impact of Project STEMulate on low-income and underrepresented and/or native Hawaiian students' STEM career interest, and their science self-efficacy. Students’ reactions to the STEM learning experience were extremely positive. 80% of students expressed a desire to pursue a career in STEM at the post test. High school students who listed their plan to pursue a career in STEM also showed a higher self-efficacy and motivation. Analysis of the results demonstrates this program was effective in empowering students with insights into careers, enhancing knowledge that would serve them in pursuit of a career in STEM. In addition, the project fostered a can-do attitude and increased students’ science self- efficacy. 

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5. Breaking barriers: female and Hispanic undergraduate students experience gains in self-confidence and tolerance for obstacles during a sustainability-centered internship program in the USA

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-024-00966-6  

   Murray, M; Spinks, H; Besen-Cassino, Y; Emery, E; Johnson, B; Perez, E Nunez; Wang, Y; Lopatto, D; Goodey, N M; Tuininga, A R (July 2024, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences)

   Previous research has shown that female and Hispanic students who are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) face more educational barriers than their non-Hispanic, male peers. However, little research has been conducted on the effects of intersectional identities in the STEM space. In an effort to bridge the gap in underrepresented students' experience, the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies organizes a paid, interdisciplinary, team-based, experiential learning and internship program called the Green Teams that occurs during 10 weeks of the summer. The Green Teams Program strives to provide undergraduate students from all backgrounds–academically, economically, and demographically–an opportunity to develop their abilities in STEM fields and prepare them to enter the professional world. Based upon a survey given post-internship, self-reported learning gains for all students were analyzed to determine if the program had a significantly greater impact on students who are from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM in their STEM-related learning gains and their confidence in STEM disciplines. Through t-tests, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and a 2-way factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Hispanic and female participants were found to report significantly higher learning gains than their counterparts in multiple STEM areas from increased tolerance for obstacles to gains in self confidence. The results of the study suggest Hispanic and female students benefit from paid work experiences in STEM with diverse peers and intentional, supportive mentoring. This research on the Green Teams Program provides insight into how this approach positively impacts STEM education of individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM. The findings may help to further guide the development of the Green Teams Program and the adoption of paid, interdisciplinary, team-based, experiential learning and internship experiences in additional academic STEM settings. 

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