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1. STEM Summer Camp for Girls Positively Affects Self-Efficacy

   https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2023.85.8.432  

   Broder, E. Dale ; Fetrow, Kirsten J. ; Murphy, Shannon M. ; Hoffman, Jennifer L. ; Tinghitella, Robin M. ( October 2023 , The American Biology Teacher)

   Women and racially and ethnically minoritized populations are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Out-of-school time programs like summer camps can provide positive science experiences that may increase self-efficacy and awareness of STEM opportunities. Such programs often use the same high-impact practices used in K–12 classrooms including relating concepts to real-world examples, engaging students as active participants in inquiry-driven projects, and facilitating learning in a cooperative context. They additionally provide opportunities for engaging in STEM without fear of failure, offer a community of mentors, and allow families to become more involved. We designed a summer camp for middle schoolers who identified as girls, low-income, and as a minoritized race or ethnicity. We describe the design of the camp as well as the results from a simple pre- and post-camp questionnaire that examined each camper’s relationship to science, scientific self-efficacy, and interest in having a job in STEM. We found an increase in self-efficacy in camp participants, which is important because high scientific self-efficacy predicts student performance and persistence in STEM, especially for girls. We did not detect an increase in interest in pursuing a STEM job, likely because of already high values for this question on the pre-camp survey. We add to the growing body of work recognizing the potential of out-of-school time STEM programs to increase scientific self-efficacy for girls and racially minoritized students.

   Tweet: Summer camp for minoritized middle-school girls increases scientific self-efficacy, a characteristic that may be important for removing barriers to participation in STEM.

    

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2. What counts as STEM , and does it matter?

   https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12639  

   Adler, Rebecca M. ; Xu, Mingkai ; Rittle‐Johnson, Bethany ( October 2023 , British Journal of Educational Psychology)

   To accurately measure students' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career interest, researchers must get inside the ‘black box’ to understand students' conceptualizations of STEM careers.

   The aim of Study 1 was to explore whether students' conceptualizations of STEM included medical careers. The aim of Study 2 was to explore whether predictors of STEM career interest (e.g., gender and motivation) varied by STEM definition (inclusion/exclusion of medical careers).

   In Study 1, the sample was US college students (N = 125) who were mostly White (80%). In Study 2, the sample was US 10th‐grade high school students (N = 455) who were mostly Black (79%).

   In Study 1, students completed an online questionnaire. In Study 2, students completed various measures of math achievement, motivation (science and math expectancies of success, interest and importance value) and career interest with an importance.

   In Study 1, medical careers were less often classified as STEM careers than traditional STEM careers, but more often classified as STEM than non‐STEM careers. In Study 2, science importance value was the only motivational predictor of students' STEM+Medicine career interest, and no motivation constructs predicted traditional STEM career interest. Boys expressed greater interest in traditional STEM careers, while girls expressed greater interest in STEM+Medicine careers.

   Students' conceptualizations of STEM are not binary. Thus, we recommend researchers are explicit about their definition of STEM with study participants, in their coding and in their publications.

    

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3. Exploring the role of 3D printing and STEM integration levels in students' STEM career interest

   https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13077  

   Cheng, Li ; Antonenko, Pavlo “Pasha” ; Ritzhaupt, Albert D. ; MacFadden, Bruce ( March 2021 , British Journal of Educational Technology)

   The use of 3D printing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning is a promising way for integrated STEM education. This study examined the influence of 3D printing infused STEM integration on students' interest in STEM careers, which is essential for students to participate in STEM disciplines and future STEM careers. The participants included 26 teachers across six states in the United States and their 1455 students in primary and secondary classrooms. Teachers' lesson plans were analysed to examine the level of 3D printing and STEM integration. Students' interest in STEM careers was measured using a previously validated career interest scale. Cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis indicated that girls were more interested in empathetic STEM careers, whereas boys were more interested in analytic STEM careers. While 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, teachers' STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in both analytic and empathetic STEM careers.

   What is already known about this topic

   Student career interest in primary and secondary school predicts college degree and career choice.

   3D printing has the potential to improve students' interest in STEM careers.

   STEM career interest is associated with student gender.

   What this paper adds

   This study examined the role of 3D printing and STEM integration level and student gender in students' STEM career interest.

   Teachers' 3D printing integration level was not a significant predictor, but STEM integration level positively predicted students' interest in STEM careers.

   This study confirmed that boys were more interested in Analytic STEM careers, whereas girls were more interested in Empathetic STEM careers.

   Implications for practice and/or policy

   Student STEM career interest improves when teachers integrate STEM in their instruction.

   STEM instruction can be made relevant by focusing on empathetic aspects of STEM for girls, but caution should be exercised to minimise stereotyping.

    

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4. Factors that predict adolescents' engagement with STEM in and out of school

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22946  

   Mulvey, Kelly Lynn ; Cerda‐Smith, Jacqueline ; Joy, Angelina ; Mathews, Channing ; Ozturk, Emine ( May 2023 , Psychology in the Schools)

   Maintaining adolescents' engagement with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in and out of school may help ensure that adolescents are prepared to enter the STEM workforce. This study aims to extend prior work by documenting internal and external factors that matter for both STEM class engagement as well as engagement with STEM outside of school through STEM activism. Participants included  ninth and tenth grade students (N = 852) from ethnically diverse public schools in the Southeastern United States, approximately evenly divided by gender. Findings from regression analyses revealed that girls and participants who perceive educational barriers to STEM were less engaged in STEM classes, whereas those who reported learning about more male scientists in class, and those who reported higher levels of belonging, STEM growth mindset, and STEM motivation were more engaged in STEM classes. Those who reported higher critical motivation, critical action, belonging, and STEM motivation were more engaged in STEM activism outside of school. Findings suggest that STEM teachers and out‐of‐school program developers may learn new ways to engage students from each other. Further, findings highlight some factors that may promote engagement in STEM both in and out of schools such as belonging and STEM motivation.

    

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5. “You need to be super smart to do well in math!” Young children's field‐specific ability beliefs

   https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13429  

   Jenifer, Jalisha_B ; Jaxon, Jilana ; Levine, Susan_C ; Cimpian, Andrei ( July 2023 , Developmental Science)

   Success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is often believed to require intellectual talent (“brilliance”). Given that many cultures associate men more than women with brilliance, this belief poses an obstacle to women's STEM pursuits. Here, we investigated the developmental roots of this phenomenon, focusing specifically on young children's beliefs about math (N = 174 U.S. students in Grades 1–4; 93 girls, 81 boys; 52% White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic/Latinx). We found that field‐specific ability beliefs (FABs) that associate success in math (vs. reading/writing) with brilliance are already present in early elementary school. We also found that brilliance‐oriented FABs about math are negatively associated with elementary school students’ (and particularly girls’) math motivation—specifically, their math self‐efficacy and interest. The early emergence of brilliance‐oriented FABs about math and the negative relation between FABs and math motivation underscore the need to understand the sources and long‐term effects of these beliefs.

   Field‐specific ability beliefs (FABs) are beliefs about the extent to which intellectual talent (or “brilliance”) is required for success in a particular field or context.

   Among adults, brilliance‐oriented FABs are an obstacle to diversity in science and technology, but the childhood antecedents of these beliefs are not well understood.

   The present study (N = 174) found that FABs that associate success in math (vs. reading/writing) with brilliance were already present in Grades 1−4.

   Brilliance‐oriented FABs about math were negatively associated with elementary school students’ (and particularly girls’) math motivation—specifically, their math self‐efficacy and interest.

    

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