Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have proven to be one of the most valuable approaches to increasing the number of underrepresented students earning degrees in STEM fields. However, there are many questions about how these impacts occur. Improving grades, experiencing laboratory work, and working with research staff are important…

While the impact of authentic research experiences in STEM on student engagement and interest in science has been documented, less is known about the role of peer communities in fostering this interest and engagement. This research explores the idea that a strong peer community can catalyze deep learning and engagement in scientific research among…

This book focuses on research-based teaching and learning practices that promote social justice and equity in higher education. The fourth volume in a four-volume series, this book critically addresses virtual and remote classroom settings. Chapters explore contexts within and outside the classroom, including a history of online learning; research…

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%)…

Internationally, out-of-school time (OST) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs abound. However, rigorous evidence of their impacts on student outcomes is scarce. This study evaluated the relationships between OST STEM program participation and student motivational factors in math and science by analyzing survey and…

Two decades ago, when the author evaluated the impacts of Summer Research Opportunity Programs focused on minority undergraduates in STEM at 15 universities, blacks, Latinx/Hispanics, and Native Americans were dramatically underrepresented among PhD recipients in STEM fields. In the 20 years that followed, there have been significant increases in…

This study aimed to explore the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) principles in informal STEM education, focusing on the experiences of Underrepresented Racially Minoritized (UUREM) girls during a week-long residential STEM summer camp. Utilizing a single case study design, the researchers investigated how PBL facilitates engagement…

The high attrition rate of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors is a main concern in education. A number of factors may account for students' departure, among which preparedness for STEM learning in college is a crucial determinant. Extensive work has been done to enhance students' preparedness through efforts such as…

With support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Merced Anomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing (MACES) was launched in the summer of 2015 at the University of California Merced (UC Merced). MACES is a research and education center, focused on creating innovative materials-enabled solutions for energy and…

With ongoing efforts in the United States to further develop the availability of computer science education in the public schools, federal, state, and local educational agencies are increasing efforts to encourage and promote the inclusion of computer science and programming skills in the middle school curriculum (Grover, Pea, & Cooper, 2015).…

Our nation needs to increase the number of students pursuing degrees in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and those leading to transportation-related careers. In order to meet the demand for qualified graduates in transportation, it is necessary to diversify the pool of students entering college with an…

Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and…

In recent years, mathematics classrooms in the U.S. and around the world have seen an increasing integration of educational robotics with interest from both students and teachers. Through their robotics coding activities, students in the present study discovered the concepts of special angle pairs in geometry--namely, complementary and…

Faculty learning communities (FLCs), established prepandemic to disseminate and discuss evidence-based teaching practices as part of an NSF-funded project, Investigating Student Success Using Evidence-Based Strategies-eXpanded (ISSUES-X), proved effective at facilitating learning during a pandemic. As our university made the decision to operate…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the change in students' STEM perceptions in two different informal learning environments: an online STEM camp and a face-to-face (FTF) STEM camp. Design/methodology/approach: For this quasi-experimental study, 26 students participated in an online STEM summer camp and another 26 students participated…