Education Commons^™

Taking Up Space: A Phenomenological Study Of The Shared Experiences Of Black Women In Stem Graduate Programs At Predominantly White Institutions, Ebony C. Blackwell

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., marginalized populations are underrepresented in STEM. Specifically, there is a disparity in the number of Black women attaining STEM graduate degrees and entering the STEM workforce. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the essence of the shared experiences of Black women currently enrolled in STEM graduate programs at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), in order to increase retention of Black women through STEM graduate programs and into careers; as well as to use participant’s experiences to expose any barriers they encountered related to their educational pursuits, and examine how they were able to navigate …

Is Kinesiology A Bridge To Stem Engagement? Sport Science Labs In High School, Judy A. Schultz, Robert W. Danielson, Robert D. Catena, Christopher P. Connolly, Kasee Hildenbrand

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Improving STEM education in schools is important to prepare students for the increasing number of STEM related jobs. As a STEM discipline, kinesiology, which includes the study of sport, exercise, movement and well-being, may be an effective link between science concepts and students’ everyday lives and thus may stimulate science engagement. Our university’s kinesiology programs developed a set of sport related kinesiology labs which were presented by faculty and students during one semester in local high school Freshmen and Senior science classes. Survey data included information about STEM engagement, scientific inquiry, and knowledge of kinesiology as a STEM field. Findings …

Creating Stem Momentum: Culturally Relevant Leadership And Hispanic Girls In High School T- Stem Programs In The Southwest Border Region, Antoinette Howard, Pamela Gray, Kristin Kew

School Leadership Review

This qualitative multi-case research study identified culturally relevant leadership practices that influence the outreach, recruitment, and retention of Hispanic girls in Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (T-STEM) programs in a School District in the Southwest Border region. Educators have a social justice responsibility to challenge the inequitable social, cultural, and political constructs in their schools and districts and address the unique needs of students who represent underserved racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Administrators in this study acknowledged the hegemonic structures and barriers they and their students faced and shared some of their strategies and ideologies for school improvement and …

Women In Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics (Stem): Pre-College And College Factors Of Success, Jada Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholars have reported that the competitiveness and innovation of the United States’ workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] fields are critical to maintaining our nation’s security and economic edge (Chen, 2009; Carlone & Johnson, 2007; Espinosa, 2011). Indeed, STEM is one of the fastest growing fields in the employment industry, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (Langdon, et. al, 2011), and between 2008 and 2018, the number of STEM jobs is expected to increase 17%. Fostering learning pathways for all individuals interested in pursuing careers and education in STEM disciplines is necessary for us to meet the …

College Was A Slap In The Face: Examining The Transition Of Kentucky Appalachian Students Studying Stem At An Urban Institution., Heidi Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examines the lived experience of fourteen rural Appalachian Kentucky (AKY) students studying STEM at an urban university. This study seeks to investigate the unique experiences of AKY students transitioning to STEM majors in college and examines the common factors between their transitional experience into college while addressing compounding factors of a rigorous STEM major and a new cultural setting at an urban institution. This study utilizes Schlossberg’s transitional theory as the framework for analysis. Four key themes emerged from this data: a need for a strong support system, academic preparation, university focus on support and interventions, …

Female Graduate Students’ Experiences And Career Orientations In Stem: A Comparative Case Study, Jasvir K. Pannu

Dissertations

Regardless of implementation of government policies to promote STEM education and eradicate the underrepresentation of women and minorities, the number of women choosing STEM throughout their educational career remains low. In 2018 65% doctorate degrees were awarded to men and only 35% to women. Moreover, 40% of all students enrolled in doctorate programs drop out before completion. The process of socialization in graduate school and students’ non academic responsibilities play critical roles in graduate students’ success and future career orientations. Processes of socialization involve interactions with faculty, peers, and administration while taking courses and conducting dissertation research. Non academic engagements …

Student Success Of Online Vs. In-Person Biology Courses At Virginia Community Colleges, Jennifer Claire Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Community colleges have a significant role in preparing students for STEM-related careers through certificates, degrees, and transfers to four-year institutions. In addition, online education is a growing mode of higher education, particularly for community college students. However, community college and online students are both at a high risk of attrition and show a lower success rate for degree completion. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in attrition and success between students in online and in-person biology courses at Virginia community colleges. Also, this study addressed downstream effects of online education by examining course completion of second-semester biology …

Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School Scitechatorium Shake Table, Joshua Clemens, Kellen Fujishin, Alysson Loo, Samara Van Blaricom

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this report is to document the Senior Project that has been laid out by Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School, assigned to Team W45, or “Experiment 626.” The school’s SciTechatorium is a classroom of displays relating to STEM subjects and the challenge presented to the Cal Poly team of mechanical engineers was to design and build a new, exciting exhibit that would be added to the SciTechatorium. The display should be engaging to children, educational in demonstrating a STEM concept, and be durable enough to withstand excessive use by children. The Scope of Work summarized in Sections 1-3 presents …

Using Data Analytics To Predict Students Score, Nang Laik Ma, Gim Hong Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Education is very important to Singapore, and the government has continued to invest heavily in our education system to become one of the world-class systems today. A strong foundation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) was what underpinned Singapore's development over the past 50 years. PISA is a triennial international survey that evaluates education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students who are nearing the end of compulsory education. In this paper, the authors used the PISA data from 2012 and 2015 and developed machine learning techniques to predictive the students' scores and understand the …

Pathways To Stem Careers – Preliminary Findings Of A Possible Selves Intervention, Andrea Dawn Frazier

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Riegle-Crumb, King, and Irizarry (2019) indicate that African-American, LatinX, and White college first-year students declare an interest in STEM fields at roughly equivalent rates but African American and Latinx students are less likely to persist in attaining STEM degrees. Oyserman et al. (2011) further contextualize this discrepancy by noting that students might need help in implementing pathways from aspirations to academic outcomes. A multi-year intervention aimed at supporting undergraduate African American and Latinx students in STEM seeks to usher students along pathways towards STEM degrees by encouraging development of a community of practice and engagement in practical, concrete experiences that …

Finding Community And Overcoming Barriers: Experiences Of Queer And Transgender Postsecondary Students In Mathematics And Other Stem Fields, Elizabeth Kersey, Matthew Voigt

Publications

Although there is little research on the experiences of queer and/or transgender postsecondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, we can infer from current literature that these subjects may be less welcoming than the humanities and social sciences. We conducted two studies to investigate this possibility: (1) a narrative inquiry study with postsecondary transgender students and (2) a grounded theory narrative study with undergraduate queer students. Transgender students who had transitioned indicated that they were subjected to lower expectations when presenting as female, but transgender women experienced this change as positive, since their treatment by others was …

Collegiate And Post-Undergraduate Experiences Among African American Stem Alumni At The University Of South Carolina, Baindu Nallo

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to explore the undergraduate and post-undergraduate experiences of African American STEM alumni from the University of South Carolina from a strengths-perspective. The method utilized for this qualitative study was phenomenological analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 African American alumni who graduated between 2010 and 2020 and majored in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). Critical Race Theory and community cultural wealth served as theoretical frameworks for this research. The findings indicate that African American students: 1) want to smoothly transition from high school to college curriculum being equally exposed to collegiate materials at the high …

Relationship Of Hispanic Students' School Absenteeism To Mathematics Achievement And Interest In Stem Careers, Rolando Casado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this bivariate correlational study was to identify whether there was a relationship between Hispanic students’ high school absenteeism and their scores on the Algebra I Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) and to identify whether there was a relationship between Hispanic students’ high school absenteeism and their aspiration to pursue STEM careers. The population sample consisted of 431 Hispanic students from two Title I high schools located in a Florida school district. A quantitative design was used for this study and the researcher obtained ex post facto data from the high schools with the largest number of enrolled Hispanic …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Pen Bay Pilot Posts Piece About 4-H Centers Providing Outdoor, Stem Education, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine in the News regarding the Pen Bay Pilot posting a piece about the University of Maine Cooperative Extension story about UMaine 4-H partnering with schools for outdoor, STEM education.

The Impact Of Integrated Stem Education On Student Achievement In Magnet Schools, Holly Esquia Gerlach

Dissertations

In an ever-changing world, scientific advancement and innovation are critical in maintaining national security, economic competitiveness, and quality of life for our global society. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has been a priority within educational reforms for well over a decade. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of integrated STEM education on student achievement results in English language arts, mathematics, and science. The single overarching question of this program evaluation is: Does integrated STEM education impact the achievement outcomes in reading, mathematics, and science for students in fourth and fifth grades? Related research questions …

Student Perceptions Of Their Undergraduate Science Laboratories, Eva N. Nyutu

Dissertations

The science laboratory learning environment has been a distinctive area in science education since the 19th century. The science laboratory environment has been examined extensively at the high school level using the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI). There are, however, very few studies about the science laboratory environment done at the college level. An instrument that may be helpful for college instructors is one that assesses the degree to which students perceive the laboratory as intended by their science instructors. An examination of the literature indicated that there are no validated and reliable instruments for measuring student perceptions of what …

Tactviz: A Vmd Plugin For Tactile Visualization Of Protein Structures, Olivia R. Shaw, Jodi A. Hadden-Perilla

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Scientific disciplines spanning biology, biochemistry, and biophysics involve the study of proteins and their functions. Visualization of protein structures represents a barrier to education and research in these disciplines for students who are blind or visually impaired. Here, we present a software plugin for readily producing variable-height tactile graphics of proteins using the free biomolecular visualization software Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD) and protein structure data that is publicly available through the Protein Data Bank. Our method also supports interactive tactile visualization of proteins with VMD on electronic refreshable tactile display devices. Employing our method in an academic laboratory has enabled …

Leveraging Communities Of Practice To Build Integrated Professional Learning Communities For Stem Education, Amanda L. Glaze

Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education Faculty Publications

In the modern educational era, there is an increasing focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. Innovation and workforce preparation play a large role in the push to increase scientific literacy, thinking skills and high-skilled personnel. However, there are ongoing issues with reforming education to meet these goals as well as the recruitment and retention of students in these fields. STEM and the various other iterations in which it is found, represents a challenge in education, as there are often many intersecting cultures, epistemologies, practices and expectations that are unique to each of the represented fields. As a …

Seed Grant Award Winners Announced, Jason Charland

General University of Maine Publications

In April 2020, a call for proposals for the UMaine Al Initiative seed grant funding program was released in an effort to help UMaine faculty increase their competitiveness for extramural funding support to advance UMaine's AI R&D agenda. A total of 16 applications were received by the June 1 application deadline and the quality of the proposals from the interdisciplinary teams assembled was outstanding.

Measuring The Impact Of Cognitive Behavioral Coaching With Nonverbal Immediacy On The Self-Efficacy Of Undergraduate Students In Stem Courses, Christopher Miller, Melissa Joy Benton

Dissertations

A quasi-experimental study explored whether the practice of cognitive behavioral coaching with an intentional focus on nonverbal immediacy has an impact on the self-efficacy of undergraduate students taking college-level STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses. A positive impact to self-efficacy for students who receive the coaching intervention was anticipated. The research took place at a public research university located in the Midwest. Subjects included students who were required to work with a success coach as a condition of their enrollment and/or financial aid eligibility. Information obtained included perception of nonverbal immediacy of the coaches and self-efficacy of the student, …

A Phenomenological Study Examining The Experiences Of Female High School Career And Technical Education Completers Who Participated In A Technology-Based Program Of Study, Stephen Christopher Tate

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how female high school students who earned Career and Technical Education (CTE) completer status in a technology-based program of study (POS) in Virginia describe their experiences. CTE completer status is defined as having met the Virginia Department of Education’s CTE completer requirements in a technology-based POS. This study was guided by three theories: Self-efficacy theory was applied as it relates to the participants’ status as completers in a technology-based CTE POS; Role-congruity theory suggests that men and women occupy social roles with attendant stereotypes which contributed to how participants described their …

Where Are The Stem Girls: The Effects Of Gender Equitable Teaching Strategies On The Enrollment Of Female Students In Stem Courses?, Jared Sanger

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact that Gender Equitable Teaching Strategies (GETS) has on young women and their interest in pursuing STEM electives and career pathways at our high school. The research was conducted in an eighth grade STEM course called Automation and Robotics and with a focus group of six female students at the high school in grades 9-12. All 65 eighth grade students received GETS interventions throughout the study, but data was analyzed for the 30 female students only. Data was also gathered from the discussion with the six girls that participated in the …

Underrepresentation Of Female And Minority Students In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Academies In Texas, Darnisha Lanette Carreathers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Female and minority student groups are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs and careers. Researchers have attributed this disparity to many factors; however, the primary factors are motivation and self-efficacy beliefs emerging during middle school. The purpose of this study was to examine why female and minority students enrolled and persisted in designated Texas-STEM academies by identifying themes related to Eccles’s expectancy-value model. In this qualitative case study, the researcher classified nine students from designated Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (T-STEM) academies in a North Texas school district as persisters or nonpersisters. The researcher used interviews, …

Lilavathi's Cup, Patrick Young

ISBE Transitional Math Curriculum: STEM Pathway

No abstract provided.

The Fresno State Transportation Challenge, Christian Wandeler, Steven Hart

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The goal of the “Fresno State Transportation Challenge” was outreach to schools and community engagement, to provide K-8 students opportunities to learn about transportation and transportation-related careers, and to practice 21st century skills by solving a transportation-related issue in their community. Through the pedagogical frameworks of action civics and eduScrum (a method to facilitate self-managed teamwork with a visual board), teachers and students worked on solving issues in their community. They learned design thinking to identify issues and develop solutions while using eduScrum to manage their work. University students from transportation engineering visited the schools regularly to support the K-8 …

Overcoming Adversity In The Stem Classroom: Examining Learned Helplessness In First-Year Community College Students Using Salivary Cortisol, Surveys And Interviews, Diane M. Price Banks

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to determine whether a relationship between STEM attrition and Learned Helplessness exist in a group of first year STEM majors studied at an urban community college. STEM attrition rates have shown that 69% of the 20% of incoming STEM freshmen in associate degree programs, drop out or switch their majors to non-STEM curriculum within their first year of college (NCES, 2013). Learned helplessness is a behavioral phenomenon where some may become helpless as the conditions surrounding their success become adverse. Classic signs expressed with learned helplessness include: lack of motivation, depression, poor social skills, absence of control …

The Effects Of Project Lead The Way Launch Curriculum On Elementary Girls’ Perception And Career Interests In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Mina Blazy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The United States has examined the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education since before the turn of the century. STEM educators are still having the conversation around why more women are not joining STEM pathways. Girls and boys as early as birth are curious about the world; through their own lens they learn about gravity from dropping spaghetti on the floor or seeing a small insect on the wall. As children get older they are influenced by the perceptions of their parents and peers.

This study looked at the perception and career interests of girls in STEM …

A Comparison Of Students’ Quantitative Reasoning Skills In Stem And Non-Stem Math Pathways, Emily Elrod, Joo Young Park

Numeracy

Quantitative Reasoning (QR) is essential for today’s students, yet most higher education institutions have not effectively addressed this issue. This study investigates students’ quantitative reasoning in STEM and Non-STEM math pathways using a non-proprietary, NSF grant-funded instrument, the Quantitative Literacy & Reasoning Assessment (QLRA). Participants were students enrolled in at least one college-level math pathway course at a large public institution in the southeastern US. The results showed a significant difference between STEM and Non-STEM students’ QLRA scores, with STEM students (n = 244, M = 27%, SD = 16.21%) scoring, on average, about 6% higher than Non-STEM students …

Review Of Mentoring Manuals In Stem To Improve The Mentorship Experience For Underrepresented Minority Students Through The Lens Of Social Capital And Combating Social Reproduction, Leno Kurimoto

Master's Theses

There is a lack of diversity and inclusion in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Students who pursue a degree in STEM, only less than half of them complete them. However, this phenomenon occurs at a greater percentage for underrepresented minority students (UMS). To combat the lack of representation in STEM, mentoring has been suggested to promote retention and minimize attrition. Mentoring provide plenty of benefits for students, as they can gain academic and professional experience. Unfortunately, mentorship of UMS is not the same compared to Asian and white students, thus different approaches and recommendations must be implemented to …

Stem Education In The Elementary School Classroom, Kendal C. Carter

Education | Master's Theses

There is a disparity in research conducted for STEM education across elementary, middle, high school, and college. STEM learning teaches students to ask questions, look at a problem through multiple lenses, work collaboratively with others, plan carefully, become flexible, embrace change, improve upon their idea, persevere through challenges, and open themselves up to discussing new ideas and differing points of view. The literature review revealed the differing schools of thought regarding STEM education, a variety of implementation methods, and the changes seen in classrooms detailing how students connect in class curricula to real world examples. The literature also highlighted a …