the twenty-year existence has been to inspire 6 th and 8th grade girlswho are making critical middle school and high school curriculum choices to choose rigorousmathematics and science courses with an eye towards a STEM related career. As a means ofensuring best program practices, research is consistently conducted on the program. Previousresearch has yielded innovative curriculum developments, demographic/gender informedengineering self-efficacy knowledge and findings on the inclusion of cross-cutting concepts inout-of-school activities.Yet previous observations, surveys and interviews has also led to a pivot in considering thecontextual thread that weaves the program’s activities together. Observations, interviews andsurveys pointed to a
we saw with our young man’s frustration and outburst. We can see how simplestrategies and actions by researcher supported or hurt identity and self-efficacy. Learners of allages could possibly benefit from formal and informal activities which generate and mature a ‘gutfeel’ for how a language works and then how it connects to the commands and syntax. Foryoung learners developing confidence in using the technology and an identity as someonecapable of doing so is a valuable precursor skill towards later learning in programming.Limitations and Next Steps The main limitations in this research are the small number of trials and the ‘second hand’nature of the data. In total just over five hours of video were analyzed with about 60
results indicate that enrichment programs increase student awareness of and interest inSTEM careers. (Kwon, 2017) STEM focused summer camps have also demonstratedsignificant increases in student’s attitudes towards mathematics. (Wang & Frye, 2019) TheBroadening Access to Science Education Camp conducted a four-year investigation of theimpact of summer STEM camp on the interest in the pursuit of STEM careers. (Phelan, Harding,& Harper-Leatherman, 2017) Their findings state that 95% of participants applied to college, ofwhich 87% intended to pursue a career in a STEM related field. They also report increasedscience self-efficacy and understanding of science related careers. The STEM identities ofunderrepresented students grew positively
increased during the last decade.The results indicate that enrichment programs increase student awareness of and interest inSTEM careers. (Kwon, 2017) STEM focused summer camps have also demonstratedsignificant increases in student’s attitudes towards mathematics. (Wang & Frye, 2019) TheBroadening Access to Science Education Camp conducted a four-year investigation of theimpact of summer STEM camp on the interest in the pursuit of STEM careers. (Phelan, Harding,& Harper-Leatherman, 2017) Their findings state that 95% of participants applied to college, ofwhich 87% intended to pursue a career in a STEM related field. They also report increasedscience self-efficacy and understanding of science related careers. The STEM identities
science teachers integrate scientific argumentation activities intotheir instruction [22]. The former study showed that teachers improved their self-efficacy, beliefsabout students, and learning goals for students while the latter study showed no substantial effecton teachers’ argumentation knowledge, understanding, or practice. Similarly, studies inmathematics have examined how preservice elementary teachers learn to facilitate argumentationdiscussions over time [30] or as they respond to students’ incorrect responses to problem-solvingtasks [31].Regardless of field—science, mathematics, or engineering—this practice is one that is complexand requires sufficient time and learning opportunities in order for teachers to achieve mastery[20, 29, 32
, with single-gender groups having more equitable participationpatterns than mixed-gender groups. For example, in a systematic review of 94 studies of smallgroup discussions, researchers found that single-gender groups had more purposeful functioningthan mixed-gender groups [83]. Other studies have found that single-gender pairs of elementarystudents had more verbal interactions, were more task-focused, and were more likely to sharematerials [84]. In addition, students’ self-efficacy in engineering increased significantly if theyparticipated in single-gender engineering programs but decreased significantly for those inmixed-gender programs [86].Single-gender small groups may be particularly effective in fostering girls’ equitable engagementin