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Title: Development and Validation of the STEM Study Strategies Questionnaire for STEM College Students
In this research-based paper, we discuss the development of a measure of Rice University students’ STEM study strategies and then explore the measure’s correlation with several important psychological outcomes in a sample of underprepared first-year STEM students (n=94). STEM attrition remains a pressing concern nationally, particularly for students who took less rigorous STEM courses in high school, a population that disproportionally comprises underrepresented minorities. The authors developed an 11-item measure of STEM-specific study strategies, termed the STEM Study Strategies Questionnaire. We explored STEM-specific identity, self-efficacy, and career aspirations, as well as perceived utility of attaining a STEM degree, using a model based on Eccles and Wigfield’s (2002) expectancy-value framework of achievement. An exploratory factor analysis found a four-factor solution to the newly developed scale: Group Work in STEM, Active STEM Learning, Interactions with STEM Professors, and STEM Exam Familiarity. The authors found significant moderate to strong correlations among all psychological variables, as well as with the Group Work and STEM Exam Familiarity factors. Next steps for this research are to develop further measure items to capture each of the four factors and to conduct confirmatory analyses on different samples of STEM students, both those who are relatively underprepared and appropriately prepared for college STEM coursework.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1565032
PAR ID:
10348883
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
American Society for Engineering Education
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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