A national need exists to effectively engage women and people categorized as minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and career paths. Given the minimal existence of standards and accreditation boards for engineering design and holistic engineering practice in K-12 contexts, we must better understand how said…

This article examines the impact that an 'epistemically insightful' approach to informal science learning can have on students' attitudes, aspirations and perceptions of STEM subjects. It uses interim findings from a research and outreach project, including sustained Saturday activity programmes for ages 14-16 and residential summer schools for…

This work showcases specific adaptations used to make cybersecurity accessible to high school students with visual impairments and blindness (VIB). The rapidly growing field of cybersecurity demands a diverse workforce; however, barriers exist which can deter students with disabilities from studying cybersecurity, let alone pursuing a career in…

Motivated by lack of diversity in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) professions, this case-study explores a group of 25 high achieving, low SES, mostly female, majority-minority high school students' perception of race, ethnicity, and gender as factors for success in their future as STEMM professionals. Additionally,…

Yakima Valley College--a two-year, Hispanic-serving institution in south-central Washington state--partnered with four-year universities, agricultural centers, businesses, and federal and state agencies to develop a streamlined undergraduate research experience in which students work closely with a faculty mentor in a science, technology,…

Striving to remain a global leader in innovation, the United States continues prioritizing broadening participation in engineering and other STEM fields. For this reason, STEM outreach programs are increasingly popular and vital. However, few programs offer such outreach experiences at a large, national scale and intentionally situate those…

The impact of college STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] summer bridge programs is not well understood. This nationwide study pooled data from 27 colleges and universities involved in the NSF's [National Science Foundation's] STEM Talent Expansion Program to model changes in college career aspirations for 2 groups: 383 STEM…

The Project Citizen Research Program (PCRP) was a three-year research initiative that evaluated the effectiveness of the Center's Project Citizen teacher professional development (PD) program and curriculum intervention for middle and high school students. The program took place over three academic years that were impacted by the COVID-19…

Student retention is a consequential effort of all institutions of higher learning today. The survival of the institution is dependent upon the success of students in obtaining their degrees (Knox, 2005; Noel, 1978). In order to continue to grow a base of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students and produce quality…

Introduction: The current work probes the effectiveness of multimodal touch screen tablet electronic devices in conveying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graphics via vibrations and sounds to individuals who are visually impaired (i.e., blind or low vision) and compares it with similar graphics presented in an embossed format.…

Kids Creative is a New York City nonprofit that runs afterschool and summer programs with over 1,000 youth each year. The programs they run use this creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, works of art, videos, dances, and more. When Kids Creative received grant funding, they were able to include more youth and add homework help,…

First-generation college students without broad support networks are more likely to leave STEM majors. In rural West Virginia, the First2 Network aims to improve STEM persistence by including students in creating solutions to STEM attrition. One solution, a research program for rising first-year students in STEM majors, is discussed here. The…

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)…

One-on-one mentoring is effective for helping novices with career development. However, traditional mentoring scales poorly. To address this problem, MentorPal emulates conversations with a panel of virtual mentors based on recordings of real STEM professionals. Students freely ask questions as they might in a career fair, while machine learning…

This design case details a data science summer learning experience designed by University of Memphis faculty for HBCU students (NSF #: 1918751) with recruiting assistance provided by LeMoyne-Owen College. The summer learning experience included elements of didactic and collaborative problem-solving during the first five weeks of the internship,…