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1. Why is engineering design important for all leaners?

   https://doi.org/10.56367/OAG-038-10193  

   Butler Songer, Nancy (January 2023, Open Access Government)

   Why is engineering design important for all leaners? Engineering design systematically identifies needs, wants, and problems and then devises solutions to address them. A central component of our work is guiding students in the engineered design of solutions to local environmental problems. Science in society and schools must be for all citizens. Reasons include the desire to prepare citizens with the tools and knowledge to address local and global problems. With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, we foster sustained learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for students from primary school through university. 

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2. Demystifying the Magic: Investigating the Success of University-Community Partnerships for Broadening Participation in STEM

   https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2022041189  

   George Mwangi, Chrystal; Bettencourt, Genia; Wells, Ryan; Dunton, Sarah; Kimball, Ezekiel; Pachucki, Mark; Dasgupta, Nilanjana; Thoma, Hanni (January 2023, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering)

   This study investigates a university-community partnership focused on broadening participation for girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Stakeholders across partner organizations (an informal learning community organization and a public research university) call the success and longevity of the collaboration "magic" because of the commitment required to maintain it despite partnership complexities and few formal incentives. Using qualitative inquiry and sensemaking/ sensegiving frameworks, this article elucidates the "magic" behind the partnership. Findings emphasize individual motivations and behaviors, program collaboration obstacles, and collective partnership identity impacting the program's sustainability (i.e., magic). This study can inform research and practice related to improving access into STEM pathways for underrepresented populations through education partnerships that often experience resource constraints alongside the organizational complexities of cross-sector engagement. 

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3. Toward a productive definition of Technology in science and STEM education

   Ellis, J. A.; Wieselmann, J. R.; Sivaraj, R.; Roehrig, G. H.; Dare, E. A.; & Ring-Whalen, E. A. (March 2020, Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education)

   The lack of a definition of the T in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) acronym is pervasive, and it is often the teachers of STEM disciplines who inherit the task of defining the role of technology within their K-12 classrooms. These definitions often vary significantly, and they have profound implications for curricular and instructional goals within science and STEM classrooms. This theoretical paper summarizes of technology initiatives across science and STEM education from the past 30 years to present perspectives on the role of technology in science-focused STEM education. The most prominent perspectives describe technology as the following: (a) vocational education, industrial arts, or the product of engineering, (b) educational or instructional technology, (c) computing or computational thinking, and (d) the tools and practices used by practitioners of science, mathematics, and engineering. We have identified the fourth perspective as the most salient with respect to K-12 science and STEM education. This particular perspective is in many ways compatible with the other three perspectives, but this depends heavily on the beliefs, prior experiences, and instructional goals of teachers who use technology in their science or STEM classroom. 

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4. Dance-A-Bit: Integrating Dance with Teaching Algorithmic Thinking

   Lineberry, Litany; Lee, S.; Ghimire, A. (July 2020, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been the foundation for many years for teaching critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The U.S. Department of Education website includes information about the importance of STEM in an increasingly complex world and the importance of all youth to have problem solving skills. Many researchers and practitioners propose moving from using the acronym STEM to science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). The difference in STEM and STEAM is the inclusion of arts of any kind, aligning artistic creativity with STEM learning. Zimmerman and Sprung concluded that motivation and self-confidence in computing for females is increased when they can learn CS in the context of a content area, they are already comfortable with [1]. Recognizing this cross-disciplinary connection approach, Mississippi State University researchers in 2014 integrated a physical art component module that enabled girls to design robots using crafting material, with positive results. In 2019, the team piloted a 4-day camp that integrated learning dance moves with algorithmic thinking and computer programming. This paper will discuss the results of that camp that was offered in a very small rural town in a southern state in the United States, and how the arts component influenced the learners’ perception of computing. 

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5. A Collective Impact Model Towards Increasing STEM Major Student Retention

   Martinez, Ortiz A.; Novoa, Clara M.; Sriraman, Vedaraman (January 2020, Journal of college academic support programs)

   This article presents the research findings of a multidisciplinary team􏰀s collective research effort at one university over a five-year period as funded by the National Science Foundation􏰀s 􏰁mproving 􏰂ndergraduate 􏰃TE􏰄 Education (IUSE) program. A collaborative learning and retention action research effort at a large Hispanic Serving Institution is analyzed using mixed methods to document the power of collective impact as the foundation for a learning support model for students historically underrepresented majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academic programs. The actions of the team of researchers are presented to describe the 􏰅ising 􏰃tars Collective 􏰁mpact model and the impacts achieved. This is a model that aligns objectives, intervention efforts, and reports collective results. The long-term goals of the Rising 􏰃tars Collective 􏰁mpact multiple programs managed by the funded program team included the following: (a) to improve the campus sense of community for students historically under-represented in STEM, (b) to establish innovative and robust STEM education research-based practices to support critical skill attainment for students, and (c) to support faculty understanding of the funds of knowledge of diverse students. The positive student retention and success impacts of this research effort are measured through quantitative statistical analysis of the changes in second-year STEM undergraduate student retention rates and representation rates of women, Hispanics, and African American STEM majors. 

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