University Camp Increases Student Interest in Science

Abstract

NASA, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and many other funding agencies are trying to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. While rare experimental efforts have shown that factors such as small class size [Finn et al., 2001], community service [Markus et al., 1993], and targeted training [Zohar and Nemet, 2002] may improve student performance, the outcome of many educational activities is unclear or anecdotal [U.S. Department of Education, 2007].With support from the NASA New Investigator Program in Earth Science (NIP), we used a statistical assessment to determine that participation in a summer science camp at Utah State University (USU), consisting of an 8‐week research experience, increased students' interest in science careers and fostered their intention to pursue activities likely to lead to a science career. Our results indicate that science‐based opportunities for high school students have beneficial effects and that broader research on the topic may be justified. In conducting our assessment, we also learned some valuable lessons that although perhaps familiar to science education specialists, may be useful and novel for AGU members interested in similar research.