Background: In response to the effort to increase minority enrollment in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, STEM summer bridge programs were created to help minorities with the transition from high school to college with the long-term goal of increasing the diversity of professionals in STEM. The goal of this…

Background: Louisiana State University's (LSU) STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) was established to increase students' persistence in first-year, declared engineering majors (a project priority), in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors (an NSF goal), and in all majors at LSU (an institutional goal). Over 8 years, 3,097 (27%)…

A primary motivation for this study was to compare student perceptions and performance within a virtual learning environment to the traditional in-person learning experience for the General Chemistry II course taught during a 5-week summer session at Xavier University of Louisiana, a minority serving institution. The authors present quantitative…

This paper provides mentor teacher experiences involved with the planning, preparation, implementation, and reflection of a virtual mathematics and science summer camp in the summer of 2020. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual the summer camp was forced to pivot to a completely online format. Primary concerns discussed by mentor…

This article seeks to characterize Teach For America's (TFA) theoretical framework as engendering disillusionment among its corps members. Given that the corps members have little to no pedagogical or methods training prior to taking on teaching positions through TFA, the lessons learned during the summer training set the stage for the…

As a nation wrestles with the need to train more professionals, persons with disabilities are undereducated and underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The following project was proposed to increase representation of students with disabilities in the STEM disciplines. The program emphasizes an integrated…

The cost of attending college has risen sharply over the last 40 years. Although more credit and grant aid have been made available to students, there are still major gaps between aid and the cost of attendance for many students in the United States, all of whom are left to figure out whether they can afford the remaining costs associated with…

In the United States and elsewhere, there is a dramatic shortage of engineers and technologists. And, unfortunately, these professions often suffer from a lack of awareness among K-12 students. Clearly, educators need to show students the very exciting and lucrative aspects of these fields. Engineering and technology are consistently listed by…

We offered four annual professional development workshops called STAR (for Scientific Teaching, Assessment, and Resources) modeled after the National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education in Biology. In contrast to the SI focus on training faculty from research universities, STAR's target was faculty from community colleges,…

Preliminary research indicates that summer enrichment programs may have a positive impact on overall student development K-12, including academic motivation and engagement. The majority of this research has focused upon gifted students, although there is a burgeoning body of research detailing the impact of summer programs on at-risk or…

In this important resource, Dr. Fleming (a noted expert in the field of minority retention) draws on educational evaluations she has developed in the course of her distinguished career. This book analyzes the common factors and the role institutional characteristics play in minority student retention to show what really works in increasing…

University researchers, teacher candidates, language and technology instructors, student learners, and families from diverse backgrounds partnered in an invitational teaching/learning experience--middle school student learners teaching their VIPs (very important persons) how to create stories and construct digital movies with reference to their…

Faculty members at a large state university engaged in discussions of 21st century communication, new media, and the demands for new communication skills as they elected to establish a Communication across the Curriculum (CxC) program in 2005. Faculty leaders reviewed communication theory (e.g., from McLuhan to Kress), best practices from other…