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A Student-centered Program to Increase STEM Interest Through NASA-STEM Content

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Efforts to Understand and Support Students' Socioemotional Factors

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

28

DOI

10.18260/1-2--36612

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/36612

Download Count

884

Paper Authors

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Madasamy Arockiasamy Florida Atlantic University

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- Faculty at Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering, Florida Atlantic University.

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Sudhagar Nagarajan Florida Atlantic University

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Hassan Mahfuz Florida Atlantic University

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Professor, Ocean and Mechanical Engineering at Florida Atlantic University. Fellow of ASME.

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Michael R. Maniaci Florida Atlantic University

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Dr. Maniaci is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University.

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Ishwarya Srikanth Florida Atlantic University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-3144-319X

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Ishwarya Srikanth is currently a PhD Candidate at the department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering at Florida Atlantic University. She completed her Double Masters program in Civil and Structural Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France and College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University Chennai, India in 2016. She has varied interests including Civil Engineering, STEM Education and Indian Classical Music.

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Stephen Michael Castillo

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Reinaldo L. Dos Santos Florida Atlantic University

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Biomedical engineering PhD student at the University of Cincinnati. I am interested in regenerative tissue engineering for craniofacial skull defects.

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Abstract

This article is an evidence-based practice paper which is based on NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Aerospace Academy (AA) program implemented at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The program is focused on student-centered methodology for infusion of NASA-STEM contents into the existing curriculum in middle and high schools. This novel program aims to increase awareness and create interest in underserved minority students in Grades 6-12 for pursuing STEM fields. FAU has designed and embedded the NASA-STEM contents into Florida’s existing Next Generation Sunshine Standards for Grades 6-12.

The implementation of embedding the NASA-STEM content modules is carried out by two participating schools - Lauderdale Lakes Middle School in Broward County and Lake Worth Community High School in Palm Beach County in Florida. The program aims to provide 36 hours of NASA STEM contents in each academic quarter. The STEM content uses available information from the four NASA Education mission directorates - Aeronautics Research, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Science, and Space Technology. The NASA STEM content is embedded so as to seamlessly blend into the Next Generation Sunshine Standards (NGSSS). The NASA STEM contents include in-class instruction, homework and after-class activities in a technology rich environment. The NASA STEM curriculum is supplemented and enhanced with authentic STEM experiences to families through Family Cafés held once a quarter. The Family Cafés are intended to improve students’ STEM learning and educational growth through parental support. Teachers’ professional development training and summer workshop are also organized with presentations by guest speakers from the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, Aerospace Industries and NASA EPDC (Educator Professional Development Collaborative) educators.

Program evaluations included both quantitative and qualitative data collection from students, teachers, and parents to evaluate the different components of the program: i) NASA-STEM content development, ii) Teachers’ professional development training, iii) Student learning activities, iv) Family Café events, and v) Summer workshop for STEM teachers. Based on the STEM teachers’ evaluation of the program, a majority of the teachers agreed that the student learning activities are engaging for students. A majority of teachers also agreed that the program improved their confidence in teaching NASA STEM contents in their classrooms. Based on the Family Café events’ surveys, a majority of the families commended the quality of information presented by the guest speakers, the hands-on activities and the technology demonstrations. The families agreed that the events increased their awareness and ability to support their child’s STEM pursuits. A majority of students agreed that activities such as the mobile planetarium event were a good use of their time, that they would like to have more such events in the future, and that the event increased their interest or knowledge in STEM. Based on the survey response from the 2-day summer workshop, all responding teachers agreed that the workshop themes are useful in increasing students’ STEM interest, skills, and knowledge. In this paper, a detailed methodology and evaluation results of the NASA STEM program are presented.

Arockiasamy, M., & Nagarajan, S., & Mahfuz, H., & Maniaci, M. R., & Srikanth, I., & Castillo, S. M., & Dos Santos, R. L. (2021, July), A Student-centered Program to Increase STEM Interest Through NASA-STEM Content Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36612

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