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An Exploratory Study To Understand Elementary School Students’ Conceptions Of Food Chains, Shelby Snowden
An Exploratory Study To Understand Elementary School Students’ Conceptions Of Food Chains, Shelby Snowden
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Research has shown that elementary school is a critical time to pique children’s interest in science. However, many enrichment activities known to pique this interest in young children are not available to students of low socioeconomic status, English Language Learners, racial minorities, and students with disabilities. This has encouraged many higher education institutions to develop STEM outreach programs. Because of the cognitive gap between STEM professionals and young children and the logistics of implementing student-centered activities in heterogeneous classrooms, programs usually consist of activities that impress students with “sophisticated” science but are beyond the cognitive levels of most students and …
Assessing Stem Literacy In An Informal Learning Environment, Maureen Ann Lafemina Cavalcanti
Assessing Stem Literacy In An Informal Learning Environment, Maureen Ann Lafemina Cavalcanti
Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences
This mixed methods study investigated methods for assessing STEM literacy amongst middle grades students participating in an informal learning environment, specifically, a summer STEM camp. Adopting a situated perspective on STEM literacy, this dissertation employed psychometric techniques and discourse analysis to answer the overarching research question: How can STEM literacy amongst middle school students be assessed in the context of a summer STEM camp? An integrated review of literacy within and across STEM disciplines first offered a new direction for conceptualizing STEM literacy. With this understanding, subsequent research methods applied novel approaches for investigating STEM literacy in the context of …