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Abstract Consequential STEM experiences in informal settings can address issues of equity by fully engaging historically marginalized high school students in complex socio-scientific issues. However, inclusive and effective programs are in high demand, and there is little research on what specific aspects, context, and timeframes are most important when scaling these experiences. Using a mixed method approach, this study demonstrates that students make significant gains, in the short and long term, through in-person and remote informal programs ranging between 22-h and 320-h. Progress across STEM learning constructs is attributed to authentic research experiences, students’ connections to STEM professionals, direct hands-on participation in projects, and group work. Relative to formal education settings, research-based informal STEM programs can be implemented with minimal resources, can maintain effectiveness while scaling, and work towards addressing the societal challenge of improving STEM learning and outcomes for high school students from historically marginalized communities. 

Abstract The next generations of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers are being trained in college and university classrooms by a workforce of instructors who learn pedagogical practice largely on the job. While inclusive instructional practices and their impacts are increasingly well-studied, this training is difficult to instill within the professional development that most STEM professors receive before teaching their students. The Science Teaching Experience Program for Upcoming PhDs (STEP-UP) at the University of Washington was built to prepare future professors for inclusive excellence by guiding them through the literature in education research and providing them a space to practice active and inclusive teaching techniques. This study of STEP-UP uses a design-based approach to understand graduate trainee and undergraduate perceptions of the most salient aspects and outcomes of the program. Our study found that trainees used opportunities to practice inclusive teaching methods with a cohort of their peers, and crucially that these methods were evident in trainee-taught courses through multiple lines of evidence. STEP-UP-trained instructors used inclusive teaching strategies that helped students to feel socioemotionally supported. This study offers a model program that fosters inclusion and equity in undergraduate STEM classrooms through improving teaching professional development for graduate students.