Education Commons^™

Faculty Interactions With Black Male Students At Hbcus And Community Colleges As Predictors Of Academic Achievement In Stem, Antoine Gates

Dissertations

A myriad of studies in STEM education aim to identify the underlying reasons behind poor achievement of Black males in higher education. Research studies have indicated that HBCUs make significant advances in various desired outcomes such as graduation rates for Blacks, especially males. However, Black males at community colleges do not always fare similarly to their counterparts at HBCUs. There are limited studies on faculty interactions with Black males in STEM at community colleges. Therefore, the goal of this study was to identify whether significant differences existed in the interactions STEM faculty formed with Black males at community colleges and …

Exploring New Teacher Beliefs: Identity, Home-Life, And Culture In The Classroom, Frederick B. Bradley Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A persistent shortage of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students, teachers, and professionals is seen by many as a threat to the nation’s global economic standing. Deficits in these areas are often attributed to a lack of quality K-12 STEM education, which is due in large part to a high rate of teacher turnover. Moreover, such teacher attrition has been shown to occur far more often in high-need schools and districts; thus serving to further marginalize disadvantaged members of society.

This study occurs within the context of The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program at our research-intensive university in the southeastern …

A Student Research Manual: Helping Students Help Themselves Identifying And Addressing Challenges Facing Prospective Undergraduate Researchers, Landon Rohrer, Karen L. Sirum

Honors Projects

Undergraduate research does not only help equip STEM majors to be better researchers and employees but increases retention of students to graduate school in needed scientific fields. However, while resources are being produced for undergraduates like Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs), Centers for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS), and Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), undergraduate involvement and awareness about these resources, and the value of undergraduate research in general, does not seem to be improving. Therefore, it would be valuable to figure out why undergraduates aren't autonomously seeking out undergraduate research during their studies. To investigate why, a two-part survey was …

Environmental Science And Culture: Exploring The Factors Contributing To The Pro-Environmental Behavior Of Rural Youth, Michelle Donlan, Elizabeth Flotte, Patricia Silovsky

Dissertations

This mixed methods study contributes to the pro-environmental behavior literature by introducing the concept of environmental science capital to explore the factors influencing pro-environmental behavior in rural youth. This study’s proposed theory of change attempts to build upon the Kollmus and Agyeman model of pro-environmental behavior by theorizing that environmental science capital is the “missing middle” needed to overcome the barriers to pro-environmental behavior. We hypothesized that meaningful nature experiences, role models, connectedness to nature, STEM interest and environmental identity would help rural youth increase their environmental science capital in order to “bridge the gap” and overcome barriers to pro-environmental …

Steam Vs. Stem: A Study And Program Proposal For Monticello, Micaela Deogracias

Honors Projects

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and art programs have long been struggling for dominance in the education system. This fight overshadows the fact there are synergistic educative capabilities when these two schools of thought are combined, allowing scientific and artistic persons to work in tandem and be exposed to a wider variety of problem-solving options and opinions. This study aims to focus on museum education practices specifically and how implementing STEAM programs (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) versus STEM could raise the perceived value of arts in society, as well as create a more enriching educational experience by …

The High School To First-Year College Instructional Transition: An Investigation Of The Predictions And Perceptions Of Stem Students, Emma Toth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent national reports have cited ongoing issues in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Fewer than half of first-year undergraduate students who start in STEM fields graduate with a STEM degree six years later. Most of this attrition occurs between the first and second year of college, and students often cite instructional practices used in introductory college courses as a prominent reason for leaving. Furthermore, students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in STEM fields, including first-generation college students, leave STEM majors at higher rates than their classmates. Recent data show that the instructional practices used in introductory college …

Service-Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course: How Participation Impacts Course Content Knowledge And Agency, Mari Rice

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Service-learning (SL) is a high-impact pedagogical strategy that has been shown to have both cognitive and affective benefits for students and has the potential to engage and involve a more demographically diverse spectrum of students into the field of STEM. However, research on the impacts of SL in STEM courses is limited, and therefore there is a great need to identify the specific outcomes linked to participation. In addition, faculty from STEM fields have been hesitant to incorporate SL into their curriculum due to perceptions that it lacks academic rigor. This purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to examine …

Art Across The Disciplines: How The Integration Of Fine Arts Across The Curriculum Is Influencing And Changing Stem Pedagogy, Ida Bazan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Within the past decade, several academic institutions have begun to investigate techniques combining the fine arts and humanities into STEM coursework and curriculum. The resulting trend STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) indicates that the arts could contribute to critical thinking, transfer across subject domains, and higher order thinking skills. This work examines the theoretical foundations of STEAM along with early and recent methodologies. Case studies are evaluated and the thesis concludes with recommendations suggesting how academics could apply these concepts to undergraduate studies.

Project Luminous: An E-Textiles Workshop Study To Increase Science Technology Engineering Mathematics/Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics Interest In Middle School Girls, India Semone Callahan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this research study, young middle schoolers engaged in a stimulating workshop that seamlessly merged fashion with technology and electrical engineering. Students learned how to use simple hand sewing skills to create wearable-tech items using conductive thread, sewable LED lights, and sewable battery packs. The objective of the study was to increase young women’s interest in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics/Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics (STEM/STEAM).

Forty-eight middle school girls spent a day learning about the basics of e-textiles and building working products using their new knowledge. The day is split into three lessons. In lesson one students build a simple …

Self-Efficacy And Stem Career Interest In Black And Latino Middle School Students: A Study On The Next Generation Science Standards, Whitney Mccormick

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

With only 11% of the current Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce being Black and Latino men and women, there is a crisis of underrepresented individuals in STEM fields. The construction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the mantra “all standards, all students,” represents an attempt to increase access to science for more students, and increase their self-efficacy about STEM subjects, as low self-efficacy is cited as one of the main causes of disinterest in STEM subjects. This study examined the relationship between students’ self-efficacy in STEM fields and their career interests, specifically in a population of …

Hidden Cracks In The Leaking Stem Pipeline: Retention Within First-Generation Latinx Students In Baccalaureate Stem Programs At Predominately White Institutions, Kevin Kandamby

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis documents the lived experiences of first-generation Latinx students navigating

through predominately white institutions while attaining or attempting to attain a STEM degree. To examine this, twelve students from five different institutions were interviewed in semi- structured focus groups to better understand the educational trajectories of students in STEM. Inadequate high school preparation, educational disparities, mental health, and lack of institutional support were some of the reoccurring concerns students had across all focus groups. Students also highlighted that cultural competency across faculty in STEM, support from identity groups, and returning back to their Latinx community to serve as professionals …