Impacts of STEM Experiences on Informal STEM Learning

July 15th, 2018 - June 30th, 2023 | PROJECT

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. Informal STEM educational activities have proliferated widely in the US over the last 20 years. Additional research will further validate the long-term benefits of this mode of learning. Thus, elaborating the multitude of variables in informal learning and how those variables can be used for individual learning is yet to be defined for the circumstances of the learners. Thus, the primary objective of this work is to produce robust and detailed evidence to help shape both practice and policy for informal STEM learning in a broad array of common circumstances such as rural, urban, varying economic situations, and unique characteristics and cultures of citizen groups. Rather than pursuing a universal model of informal learning, the principal investigator will develop a series of comprehensive models that will support learning in informal environments for various demographic groups. The research will undertake a longitudinal mixed-methods approach of Out of School Time/informal STEM experiences over a five-year time span of data collection for youth ages 9-19 in urban, suburban, town, and rural communities. The evidence base will include data on youth experiences of informal STEM, factors that exert an influence on participation in informal STEM, the impact of participation on choices about educational pathways and careers, and preferences for particular types of learning activities. The quantitative data will include youth surveys, program details (e.g. duration of program, length of each program session, youth/facilitator ratio, etc.), and demographics. The qualitative data will include on-site informal interviews with youth and facilitators, and program documentation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Project Products

(Re-)Designing a measure of student's attitudes toward science: A longitudinal psychometric approach
Gauging Informal STEM Youth Program Impact: A Conceptual Framework and a Measurement Instrument
Developing a Growth Mindset in an Out of School Program March 2023
(Re-)Designing a measure of student’s attitudes toward science: a longitudinal psychometric approach. International Journal of STEM Education.
Gauging Informal STEM Youth Program Impact: A Conceptual Framework and a Measurement Instrument
An Examination of the Use of Large Language Models to Aid Analysis of Textual Data
STEM Outside of School: a Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Informal Science Education on Students’ Interests and Attitudes for STEM. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Using the Partial Credit Model and Rasch Model to Examine the FOCIS Survey

Team Members

Robert Tai, Principal Investigator, University of Virginia
Katherine Dabney, Co-Principal Investigator
Ji Hoon Ryoo, Co-Principal Investigator

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: AISL
Award Number: 1811265
Funding Amount: $1,724,629

Tags

Access and Inclusion: Ethnic | Racial | Low Socioeconomic Status | Rural | Urban
Audience: Administration | Leadership | Policymakers | Educators | Teachers | Elementary School Children (6-10) | Evaluators | General Public | Learning Researchers | Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum | ISE Professionals | Youth | Teen (up to 17)
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Informal | Formal Connections | Media and Technology | Professional Development | Conferences | Networks | Public Programs