Research suggests that the likelihood of students entering into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers can be increased by promoting and maintaining students' interest in STEM during middle school years, a critical developmental stage when students' interests begin to solidify. One way to attract students to STEM is…

This study explored a place-based summer enrichment offering for gifted rural students through the lens of a critical pedagogy of place (Greenwood, 2003). To ameliorate well-documented opportunity gaps for rural students, we established a residential camp on our university's campus where middle school students engaged in STEM and humanities…

Districts and states are targeting summer break -- the most substantial chunk of out-of-school time in the typical year -- as a prime opportunity to help students make progress with learning left unfinished due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal COVID relief funds will allow schools the freedom to offer programs as they never have before. But not…

In this study, we examined students' experiences regarding precollege engineering curricula, classroom environments, and their experiences with the creative process in two engineering courses offered in a university-based summer enrichment program. Applying provisional and open coding to interview data from 16 participants, an…

Pipeline programs in health and biomedical sciences have gained attention as students who engage in these programs are more likely to enter into associated fields. In 2012, to support the mission of Oakland University William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine, the Future Physicians Summer Enrichment Program (FPSEP) was launched for regional high…

The proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) students graduating with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees, matriculating to graduate programs, and entering the STEM workforce continues to be significantly low. The Virginia-North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (the VA-NC Alliance)…

The 2018 STEM Summer Camp was held on the campuses of a middle school in the Southeast. Students from Title I schools across the district were invited to take part in the month-long STEM program, focused on advancing content competency through Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) Inquiry.…

This study is a meta-analysis of the effects of out-of-school time (after school, summer camps, enrichment programs, etc.) on the student interest in STEM. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) How effective is OST as a means to foster student interest in STEM? (2) How does the effectiveness of OST differ by program and…

Gifted girls of color represent a potentially untapped resource for increasing and sustaining a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Girls of color possess unique mathematics and science gifts and talents that can remain unrealized if not addressed before middle school. Culturally responsive STEM…

This article focuses on the impact of culturally relevant teaching and learning during a summer enrichment program for high school students. Culturally relevant science instruction and curriculum helped students to foster a more positive interest in science and STEM careers as it provided students the opportunity to do science in meaningful and…

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy's, (HSTA) goals are to increase college attendance of African American, financially disadvantaged, first generation college and rural Appalachian youth and increase health-care providers and STEM professionals in underserved communities. Students enter in the 9th grade and remain in HSTA four years. They…

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy's, (HSTA) goals are to increase college attendance of African American, financially disadvantaged, first generation college and rural Appalachian youth and increase health-care providers and STEM professionals in underserved communities. Students enter in the 9th grade and remain in HSTA four years. They…

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs. Over the years, the program has evolved to become a local afterschool model -- serving students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools in…

Examining lessons learned through 4 years of experience of hosting Camp Launch, a university-based residential science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment program for low-income, high-ability, middle school students, this article explores components of the program and offers suggestions for implementing programs that serve…

Using three constructs taken from Latour's 2005 book, "Reassembling the Social," we consider our work in 2 contexts that were part of a project to support science teachers working with English learners: an 8th-grade physical science class in a summer science enrichment academy, and a 6th-grade Earth science class in a public middle…