STEM Courses Research Articles

Online and In-Person Learning Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Students Attending the City University of New York.

ABSTRACTThe widespread disease outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020 elicited mandated shutdowns of all facilities not considered essential to include academic institutions. Many educational institutions had to find a way to transition into online learning modalities rapidly. This study investigates whether a relationship between students’ perceptions of online learning and their academic achievement during the coronavirus outbreak exists. We hypothesized that (i) students would rate the online modality more negatively than the in-person module, (ii) STEM courses would be rated more negatively than non-STEM courses, and (iii) there was a positive correlation between grades achieved and student perceptions of the online course modality. The study found that students rated online courses more negatively than in-person courses. There were significant differences in student achievement and perception based on the course type. The study found a weak yet positive relationship between student achievement and perception of learning modality. Future studies should continue to evaluate the effects of mandated online learning on the mastery and achievement of learning outcomes. The implications from these findings can help institutions improve e-learning modules.

We Can't Fail Again: Arguments for Professional Development in the Wake of COVID-19.

ABSTRACTThe majority of academic institutions were underprepared for a global pandemic, leading to spikes in instructor anxiety and drops in student engagement with STEM courses. With many STEM professors teaching online for the first time, they independently sought out training in distance education and inclusive teaching practices. Had institutions been proactive in providing such professional development prior to the pandemic, the negative impacts of transitioning to online education would have been reduced. While recent events are still fresh in people’s minds, we advocate for increased or maintained professional development opportunities for STEM instructors in order to protect this critical pedagogical support from budget cuts.

Investigation of Comparative Hispanic Student Success in Calculus I at Four State of Florida Universities

National employment data forecasts a significant need for graduates in the STEM disciplines for middle-income American jobs. If the American labor force is to keep pace with the global economy, it is critically important that American higher education increase STEM degree production. Currently, minority populations lack access and thus opportunity for success in higher education, but, among them, Hispanic groups account for about 59 million Americans, are the youngest demographic, and have the highest growth rate of any ethnic group. Hispanic students are inadequately represented in higher education enrollment numbers, graduation rates, graduate degree attainment, and STEM degree attainment. While only 14% of American institutions of higher education are designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), 64% of Hispanic American college students attend an HSI. As a result, HSIs are in a unique position to improve student success in STEM disciplines. A statistical analysis of the grades of Hispanic and White students in an introductory STEM course, Calculus I, at two Florida HSI universities and two non-HSI universities, revealed 1) white students significantly outperformed Hispanic students in Calculus I at State of Florida non-HSIs and 2) white students did not outperform Hispanic students in Calculus I at State of Florida HSIs.

STEM courses are harder: evaluating inter-course grading disparities with a calibrated GPA model

BackgroundGrades in college and university STEM courses are an important determinant of student persistence in STEM fields. Recent studies have used the grade offset/grade penalty method to explore why students have lower grades in STEM courses than their GPAs would predict. The results of these studies are in doubt; however, as they use GPA as a reliable measure of academic performance, which is a disputed assumption. Using a predictive model of student performance, it is possible to produce a more accurate measure of academic performance than the observed GPA and discover if STEM courses are graded more stringently, and under which circumstances.ResultsA weighted logistic model of GPA better predicts academic performance than the observed GPA. Using this calibrated GPA it is found that the grade offset method predicts that STEM courses, departments, and programs grade significantly more stringently than non-STEM courses. The average grade difference between STEM and non-STEM course grades and GPAs is around four tenths of a grade point. An exception is general education courses offered by STEM departments, which are graded with the same leniency as non-STEM courses. Grade offset calculations that use the observed GPA systematically underestimate the negative offset in STEM grading relative to calculations that use the calibrated GPA. The calibrated GPA is much more highly correlated with standardized tests such as the ACT (r = 0.49) than the observed GPA is (r = 0.25).ConclusionObserved GPA is a systematically biased measure of academic performance, and should not be used as a basis for determining the presence of grading inequity. Logistic models of GPA provide a more reliable measure of academic performance. When comparing otherwise academically similar students, we find that STEM students have substantially lower grades and GPAs, and that this is the consequence of harder (more stringent) grading in STEM courses.

Supporting undergraduate students\u2019 developing water literacy during a global pandemic: a longitudinal study

To prepare students to address water-related challenges, undergraduate STEM education must provide them with opportunities to learn and reason about water issues. Water in Society is an introductory-level, innovative, and interdisciplinary undergraduate course offered annually at a large midwestern university. The course focuses on both disciplinary concepts and civic engagement, and is designed around a variety of interactive, research-based practices to support students’ learning, engagement with authentic data, scientific models and modeling, and collaboration and learning among peers. This study aims to evaluate, “how have student outcomes and perceptions changed over five years of the course?”. The results are based on data from students (n = 326) in five consecutive years of the course, during which time the course transitioned from a face-to-face model to fully asynchronous online model due, in part, to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The particularly rapid and abrupt transition between 2020 and 2021 in response to COVID-19 led to many course changes, including modes of communication between instructors and students and opportunities for collaboration. Here, multiple measures are used to evaluate students’ learning about water concepts, model-based reasoning about socio-hydrologic systems, and perceptions of the course across all five years. By the end of each iteration of the course, students improved their knowledge of hydrologic concepts, independent of the course format or other student-level variables. However, results also show that students’ performance on complex socio-hydrologic systems modeling tasks, as well as their overall satisfaction with the course, decreased in Year 5 when the course was fully online. Results provide insight into efforts to move undergraduate STEM courses online and specific evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on undergraduate STEM teaching and learning about water.

Which evidence-based teaching practices change over time? Results from a university-wide STEM faculty development program

BackgroundThere is overwhelming evidence that evidence-based teaching improves student performance; however, traditional lecture predominates in STEM courses. To provide support as faculty transform their lecture-based classrooms with evidence-based teaching practices, we created a faculty development program based on best practices, Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate STEM Education (CAUSE). CAUSE paired exploration of evidence-based teaching with support for classroom implementation over two years. Each year for three years, CAUSE recruited cohorts of faculty from seven STEM departments. Faculty met biweekly to discuss evidence-based teaching and receive feedback on their implementation. We used the PORTAAL observation tool to document evidence-based teaching practices (PORTAAL practices) across four randomly chosen class sessions each term. We investigated if the number of PORTAAL practices used or the amount of practices increased during the program.ResultsWe identified identical or equivalent course offerings taught at least twice by the same faculty member while in CAUSE (n = 42 course pairs). We used a one-way repeated measures within-subjects multivariate analysis to examine the changes in average use of 14 PORTAAL practices between the first and second timepoint. We created heat maps to visualize the difference in number of practices used and changes in level of implementation of each PORTAAL practice. Post-hoc within-subjects effects indicated that three PORTAAL practices were significantly higher and two were lower at timepoint two. Use of prompting prior knowledge and calling on volunteers to give answers decreased, while instructors doubled use of prompting students to explain their logic, and increased use of random call by almost 40% when seeking answers from students. Heat maps indicated increases came both from faculty’s adoption of these practices and increased use, depending on the practice. Overall, faculty used more practices more frequently, which contributed to a 17% increase in time that students were actively engaged in class.ConclusionsResults suggest that participation in a long-term faculty development program can support increased use of evidence-based teaching practices which have been shown to improve student exam performance. Our findings can help prioritize the efforts of future faculty development programs.

Linking applied STEM coursetaking beyond STEM outcomes: Examining high school completion and college-going behavior

Educational dialogue has emphasized that math and science courses be more meaningful and engaging in high school. One way in which this has materialized has been through the introduction of applied STEM courses (i.e., information technology and engineering). In these courses, traditional math and science concepts are to be more educationally engaging by addressing practical challenges that reach beyond high school. Thus far, research has examined if taking applied STEM courses in high school boosts math achievement, advanced math or science coursetaking, or choosing a STEM college major. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study examined if taking applied STEM courses in 9th or 10th grades linked to high school completion and college-going behavior. The results suggested a positive association of this early applied STEM coursetaking on all end of high school and college-going measures, though the results were not differentiated by individual- or school-level characteristics.

Exemplar Teaching Practices in STEM Courses in U.S. Universities

Exemplar Teaching Practices in STEM Courses in U.S. Universities

COVID-19 and the Urgency of the Interdisciplines in the Corporate University

As US universities and colleges increasingly identify with neoliberal discourses of students as human capital and higher education as a direct investment in earning potential, the liberal arts and humanistic fields of study are valued only for their capacity to train students in "multicultural communication." The minimization of their intellectual project marks these fields as susceptible to terminal budget cuts, a long-standing trend intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some humanists have responded to this devaluation by defending the humanities as sites that produce knowledge for knowledge's sake. Such reflections defend the older venerable humanistic traditions often at the expense of newer and lesser humanities, namely, Black studies and feminist studies. In a recent Forbes article, the president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni argues that core language and humanities courses (e.g. writing, US history) should be protected, but "expensive fluff" courses should be eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. This "fluff" in fact represents the only significant epistemic challenge to the unreflective valuation of the Enlightenment project that birthed both scientific and humanistic traditions of study. This article analyzes recent COVID-related medical research to demonstrate how Black and feminist studies reject the assumptions of the Western canon in both humanities and STEM courses. Investing in these fields does not merely invest in students' communication skills, but in their ability to critically engage their home disciplines, fields of work, and political systems. Rather than defunding the interdisciplines, we urge institutions to model undergraduate studies more broadly in line with these fields.

Flipping the digital switch: Affective responses of STEM undergraduates to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) catalyzed a global shift to distance education known as an emergency transition to remote teaching (ERT). While prior research investigates students' experiences during traditional online learning, fewer studies examine students' affective responses (i.e., feelings, emotions) to those experiences, particularly when remote learning is unexpected and unplanned. To understand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduates responded affectively to the COVID-19 ERT, researchers generated open-ended survey data with 1340 undergraduates (253 female) in 27 courses across seven U.S. institutions. Using an inductive qualitative approach, researchers developed a three-tier thematic model to synthesize the self-reported reasons underlying participants’ affective responses to the COVID-19 ERT. Findings reveal a complex mix of positive and negative emotional responses among participants that included frequent occurrences of feelings of stress and uncertainty traced to a variety of external, internal, and contextual factors. Implications for STEM teaching practice are discussed.

Promoting persistence: Can computer science career and technical education courses support educational advancement for students with learning disabilities?

Information technology and computer science represent one area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that have experienced significant growth in recent years. As such, federal policy has urged schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one very prominent example, computer science (CS)-focused courses are a growing branch of career and technical education (CTE)—that is, CS-CTE. While previous research has examined coursetaking patterns and subsequent outcomes of CS-CTE courses for the general student population, little is known about how participation in these courses may benefit students with learning disabilities (SWLDs). From a pedagogical perspective, CS-CTE courses, and CTE courses in general, may be uniquely positioned to improve schooling outcomes for SWLDs. Using data from the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we explored characteristics of CS-CTE participants, how CS-CTE may promote the development of key STEM attitudes (e.g., identity, self-efficacy, and utility), and how any relationships may differ by learning disability status. Using a double propensity score matching estimations, we found CS-CTE participation related to positive development of STEM identity and STEM self-efficacy for students without learning disabilities. For the SWLD population, CS-CTE participation was associated with growth in STEM self-efficacy and STEM utility. Policy implications discuss the gap in computer science employment between SWLDs and non-SWLDs, the prevalence of state-related computer science policies, and how to continue to promote STEM identity growth.

Improving early childhood pre-service teachers’ computational thinking teaching self-efficacy beliefs in a STEM course

ABSTRACT Background In order for computational thinking (CT) to be successfully implemented in educational environments, teachers’ CT teaching self-efficacy beliefs should be developed. The existing research on this topic is generally focused on training in-service teachers on CT to develop their self-efficacy. Conversely, the current study aims to contribute to the development of early childhood pre-service teachers’ CT teaching self-efficacy beliefs through CT-integrated STEM education. Purpose In the current study, the effect of CT-integrated STEM education on CT teaching self-efficacy beliefs of early childhood pre-service teachers was explored. Sample The study group was composed of 68 second-year early childhood pre-service teachers. All were attending a state university in the city of İstanbul during the 2020–2021 academic year. Design and Methods The study employed a quasi-experimental design, i.e. the control group was given only STEM education, while the experimental group was given CT-integrated STEM education. The data collection tool used in the current study was ‘the scale of self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching computational thinking’. For analysis, an independent samples t-test and a paired samples t-test were used. Results The findings have revealed that there is a significant difference in the post-test scores on the ‘scale of self-efficacy beliefs towards CT teaching’ in favor of the experimental group. The effect size calculated for the difference between the mean pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group students was found to be large. These results show that CT-integrated STEM education contributed to the development of the pre-service teachers’ CT teaching self-efficacy beliefs. Conclusion The current study contributes to the literature by showing that CT-integrated STEM education fosters pre-service teachers’ professional development and their self-efficacy beliefs about CT teaching.

Evaluating the impact of malleable factors on percent time lecturing in gateway chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses

BackgroundActive learning used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses has been shown to improve student outcomes. Nevertheless, traditional lecture-orientated approaches endure in these courses. The implementation of teaching practices is a result of many interrelated factors including disciplinary norms, classroom context, and beliefs about learning. Although factors influencing uptake of active learning are known, no study to date has had the statistical power to empirically test the relative association of these factors with active learning when considered collectively. Prior studies have been limited to a single or small number of evaluated factors; in addition, such studies did not capture the nested nature of institutional contexts. We present the results of a multi-institution, large-scale (N = 2382 instructors; N = 1405 departments; N = 749 institutions) survey-based study in the United States to evaluate 17 malleable factors (i.e., influenceable and changeable) that are associated with the amount of time an instructor spends lecturing, a proxy for implementation of active learning strategies, in introductory postsecondary chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses.ResultsRegression analyses, using multilevel modeling to account for the nested nature of the data, indicate several evaluated contextual factors, personal factors, and teacher thinking factors were significantly associated with percent of class time lecturing when controlling for other factors used in this study. Quantitative results corroborate prior research in indicating that large class sizes are associated with increased percent time lecturing. Other contextual factors (e.g., classroom setup for small group work) and personal contexts (e.g., participation in scholarship of teaching and learning activities) are associated with a decrease in percent time lecturing.ConclusionsGiven the malleable nature of the factors, we offer tangible implications for instructors and administrators to influence the adoption of more active learning strategies in introductory STEM courses.

Valuable but costly? University students’ expectancy-value-cost profiles in introductory chemistry courses

Students’ motivational profiles are of increasing interest due to their utility for understanding students’ complex, heterogeneous motivational experiences and the correlates of such experiences in real-world educational settings. Motivational profiles may be particularly important to consider in large, gateway STEM courses, which can be both costly and valuable to students and are key settings for students’ developing beliefs about themselves in STEM. This study examines motivational profiles of three task values, self-efficacy, and three perceived costs among undergraduate students taking introductory chemistry courses. Using latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct profiles: High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate Psychological Cost, Moderate-High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate-Low Costs, Moderate-Low All, and Moderate-High All. We further examined demographic predictors and course grades in relation to profile membership. Although gender did not predict profile membership, Asian students were more likely than white students to be in the Moderate-High All, with the highest levels of psychological costs, compared to two other profiles. Students in the Moderate-Low All profile had the lowest course grades, whereas students in the Moderate-High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate-Low Costs and High Values and Self-Efficacy with Moderate Psychological Cost profiles had the highest grades. By examining multiple dimensions of cost alongside positive motivational beliefs, this study broadens our understanding of the complex nature of students’ reasons for engaging in STEM studies and the roles of specific cost dimensions for students’ success.

Student Self-perception on Digital Literacy in STEM Blended Learning Environments

As students transition into tertiary blended learning environments, their digital literacy in terms of technical capabilities have potential to impact on their access to digital resources. The first foundational year of STEM degrees includes compulsory courses across a broad range of scientific areas, each of which incorporates online technology in a discipline-specific manner. Given the diversity of online resources that STEM students need to access across their first-year coursework, this study applies learning analytical methods to determine whether students’ perceived level of digital literacy has an effect on their navigation of learning management systems (LMS) and overall academic performance. The frequency and nature of LMS interactivity were examined across four first-year STEM courses offered in the same semester at a single institution, using a K-means cluster analysis to group student responses. It was observed that high achieving students accessed LMS resources more frequently than mid or low-achieving students across all four STEM courses. Students’ perceived level of digital literacy was collected via survey (n = 282), and students were sorted high (n = 106) and low-level (n = 176) of perceived digital literacy—HDL and LDL, respectively. HDL students were not consistently found in the high-achieving academic group and did not perform better in their overall grade when compared to LDL students. LDL students were observed to perform better in specific online assessment tasks, which may be attributed to their increased frequency of LMS interactivity. These findings highlight the delicate balance between students’ perceived level of digital literacy, motivation for engaging with online learning environments, and academic performance.

STEM course on circuit design accomplished to enhance scientific and technological capabilities of students

The aim of the research is to develop an interdisciplinary course of extracurricular activities integrating knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students to develop their scientific and technological skills. 52 students from secondary schools of Engels, Yoshkar-Ola (Russia), Sholom-Aleichem Priamursky State University (Birobidzhan, Russia), Osh State University College (Osh, Kyrgyz Republic) took part in the educational experiment. The theme-based course Basic Concepts of Arduino Systems Engineering is developed based on the proprietary technology of simple projects of practical relevance. The projects render the general concept from knowledge to competence. The course consists of four modules: Start, Big Workshop/Hands-on Training, Go Ahead/Step forward, Group Design. Arduino applied in design modeling allows students to create electrical devices that would be productive in one or another area of life at a low cost. The course program is aimed at engaging students in innovative design technologies, computer programming and using robotic devices. The findings of the study were observed as part of an interview with students, educational achievement, subsequent STEM literacy test activities and the performance of game summarizing projects. The recommended method has shown the efficiency in mastering the required core set of skills of circuit design and computer programming.

Usefulness of Digital Serious Games in Engineering for Diverse Undergraduate Students

The use of educational digital games as supplemental tools to course instruction materials has increased over the last several decades and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Though these types of instructional games have been employed in the majority of STEM disciplines, less is known about how diverse populations of students interpret and define the value of these games towards achieving academic and professional pursuits. A mixed-method sequential exploratory research design method that was framed on the Technology Acceptance Model, Game-Based Learning Theory and Expectancy Value Theory was used to examine how 201 students perceived the usefulness of an intuitive education game that was designed to teach engineering mechanics used in designing civil structures. We found that students had different expectations of educational digital games than games designed for entertainment used outside of classroom environments. Several students thought that the ability to design their own structures and observe structure failure in real-time was a valuable asset in understanding how truss structures responded to physical loading conditions. However, few students thought the educational game would be useful for exam (14/26) or job interview (19/26) preparation. Students associated more value with engineering games that illustrate course content and mathematical calculations used in STEM courses than those that do not include these elements.

Investigating the impact of peer supplemental instruction on underprepared and historically underserved students in introductory STEM courses

BackgroundSupplemental instruction (SI) is a well-established mode of direct academic support, used in a wide variety of courses. Some reports have indicated that SI and similar peer-led academic support models particularly benefit students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups in STEM. However, these studies have not explicitly examined the role of prior academic experiences, an important consideration in college success. We report on the impact of a modified SI model, Peer Supplemental Instruction (PSI), on student success in introductory STEM courses at a diverse access institution. This study focuses on PSI’s impact on the academic performance of students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups, while also considering the effects of prior academic experiences.ResultsData were aggregated for nine courses over five semesters to produce a robust data set (n = 1789). PSI attendees were representative of the overall student population in terms of previous academic experiences/performance (as determined by high school GPA) and self-identified racial/ethnic demographics. Frequent PSI attendance was correlated with a significant increase in AB rates (average increase of 29.0 percentage points) and reduction in DFW rates (average decrease of 26.1 percentage points) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1–2 PSI sessions. Overall, students identifying as Black/African American received the largest benefit from PSI. These students experienced a significant increase in their final course GPA when attending as few as 3–5 PSI sessions, and exhibited the largest increase in AB rates (from 28.7 to 60.5%) and decrease in DFW rates (from 47.1 to 14.8%) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1–2 sessions. However, students with similar HS GPAs experienced similar benefits from PSI, regardless of self-identified race/ethnicity.ConclusionsThe data presented here suggest that PSI particularly benefitted underprepared students in their introductory STEM courses. Since students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups have traditionally had inequitable K–12 educational experiences, they enter college less prepared on average, and thus particularly benefit from PSI. PSI, in conjunction with additional strategies, may be a useful tool to help rectify the results of systemic educational inequities for students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups.

Adaptation of AL-TST active learning model in hybrid classroom: Findings from teaching during COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt

Since COVID-19 began, the ways of teaching and learning have changed drastically. Traditional teaching methods are shifted to technology-mediated methodologies such as asynchronous online learning, hybrid learning, blended learning, hy-flex learning, on-demand learning, and competency-based online learning. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional active learning models, compelling but complex, are assumed not to fit in the hybrid classroom because of the affordance and integration of various distance learning technologies. Hence, in the research, a conceptual active learning model for a hybrid classroom, namely AL-TST (Active Learning-Theory, Strategy, Technology), is used to deliver a STEM course in an Egyptian university. The course was an 8-week-long course designed for 3rd grade (i.e., university junior) students enrolled in the university. At the beginning of the course, the instructor created student-centered lecture contents using the adopted AL-TST model in a hybrid environment. Data (N=76) were collected using the university's learning management system (LMS). Students’ Course Work Grades, Final Exam Grades and Total Exam Grades are analyzed using a one-sample t-test. The analysis indicated no significant result in students’ Course Work Grades, Final Exam Grades and Total Exam Grades. However, the findings indicated some valuable educational insights, such as improving a conceptual active learning model, the perception of course design, and teaching during the crisis.

Lecture, Discussion, Group Work, Repeat: Using Aerial Photography and Machine Learning to Study the Use of Writing-Related Pedagogies in STEM Courses and Their Impact on Different Student Subgroups

Lecture, Discussion, Group Work, Repeat: Using Aerial Photography and Machine Learning to Study the Use of Writing-Related Pedagogies in STEM Courses and Their Impact on Different Student Subgroups