Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics Pipeline Research Articles

Transitioning to Success: The Link between E-CTE and College Preparation for Students with Learning Disabilities in the United States

In recent years, there has been a specific call to not only increase the number of engineering-trained individuals but also to address the lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, including individuals with disabilities. In particular, students with learning disabilities (SWLDs) make up a large portion of all students and are, therefore, a crucial population on which to focus educational and career progression efforts. One potential means of promoting persistence along the STEM pipeline—engineering specifically—is through engineering career and technical education (E-CTE) coursework in high school. Using a nationally representative dataset, we explore how E-CTE participation links to college preparation and transition activities for SWLDs, including math SAT performance, dual credit course participation, college application, and FAFSA completion. Under our more rigorous school fixed-effects models, we find that E-CTE participation is associated with beneficial results across each of our outcomes. The implications are discussed.

A theoretically based STEM talent development program that bridges excellence gaps.

The pipeline of highly trained STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professionals has narrowed in recent decades, forcing society to re-examine how schools are discovering and developing STEM talent. Of particular concern is the finding that rural students attend post-secondary schools at lower rates than their urban counterparts, and when they do attend, they are less likely to graduate from STEM programs. One reason may be that they are not prepared for advanced STEM coursework because they lack access to essential STEM talent-development programs in middle or high school. This creates excellence gaps, which exacerbate the narrowing STEM pipeline to the workforce. To address this, we formed a university-school partnership to develop an outside-of-school STEM talent development program, called STEM Excellence, for rural middle-school students who attend under-resourced schools. The aim of STEM Excellence was to increase students' achievement and aspirations while empowering their teachers to develop local STEM programs grounded in developmental psychology theories. STEM Excellence integrated the Talent Development Megamodel Principles of ability, domains of talent, opportunity, and psychosocial variables. STEM Excellence also recognized the interplay of multiple person-environment systems as presented in the Bioecological Systems Model.

The STEM pipeline: pathways and influences on participation and achievement of equity groups

ABSTRACT Skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are promoted by the Australian government as pivotal for Australia’s economic prosperity. Research on equity groups suggests that group membership is associated with several factors linked to ‘leakage’ from the STEM pipeline of school, university and transition to work. In this paper we draw on longitudinal Australian data to understand what factors influence the participation of equity group students in university STEM courses, and to explore how the STEM pathways of those groups differ from those of non-equity students. We identified several important factors which influence participation at two critical points of the STEM pipeline; transition from school into university, and transition from university into the STEM workforce. Our results indicated that higher levels of mathematics self-concept and instrumental valuing of mathematics in early adolescence predict continuation in the STEM pathway for all students and particularly those from low socioeconomic status backgrounds.

A multi-year science research or engineering experience in high school gives women confidence to continue in the STEM pipeline or seek advancement in other fields: A 20-year longitudinal study.

There remains a large gender imbalance in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce deriving from a leaky pipeline where women start losing interest and confidence in science and engineering as early as primary school. To address this disparity, the Science Research & Engineering Program (SREP) at Hathaway Brown School was established in 1998 to engage and expose their all-female high school students to STEM fields through an internship-like multi-year research experience at partnering institutions. We compare data from existing Hathaway Brown School SREP alumnae records from 1998-2018 (n = 495) to Non-SREP students and national datasets (National Center for Educational Statistics, National Science Foundation, and US Census data) to assess how SREP participation may influence persistence in the STEM pipeline and whether SREP alumnae attribute differences in these outcomes to the confidence and skill sets they learned from the SREP experience. The results reveal that women who participate in the SREP are more likely to pursue a major in a STEM field and continue on to a STEM occupation compared to non-SREP students, national female averages, and national subsets. Participants attribute their outcomes to an increase in confidence, establishment of technical and professional skills, and other traits strengthened through the SREP experience. These data suggest that implementing similar experiential programs for women in science and engineering at the high school stage could be a promising way to combat the remaining gender gap in STEM fields.

Rewiring the STEM pipeline - a C-B-E framework to female retention

PurposeFemales are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), both in the workforce and in universities. Low self-efficacy and limited access to role models are key factors preventing retention of female STEM students enrolled in university degrees. This paper aims to report on one social marketing pilot programme that was co-designed to increase self-efficacy in females currently enrolled in STEM programmes.Design/methodology/approachThe Co-create, Build and Engage (C-B-E) framework was applied. Process and outcome evaluations were conducted using a repeated measure design to assess pilot programme effectiveness.FindingsA significant increase in self-efficacy and high satisfaction rates were observed for STEM students that attended the bias literacy workshop. Social advertisements raised awareness for available STEM specific university services.Originality/valueThis paper outlines the application of the C-B-E framework. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study delivers the first scientific paper reporting an outcome evaluation for a social marketing programme seeking to retain women enrolled in university STEM degrees.

Patching the Leaks: Revitalizing and Reimagining the STEM Pipeline

We identify problematic areas throughout the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline that perpetuate racial disparities in academia. Distinct ways to curtail these disparities include early exposure and access to resources, supportive mentoring networks and comprehensive training programs specifically for racially minoritized students and trainees at each career stage. These actions will revitalize the STEM pipeline.

Factors affecting the decision of female students to enrol in undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors in Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT Using the qualitative interview-based research design approach, this study analyses the experiences of female students currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the universities in Kazakhstan. More specifically, this study aimed to explore the experiences of the students in the process of transition to postsecondary education and the factors related to their decision to enrol into STEM majors. The results of the study are useful for understanding the barriers, which affect the transition of women through the STEM pipeline in non-Western traditional societies and have some important implications for research on gender issues in STEM education in the post-Soviet and larger international contexts.

The Impostor Phenomenon Among Postdoctoral Trainees in STEM: A US-Based Mixed-Methods Study

Aim/Purpose: This mixed-methods research study examined impostor phenomenon during postdoctoral training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through the following research question: “What are the manifestations of the impostor phenomenon experienced during postdoctoral training in STEM?” Background: The impostor phenomenon occurs when competent, high-achieving students and professionals believe that they are fraud and will be exposed eventually. It involves fear of failure, lack of authenticity, feeling fake or fraud-like, denial of one’s competence, and is linked to lower self-esteem, mental health consequences, and lack of belonging. Methodology: This study was conducted with US-based postdoctoral trainees (or postdocs) using mixed-methods approach. The study examined aspects of impostor phenomenon among 43 postdocs by converging survey data using Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews from the same participants. Both convenience and snowball sampling were used. Majority of the participants were White, female, and from science disciplines. Interview findings were organized into themes using constant comparative method and analytic induction. Contribution: Findings pointed to the need for better designing professional development programs for postdocs that would: 1) address fears and insecurities due to impostor-feelings, 2) normalize conversations around perceived failure, judgment, and one’s lack of belonging, and 3) provide support with networking, mentoring, academic communication, and mental health challenges. Findings: Survey results indicated moderate to intense impostor-feelings; interviews found six triggers of the impostor phenomenon during postdoctoral training: 1. not pursuing new things, 2. not making social connections, 3. impaired academic communication, 4. not applying, 5. procrastination and mental health, and 6. feeling undeserving and unqualified. Current findings were compared with prior findings of impostor-triggers among PhD students who also experienced the first three of these challenges during doctoral training: challenges to applying newly learnt knowledge in other domains, reaching out for help, and developing skills in academic communication verbally and through academic writing. Recommendations for Practitioners: The office of postdoctoral affairs could design professional development programs and individual development plans for those experiencing the impostor phenomenon, focusing on strengthening skills (e.g., academic writing) in particular. There was an environmental and systemic dimension to the imposter phenomenon, perhaps more prevalent among women in STEM. The academy could devise ways to better support scholars who experience this phenomenon. Recommendation for Researchers: Research characterizing the qualitative characteristics of the impostor phenomenon across the STEM pipeline (undergrads, PhD students, postdocs, and faculty) would help understand if the reasons and manifestations of this phenomenon vary among differing demographics of students and professionals. Impact on Society: Organizations could focus on the training, development, mental health, and stressors among postdocs in STEM, particularly by focusing on career transition points (e.g., PhD to postdoc transition, postdoc to faculty transition), especially for those at-risk of experiencing this phenomenon and therefore dropping out. Future Research: Future research could examine how to manage or overcome the impostor phenomenon for students and professionals, focus on disciplines outside STEM, and investigate how socialization opportunities may be compromised due to this phenomenon. Longitudinal studies might characterize the phenomenon better than those that focused on the impostor phenomenon at a single time-point.

The STEM requirements of “Non-STEM” jobs: Evidence from UK online vacancy postings

Are employers in “non-STEM” occupations (e.g. Graphic Designers, Economists) interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates because of the knowledge and skills they acquired through their STEM education (e.g. “C++”, “Systems Engineering”) or simply because of their problem solving and analytical abilities? This is an important question in the UK where less than half of STEM graduates work in STEM occupations, and where this apparent leakage from the “STEM pipeline” is often considered as a wastage of resources. To address it, this paper goes beyond the discrete divide of occupations into STEM vs. non-STEM: using UK online vacancy postings, we measure STEM requirements at the level of jobs, by classifying each posting as either STEM or non-STEM based on its job description text instead of its occupation identifier. We find that 35% of all STEM jobs belong to non-STEM occupations, and that 15% of all vacancies posted in non-STEM occupations are in fact STEM jobs. Moreover, STEM jobs are associated with higher wages within both STEM and non-STEM occupations.

Entering the STEM Pipeline: Exploring the Impacts of a Summer Bridge Program on Students’ Readiness

Entering the STEM Pipeline: Exploring the Impacts of a Summer Bridge Program on Students’ Readiness Shiyu Liu (bio) The high attrition rate of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors is a main concern in education (National Science Board, 2010). While educators have made great efforts to support students in the pursuit of STEM degrees (National Research Council, 2013), those from minoritized backgrounds (Harper, 2012) are at especially higher rates of leaving the STEM fields (Andersen & Ward, 2014; Good, Halpin, & Halpin, 2001). A number of factors may account for students’ departure, among which preparedness for STEM learning in college is a crucial determinant (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997). Extensive work has been done to enhance students’ preparedness through efforts such as bridge programs, where academic and social support is provided to minoritized students for the rigors of college (Garcia, 1991); however, discrepancies exist regarding how such programs may impact students’ cognitive and affective readiness (e.g., Reisel, Jablonski, Hosseini, & Munson, 2012). Thus, I explored the effects of a bridge program with a focus on four key aspects of readiness: self-efficacy, mathematics anxiety, epistemic beliefs, and metacognitive skills. Self-efficacy is a most influential factor in academic retention (Raelin et al., 2015). Self-efficacy is individuals’ beliefs in their competence in planning and accomplishing specific tasks (Bandura, 1986). It not only reflects students’ readiness for entering STEM, but also is a strong predictor of their persistence and success (Sawtelle, Brewe, & Kramer, 2012). Several factors may contribute to self-efficacy, among which emotions, such as anxiety, is a critical one (Usher & Pajares, 2009). Previous [End Page 635] studies have found that mathematics anxiety is closely related to students’ self-perceived competence in successful STEM learning (Ashcraft, 2002). Yet, the relationship between math anxiety and self-efficacy varies depending on the differences in personal experience and contexts (Litzler, Samuelson, & Lorah, 2014). Metacognitive skills and epistemic beliefs also constitute significant indicators of students’ readiness for college (Tsai, Jessie Ho, Liang, & Lin, 2011). Metacognitive skills entail perceiving one’s cognition and monitoring the learning processes, such as conscious use of learning strategies (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). Epistemic beliefs, on the other hand, are views about the nature of knowledge and processes of knowing (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997), including beliefs in certain knowledge (whether knowledge is absolute and will be ultimately obtained), simple knowledge (whether knowledge is discrete facts), omniscient authority (whether knowledge can be fully accessed only by authorities), quick learning (whether learning occurs in an all-or-none fashion), and innate ability (whether competence in learning is determined at birth; Schraw, Bendixen, & Dunkle, 2002). Previous studies have shown that students with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs, such as considering knowledge as constructive rather than facts, tend to demonstrate higher academic self-efficacy and stronger academic progress (Muis, Bendixen, & Haerle, 2006). In contrast, those who believe that knowledge is simple and certain are more likely to have lower self-efficacy and metacognitive skills (Bråten, Britt, Strømsø, & Rouet, 2011). Yet, while metacognitive skills closely interact with epistemic beliefs and academic self-efficacy (Muis & Duffy, 2013), our understanding of their relationship in STEM learning remains preliminary; therefore, the primary research question in this study was: What are the relations between self-efficacy, math anxiety, metacognitive skills, and epistemic beliefs? This work was conducted in the context of a summer bridge program at a large, U.S. mid-Atlantic, public university. As an initiative to support ethnically minoritized first-year students at a predominantly White institution, the program provided math and physics courses over a span of 6 weeks. The courses were delivered in lectures and remedial sessions to prepare students for intensive requirements of STEM majors. This study was conducted to investigate how participation in the program may affect students’ readiness. Of note, metacognitive skills and epistemic beliefs have been shown to be relatively stable over short time periods, whereas self-efficacy and math anxiety may present significant fluctuation (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991; Schraw et al., 2002). Hence, the second research question in this work was: How does participation in the bridge program impact students’ self-efficacy in math and physics, as well as their levels of math anxiety? METHOD Thirty-nine first-year college students who...

Out of School and into STEM: Supporting Girls of Color through Culturally Relevant Enrichment

Increasing the participation of girls of color in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is a national concern. Due to the persistence of achievement and opportunity gaps, sustaining positive STEM dispositions in girls of color is critical to diversifying the STEM pipeline. Enrichment activities can serve as a means to address persistent gaps in opportunities to learn. The purpose of this article was to explain how teachers could adapt traditional STEM enrichment activities to support girls of color through culturally relevant instructional practices. The three components of culturally relevant pedagogy are utilized to example how to adapt traditional activities to support girls of color in STEM. Examples are presented to foster (1) academic success, (2) cultural competence, and (3) sociopolitical consciousness in girls of color. Greater opportunities for STEM professional development, especially those that help teachers build upon culturally relevant teaching, are needed for both pre- and in-service teachers who desire to serve as teacher leaders in STEM. Implications and suggestions for teacher leaders are presented throughout.

Closing the Gaps and Filling the STEM Pipeline: A Multidisciplinary Approach

There is a growing demand for degreed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals, but the production of degreed STEM students is not keeping pace. Problems exist at every juncture along the pipeline. Too few students choose to major in STEM disciplines. Many of those who do major in STEM drop out or change majors. Females and minorities remain underrepresented in STEM. The success rate of college students who are from low-income background or first-generation students is much lower than that of students who do not face such challenges. Some of those who successfully complete their degree need help in making the transition to the workforce after graduation. A program at Lamar University takes a multidisciplinary approach to addressing these problems. It is designed to recruit, retain and transition undergraduates to careers in STEM, focusing its efforts on five science disciplines and on these “at-risk” students. The program was supported by a 5-year grant from the National Science Foundation and is supported through August 31, 2016 by Lamar University and a grant from ExxonMobil. A formal assessment plan documents the program’s success. The program received an award from the Texas Higher Education Board for its contributions towards Closing the Gaps in Higher Education in Texas. This paper describes the program’s theoretical framework, research questions, methods, evaluation plan, and instruments. It presents an analysis of the results achieved using these methods and implications for improvements to the program resulting from lessons learned.

Development of a distance education program by a Land-Grant University augments the 2-year to 4-year STEM pipeline and increases diversity in STEM.

Although initial interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is high, recruitment and retention remains a challenge, and some populations are disproportionately underrepresented in STEM fields. To address these challenges, the Microbiology and Cell Science Department in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida has developed an innovative 2+2 degree program. Typical 2+2 programs begin with a student earning an associate’s degree at a local community college and then transferring to a 4-year institution to complete a bachelor’s degree. However, many universities in the United States, particularly land-grant universities, are located in rural regions that are distantly located from their respective states’ highly populated urban centers. This geographical and cultural distance could be an impediment to recruiting otherwise highly qualified and diverse students. Here, a new model of a 2+2 program is described that uses distance education as the vehicle to bring a research-intensive university’s life sciences curriculum to students rather than the oft-tried model of a university attempting to recruit underrepresented minority students to its location. In this paradigm, community college graduates transfer into the Microbiology and Cell Science program as distance education students to complete their Bachelor of Science degree. The distance education students’ experiences are similar to the on-campus students’ experiences in that both groups of students take the same department courses taught by the same instructors, take required laboratory courses in a face-to-face format, take only proctored exams, and have the same availability to instructors. Data suggests that a hybrid online transfer program may be a viable approach to increasing STEM participation (as defined by enrollment) and diversity. This approach is particularly compelling as the distance education cohort has comparable grade point averages and retention rates compared to the corresponding on-campus transfer cohort.

Hidden Currents in the STEM Pipeline: Insights From the Dyschronous Life Episodes of a Minority Female STEM Teacher

In this article, I use the idea of dyschrony to describe the multiple disjunctures experienced in a Hispanic woman's life as she struggled to gain full membership in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) community. Despite having earned a doctoral degree in chemistry and a teaching position in a STEM school, she was cognizant of how gender and race had marginalized her and her minority female students, making them feel like border members of the STEM community. She had formed a solidarity group within the STEM school. As I apply the construct of dyschrony to analyze the in-depth interviews with the teacher, I illuminate tensions in the STEM pipeline and suggest that one should be critical about the promise of social mobility. The forming of solidarity groups may contribute to positive experiences of minority girls in STEM schools. Dyschrony may be used as a helpful analytic construct to unpack the forces contributing to minority women's struggles in STEM fields and understand why they might leave.

High-Achieving Black Students, Biculturalism, and Out-of-School STEM Learning Experiences: Exploring Some Unintended Consequences

In this article, the author discusses the complex challenges of high-achieving Black students who are successful in becoming immersed in predominately White STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) spaces and how such immersion can exacerbate their experiences of racial stereotyping and other forms of racial bias. The author illustrates these complex racialized experiences through the story of Maurice, a high-achieving high school mathematics student who successfully negotiated the White spaces he occupied yet did not indicate interest in pursuing a STEM-related career. Although Maurice developed sophisticated bicultural competencies that allowed STEM professionals and educators to view him positively, he decided that compromising his own racial, cultural, and individual identities to pursue a STEM college major and career was too costly. The discussion in general highlights how racial and ethnic stereotyping which is endemic throughout STEM education and careers can push mathematically competent Black students out of the STEM pipeline prematurely.

Students leaving the STEM pipeline: an investigation of their attitudes and the influence of significant others on their study choice

The main aim of the present study was to investigate why some students do not continue in science-oriented studies in higher education despite that their previous career in secondary education proved that they were interested and suitably qualified to do so. We introduced a new approach to deal with these students’ attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies. That is, the study was based on the multi-attribute utility theory, using an approach related to the theory of reasoned action. The study included 477 Dutch students that pursued a study in higher education (mostly second- and third-year students). All students had taken advanced mathematics, chemistry and physics courses in secondary education, but did not choose a STEM study in higher education. In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to them to measure their attitudes. The attitudes of these students towards STEM studies were compared with their attitudes towards their current (non-STEM) study, while also taking the influence of significant others (e.g. parents, teachers and peers) on these students’ study choice into account. As expected, most non-STEM students had chosen the best ‘suitable’ option as regards their attitudes. Nevertheless, 1 out of 10 non-STEM students had a more favourable attitude towards STEM studies than towards their current non-STEM study. However, the hypothesis that these students had left the STEM pipeline because of the advice of significant others was not confirmed.

The MESA Program Advantage in STEM Education

ObjectiveThe objective of our work is to provide a model pathway to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities that students from precollege to community colleges/universities take toward achieving STEM industry positions or graduate school.MethodsThe San Diego MESA Alliance is a student success initiative built on best practices of the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) Program and grant funds. The Alliance team provides essential academic and career development services to students who are interested in STEM fields at the precollege level and who are majoring in STEM fields at the college level. More than 1200 students on the STEM pipeline are served annually. Student support is based on ‘standards’ identified by industry representatives as critical for success. As a result of completing activities that are in line with these standards, students gain career development experience, workforce preparedness, and academic success.ResultsStudents in these programs outperform their peers and standout in job/internship interviews due to their tangible excellence. Evaluation of the standards, implemented by means of student activities, proves that they are effective. The proposed outcomes of our model were either met at or in excess of 100%. These outcomes include the improvement of the retention of STEM students and increase of the number of STEM students graduating with B.S degreesConclusionThe San Diego MESA Alliance model pathway to (STEM) opportunities is a system that works. We recommend it for nationwide adoption in our efforts to maintain a strong STEM presence in the world.

Is it Really a Man's World? Black Men in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Efforts to improve the Black science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pipeline have focused on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); however, this work generally fails to acknowledge men. This article characterized Black male receipts of bachelor's degrees from HBCUs in STEM fields between 1981 and 2009 using a gendered approach to challenge two paradigms: a White patriarchy that omits African American men in STEM research, and the gendered nature of racial disadvantage in STEM that focuses on women. The study recommended expanding research on the STEM pipeline by acknowledging the importance of ethnicity/race, gender, and academic field simultaneously.Keywords: STEM, African American men, historically Black colleges and universities, genderEven though they cling to patriarchy they are beginning to intuit that it is part of the problem. Lack of jobs, the unrewarding nature of paid labor, and the increased class power of women, has made it difficult for men who are not rich and powerful to know where they stand, (hooks, 2000, p. 71)IntroductionRhetoric and research related to expanding the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline implicitly references an antiquated White, male-female dichotomy. In this paradigm, STEM fields are associated with White men, academic rigor, and the manual labor associated with related work (Slaton, 2010). While this orientation undoubtedly marginalizes White women and women of color, it can also trivialize the experiences and outcomes of men of color in the context of the STEM pipeline. As hooks (2000) explained in the opening quote, men of lower socioeconomic strata can be challenged in a patriarchal context, like STEM, that devalues their racial group. This may be especially problematic in majority minority colleges, like historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).Expansion of the Black (or African American) STEM pipeline has disproportionately relied on HBCUs to improve Black participation in and completion of STEM degree programs (Chubin & May, 2003; Harvey & Williams, 1989). For example, in 2006 HBCUs conferred 22% of African American science and engineering bachelor's degrees on average (National Science Foundation, NSF, 2010). More than one quarter of Black STEM bachelor's degrees were awarded by HBCUs in seven fields that year: Agricultural Sciences (44.9%), Biological Sciences (32.3%), Computer Sciences (25.3%), Mathematics (32.8%), Chemistry (34.0%), Chemical Engineering (25.1%), and Physics (48.5%; NSF, 2010). Although the contribution of HBCUs to African American STEM bachelor's degree production has declined somewhat since the mid1970s, given that HBCUs represent about 3% of four-year postsecondary institutions and enroll near 20% of Black undergraduates, their contribution to Black STEM completion is laudable.Despite the success by HBCUs, African Americans remain underrepresented among STEM bachelor's degree recipients when compared to their enrollment in bachelor's degree programs overall (NSF, 2010). For example, African Americans represented approximately 15% of all undergraduates enrolled in four-year institutions, 10% of all bachelor's degree recipients in 2008, and accounted for 11% of all STEM bachelor's degrees conferred in that same year (NCES, 2011). Given this underrepresentation among STEM bachelor's degree recipients, and the relative success of HBCUs in promoting African American STEM completion, continued consideration of these institutions is relevant and necessary to improve the Black STEM pipeline.The extant literature on the Black STEM pipeline at HBCUs has by and large failed to consider the role of gender at these institutions. While there is research on African Americans in STEM at HBCUs, and African American female achievement in STEM at HBCUs (e.g., Perna et al., 2009), there is little known about Black men in STEM at HBCUs. In fact, characterizations of STEM success at HBCUs often focus on aggregate institution-level data at HBCUs in comparison to predominately White institutions (PWIs). …

Using Nanoscience as a Theme for Capstone Projects in an Elementary Education Majors Science Course

ABSTRACTThe national interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has called attention to P-12 education, the STEM pipeline. Education of teachers is a primary influence on the education of children in the classroom. While high school (and often middle school) teachers are versed in the content of a particular aspect of STEM (e.g. Mathematics or Chemistry), elementary teachers, on the other end of the pipeline, are educated as generalists, with a primary goal of setting the foundations for future learning.In 2004, a team of STEM and education faculty at St. Catherine University (SCU) was called together, united by their interest in improving STEM education for all students at SCU, particularly women. Combining the content expertise of the biology, chemistry, physics/engineering, and mathematics departments with the methods expertise of the education department, the team designed courses that made STEM concepts more engaging and relevant to students. In 2010, the STEM Certificate was solidified and required of all elementary education students. It is comprised of three interdisciplinary, team-taught, lab based courses that are open to all undergraduate majors at the institution. Each course is centered on one discipline (i.e. biology, chemistry, or engineering/physics). Chemistry of Life is the chemistry-focused course. The course was designed to include a capstone project. As an introduction to materials science, nanoscience was selected as the theme for the projects. The topic allowed for socially relevant and also highly interdisciplinary projects. Students working in teams of three or four, designed projects, determined how to measure and obtain data, and analyzed and interpreted results. A content and confidence assessment given to students before and after the projects showed an increase in both their understanding of nanomaterials and their confidence in conducting a nanoscience project.

Use Student Affairs Strategies to Retain Women in STEM

Use Student Affairs Strategies to Retain Women in STEM