Pub Date : 2024-09-17DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00504-4
Dmitri Rozgonjuk, Karin Täht, Regina Soobard, Moonika Teppo, Miia Rannikmäe
STEM education has experienced significant growth due to its pivotal role in innovation and economic development. While cognitive factors like prior knowledge are known predictors of STEM success, non-cognitive factors, including attitudes and demographics, also play vital roles. However, there is a notable scarcity of research focusing on the "S" in STEM—science—compared to extensive studies in fields like mathematics. This study aims to address this gap by exploring gender differences in science test performance and related attitudes, providing insights into this under-researched aspect of STEM education. The effective sample comprised 1839 Estonian 12th-grade students who took a computer-assisted science test. The test consisted of tasks combining chemistry, physics, biology, and geography, and a post-test survey was also administered. Across the total sample, the results showed that test performance positively correlated with test-taking duration, effort, and test importance. Test performance was negatively correlated with perceived test difficulty. Interestingly, while general science anxiety was not associated with test performance, subject-specific anxiety, especially chemistry anxiety had a negative association with test performance. While there were no gender differences in test performance, female students scored consistently higher on all science anxiety measures, compared to male students. Furthermore, female students assessed the science test to be more difficult, and they also took more time to complete the test. The correlations in gender subsamples mirrored those observed in the total sample. The association between science test performance and test-related variables is nuanced: students might not necessarily have a “general” STEM anxiety but it may be associated with a specific subject. Moreover, the findings imply that although there are no gender differences in test performance, girls have a greater anxiety when it comes to natural sciences subjects. These findings indicate the need for investigating the origin of such anxieties, which do not seem to stem from aptitude.
{"title":"The S in STEM: gender differences in science anxiety and its relations with science test performance-related variables","authors":"Dmitri Rozgonjuk, Karin Täht, Regina Soobard, Moonika Teppo, Miia Rannikmäe","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00504-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00504-4","url":null,"abstract":"STEM education has experienced significant growth due to its pivotal role in innovation and economic development. While cognitive factors like prior knowledge are known predictors of STEM success, non-cognitive factors, including attitudes and demographics, also play vital roles. However, there is a notable scarcity of research focusing on the \"S\" in STEM—science—compared to extensive studies in fields like mathematics. This study aims to address this gap by exploring gender differences in science test performance and related attitudes, providing insights into this under-researched aspect of STEM education. The effective sample comprised 1839 Estonian 12th-grade students who took a computer-assisted science test. The test consisted of tasks combining chemistry, physics, biology, and geography, and a post-test survey was also administered. Across the total sample, the results showed that test performance positively correlated with test-taking duration, effort, and test importance. Test performance was negatively correlated with perceived test difficulty. Interestingly, while general science anxiety was not associated with test performance, subject-specific anxiety, especially chemistry anxiety had a negative association with test performance. While there were no gender differences in test performance, female students scored consistently higher on all science anxiety measures, compared to male students. Furthermore, female students assessed the science test to be more difficult, and they also took more time to complete the test. The correlations in gender subsamples mirrored those observed in the total sample. The association between science test performance and test-related variables is nuanced: students might not necessarily have a “general” STEM anxiety but it may be associated with a specific subject. Moreover, the findings imply that although there are no gender differences in test performance, girls have a greater anxiety when it comes to natural sciences subjects. These findings indicate the need for investigating the origin of such anxieties, which do not seem to stem from aptitude.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142264678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00498-z
Zuokun Li, Pey Tee Oon
Integrating computational thinking (CT) into STEM education has recently drawn significant attention, strengthened by the premise that CT and STEM are mutually reinforcing. Previous CT-STEM studies have examined theoretical interpretations, instructional strategies, and assessment targets. However, few have endeavored to delineate the transfer effects of CT-STEM on the development of cognitive and noncognitive benefits. Given this research gap, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to provide deeper insights. We analyzed results from 37 studies involving 7,832 students with 96 effect sizes. Our key findings include: (i) identification of 36 benefits; (ii) a moderate overall transfer effect, with moderate effects also observed for both near and far transfers; (iii) a stronger effect on cognitive benefits compared to noncognitive benefits, regardless of the transfer type; (iv) significant moderation by educational level, sample size, instructional strategies, and intervention duration on overall and near-transfer effects, with only educational level and sample size being significant moderators for far-transfer effects. This study analyzes the cognitive and noncognitive benefits arising from CT-STEM’s transfer effects, providing new insights to foster more effective STEM classroom teaching.
{"title":"The transfer effect of computational thinking (CT)-STEM: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis","authors":"Zuokun Li, Pey Tee Oon","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00498-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00498-z","url":null,"abstract":"Integrating computational thinking (CT) into STEM education has recently drawn significant attention, strengthened by the premise that CT and STEM are mutually reinforcing. Previous CT-STEM studies have examined theoretical interpretations, instructional strategies, and assessment targets. However, few have endeavored to delineate the transfer effects of CT-STEM on the development of cognitive and noncognitive benefits. Given this research gap, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to provide deeper insights. We analyzed results from 37 studies involving 7,832 students with 96 effect sizes. Our key findings include: (i) identification of 36 benefits; (ii) a moderate overall transfer effect, with moderate effects also observed for both near and far transfers; (iii) a stronger effect on cognitive benefits compared to noncognitive benefits, regardless of the transfer type; (iv) significant moderation by educational level, sample size, instructional strategies, and intervention duration on overall and near-transfer effects, with only educational level and sample size being significant moderators for far-transfer effects. This study analyzes the cognitive and noncognitive benefits arising from CT-STEM’s transfer effects, providing new insights to foster more effective STEM classroom teaching.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-05DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00503-5
Suarman Halawa, Tzu-Chiang Lin, Ying-Shao Hsu
This study aimed to analyze articles published in the Web of Science database from 2012 to 2021 to examine the educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. We selected articles based on the following criteria: (a) empirical research; (b) incorporating instructional design and strategies into STEM teaching; (c) including intervention; (d) focusing on K-12 education and on assessment of learning outcomes; and (e) excluding higher education and STEAM education. Based on the criteria, 229 articles were selected for coding educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. The aspects of STEM educational goals were coded including engagement and career choice, STEM literacy, and twenty-first century competencies. The categories of instructional designs for STEM education were examined including design-based learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and problem-based learning. The results showed that engagement and career choices and STEM literacy were mainly emphasized in STEM education. Design-based learning was adopted more than inquiry-based, project-based, or problem-based learning, and this instructional design was mainly used to achieve STEM literacy. It is suggested that studies on twenty-first century competencies may require more research efforts in future STEM education research.
{"title":"Exploring instructional design in K-12 STEM education: a systematic literature review","authors":"Suarman Halawa, Tzu-Chiang Lin, Ying-Shao Hsu","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00503-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00503-5","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to analyze articles published in the Web of Science database from 2012 to 2021 to examine the educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. We selected articles based on the following criteria: (a) empirical research; (b) incorporating instructional design and strategies into STEM teaching; (c) including intervention; (d) focusing on K-12 education and on assessment of learning outcomes; and (e) excluding higher education and STEAM education. Based on the criteria, 229 articles were selected for coding educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. The aspects of STEM educational goals were coded including engagement and career choice, STEM literacy, and twenty-first century competencies. The categories of instructional designs for STEM education were examined including design-based learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and problem-based learning. The results showed that engagement and career choices and STEM literacy were mainly emphasized in STEM education. Design-based learning was adopted more than inquiry-based, project-based, or problem-based learning, and this instructional design was mainly used to achieve STEM literacy. It is suggested that studies on twenty-first century competencies may require more research efforts in future STEM education research.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-30DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00501-7
C. Jynx Pigart, David P. MacKinnon, Katelyn M. Cooper
Fear of negative evaluation, defined as a sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated in a social situation, is the primary factor underlying student anxiety in college science courses and is disproportionately experienced by students who are underserved in science. Yet, it is unknown why fear of negative evaluation disproportionately affects these students and what can be done to reduce student fear of negative evaluation. Academic social comparison describes how students perceive themselves compared to their peers with regard to desirability as a groupmate, the extent they fit in among others in their major, and academic talent. We hypothesize that academic social comparison mediates the relationship between student identities and fear of negative evaluation, where individuals with underserved identities in science may perceive themselves as “less than” their peers, contributing to their fear of negative evaluation. We surveyed 909 undergraduate science majors across 15 research-intensive institutions in the United States (U.S.) to assess: (1) To what extent do student identities predict fear of negative evaluation among science undergraduates? and (2) For identities that significantly predict fear of negative evaluation, to what extent does academic social comparison mediate the relationship? We used regression, single-mediator models, and multi-mediator models to address our research questions. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + science majors reported disproportionately high fear of negative evaluation compared to men and non-LGBTQ + science majors. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + students also expressed lower academic social comparison relative to their respective counterparts, meaning they perceive themselves as less than their peers with regard to their desirability as a groupmate, the extent to which they fit in among others in their major, and their academic talent. Academic social comparison partially mediated the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and both gender and LGBTQ + status. Major fit, defined as the extent to which students perceive they fit in among others in their major, was found to be the primary mediating subconstruct of academic social comparison for both gender and LGBTQ + identities. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + science majors perceive themselves as less than their peers to a greater extent than men and non-LGBTQ + science majors, contributing to their higher fear of negative evaluation in college science course. Major fit, defined as the extent to which students feel they fit in with others in their major, is the subconstruct of academic social comparison that had the strongest influence on fear of negative evaluation in our sample. Academic social comparison is a promising target for future efforts aimed at decreasing fear of negative evaluation in active learning college science courses.
{"title":"Academic social comparison: a promising new target to reduce fear of negative evaluation in large-enrollment college science courses","authors":"C. Jynx Pigart, David P. MacKinnon, Katelyn M. Cooper","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00501-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00501-7","url":null,"abstract":"Fear of negative evaluation, defined as a sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated in a social situation, is the primary factor underlying student anxiety in college science courses and is disproportionately experienced by students who are underserved in science. Yet, it is unknown why fear of negative evaluation disproportionately affects these students and what can be done to reduce student fear of negative evaluation. Academic social comparison describes how students perceive themselves compared to their peers with regard to desirability as a groupmate, the extent they fit in among others in their major, and academic talent. We hypothesize that academic social comparison mediates the relationship between student identities and fear of negative evaluation, where individuals with underserved identities in science may perceive themselves as “less than” their peers, contributing to their fear of negative evaluation. We surveyed 909 undergraduate science majors across 15 research-intensive institutions in the United States (U.S.) to assess: (1) To what extent do student identities predict fear of negative evaluation among science undergraduates? and (2) For identities that significantly predict fear of negative evaluation, to what extent does academic social comparison mediate the relationship? We used regression, single-mediator models, and multi-mediator models to address our research questions. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + science majors reported disproportionately high fear of negative evaluation compared to men and non-LGBTQ + science majors. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + students also expressed lower academic social comparison relative to their respective counterparts, meaning they perceive themselves as less than their peers with regard to their desirability as a groupmate, the extent to which they fit in among others in their major, and their academic talent. Academic social comparison partially mediated the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and both gender and LGBTQ + status. Major fit, defined as the extent to which students perceive they fit in among others in their major, was found to be the primary mediating subconstruct of academic social comparison for both gender and LGBTQ + identities. Women/non-binary and LGBTQ + science majors perceive themselves as less than their peers to a greater extent than men and non-LGBTQ + science majors, contributing to their higher fear of negative evaluation in college science course. Major fit, defined as the extent to which students feel they fit in with others in their major, is the subconstruct of academic social comparison that had the strongest influence on fear of negative evaluation in our sample. Academic social comparison is a promising target for future efforts aimed at decreasing fear of negative evaluation in active learning college science courses.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-28DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00497-0
C. Cameron, H. Y. Lee, C. B. Anderson, E. K. Dahlstrom, S. Chang
Scientific communication (SC) has important social-cognitive, behavioral, and career-related benefits for emerging researchers, but both mentors and mentees find development of SC skills challenging. Whether training mentors to effectively mentor development of SC skills could have a meaningful impact on mentees was not clear. The Scientific Communication Advances Research Excellence (SCOARE) project has conducted faculty training workshops in techniques for mentoring SC skills since 2018. To study indirect workshop effects of mentors’ attendance at the SCOARE workshop on their matched PhD and postdoctoral mentees (N = 477), we surveyed mentees before and 6 months after their mentors attended and measured their social-psychological and behavioral outcomes. To examine the effectiveness of the workshop and to explore whether workshop effects vary based on mentee demographic characteristics, including home language variety (speaker of standardized English [STE], non-standardized English [NSTE], or another language [L2]), we conducted multilevel models. After adjusting baseline scores, mentees of mentors who attended SCOARE workshops (W +) were more engaged in speaking activities (β =0 .30, p = 0.016), had higher science identity (β = 0.20, p = 0.048), and were less likely to reconsider their career due to SC skills (β = – 0.39, p = 0.004) than mentees in the W– group. Across demographic groups, mentees of mentors who attended SCOARE workshops showed similar improvements in SC outcomes. Postdoctoral mentees, compared to doctoral mentees, had higher science identity and lower intention to pursue a non-research-intensive career. Comparing mentees of the 3 categories of home language variety, both the NSTE and L2 groups, compared to the STE group, were more likely to reconsider their careers due to SC skills and had a higher intention to pursue non-research-intensive careers both at baseline and post-workshop, suggesting the possibility of language background as a barrier to mentee career progression. Mentor training for SC skill development can improve social-psychological and behavioral outcomes for mentees, including science identity, frequency of speaking, and reconsideration of research careers due to concerns about SC.
{"title":"Helping mentors address scientific communication in STEM research training helps their mentees stay the course","authors":"C. Cameron, H. Y. Lee, C. B. Anderson, E. K. Dahlstrom, S. Chang","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00497-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00497-0","url":null,"abstract":"Scientific communication (SC) has important social-cognitive, behavioral, and career-related benefits for emerging researchers, but both mentors and mentees find development of SC skills challenging. Whether training mentors to effectively mentor development of SC skills could have a meaningful impact on mentees was not clear. The Scientific Communication Advances Research Excellence (SCOARE) project has conducted faculty training workshops in techniques for mentoring SC skills since 2018. To study indirect workshop effects of mentors’ attendance at the SCOARE workshop on their matched PhD and postdoctoral mentees (N = 477), we surveyed mentees before and 6 months after their mentors attended and measured their social-psychological and behavioral outcomes. To examine the effectiveness of the workshop and to explore whether workshop effects vary based on mentee demographic characteristics, including home language variety (speaker of standardized English [STE], non-standardized English [NSTE], or another language [L2]), we conducted multilevel models. After adjusting baseline scores, mentees of mentors who attended SCOARE workshops (W +) were more engaged in speaking activities (β =0 .30, p = 0.016), had higher science identity (β = 0.20, p = 0.048), and were less likely to reconsider their career due to SC skills (β = – 0.39, p = 0.004) than mentees in the W– group. Across demographic groups, mentees of mentors who attended SCOARE workshops showed similar improvements in SC outcomes. Postdoctoral mentees, compared to doctoral mentees, had higher science identity and lower intention to pursue a non-research-intensive career. Comparing mentees of the 3 categories of home language variety, both the NSTE and L2 groups, compared to the STE group, were more likely to reconsider their careers due to SC skills and had a higher intention to pursue non-research-intensive careers both at baseline and post-workshop, suggesting the possibility of language background as a barrier to mentee career progression. Mentor training for SC skill development can improve social-psychological and behavioral outcomes for mentees, including science identity, frequency of speaking, and reconsideration of research careers due to concerns about SC.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-28DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00502-6
Xi Wang, Minhao Dai, Kathleen M. Short
Motivation is the inherent belief to guide students learning goals and behaviors to make continuous efforts and strengthen learning outcomes. Previous research reported the positive impacts of learning motivation on student success, but there have been limited efforts in systematically and structurally studying different types of motivations and their impacts on students’ success in engineering education. The current study contributes to the literature by systematically examining two important types of motivations and their influences on undergraduate engineering students in a theoretically grounded manner while using an advanced analytical approach. The current study conducted a cross-sectional survey with undergraduate engineering students (n = 514) from 18 different schools across nine U.S. states. The survey assessed students’ self-report scores on six types of motivations to study developed based on formative research and the current literature and then collected students’ self-reported learning outcomes, current GPA, university satisfaction, engineering program satisfaction, and individual demographic factors. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that motivations related to family, personality, and academic expectations were consistently positively associated with all measured students’ success outcomes; motivations related to educators were associated with all four outcomes but student GPA; motivations related to course contents were associated with learning outcomes and student GPA; and motivations related to peers did not predict any of the four measured students’ success outcomes. We explain some of the unexpected results with further literature that examines engineering culture and ecology. We also make recommendations related to cognitive training, tailored engineering education, peer culture interventions, and family orientation programs.
{"title":"One size doesn’t fit all: how different types of learning motivations influence engineering undergraduate students’ success outcomes","authors":"Xi Wang, Minhao Dai, Kathleen M. Short","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00502-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00502-6","url":null,"abstract":"Motivation is the inherent belief to guide students learning goals and behaviors to make continuous efforts and strengthen learning outcomes. Previous research reported the positive impacts of learning motivation on student success, but there have been limited efforts in systematically and structurally studying different types of motivations and their impacts on students’ success in engineering education. The current study contributes to the literature by systematically examining two important types of motivations and their influences on undergraduate engineering students in a theoretically grounded manner while using an advanced analytical approach. The current study conducted a cross-sectional survey with undergraduate engineering students (n = 514) from 18 different schools across nine U.S. states. The survey assessed students’ self-report scores on six types of motivations to study developed based on formative research and the current literature and then collected students’ self-reported learning outcomes, current GPA, university satisfaction, engineering program satisfaction, and individual demographic factors. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that motivations related to family, personality, and academic expectations were consistently positively associated with all measured students’ success outcomes; motivations related to educators were associated with all four outcomes but student GPA; motivations related to course contents were associated with learning outcomes and student GPA; and motivations related to peers did not predict any of the four measured students’ success outcomes. We explain some of the unexpected results with further literature that examines engineering culture and ecology. We also make recommendations related to cognitive training, tailored engineering education, peer culture interventions, and family orientation programs.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-21DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00499-y
Hui Wang, Sophie Thompson-Lee, Rebecca J. S. Snell, Robert M. Klassen
This research employed a person-centred approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a recruitment intervention aimed at attracting STEM undergraduate students to the teaching profession. The study aimed to identify participant profiles based on changes of interest in teaching, examine the demographic factors associated with these profiles, and explore the outcomes associated with the identified profiles. A total of 267 participants from 18 universities in England were recruited for the study. The intervention involved presenting 12 vignettes that depicted different motivations for choosing teaching as a career. Participants rated their change of interest in teaching after reading each vignette. The latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: dissuaded participants, unpersuaded participants, moderately persuaded participants, and highly persuaded participants. The highly persuaded profile reported the highest levels of self-efficacy, interest, perceived fit, and enjoyment in teaching. Participants from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be persuaded by the recruitment intervention, but gender, ethnicity, or program levels did not significantly affect profile membership. The findings demonstrate the potential of recruitment interventions to influence the interest of STEM undergraduate students in teaching and underscore the importance of considering individual characteristics and motivations when attracting prospective teachers to the profession.
{"title":"Unlocking STEM pathways: A person-centred approach exploring a teacher recruitment intervention","authors":"Hui Wang, Sophie Thompson-Lee, Rebecca J. S. Snell, Robert M. Klassen","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00499-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00499-y","url":null,"abstract":"This research employed a person-centred approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a recruitment intervention aimed at attracting STEM undergraduate students to the teaching profession. The study aimed to identify participant profiles based on changes of interest in teaching, examine the demographic factors associated with these profiles, and explore the outcomes associated with the identified profiles. A total of 267 participants from 18 universities in England were recruited for the study. The intervention involved presenting 12 vignettes that depicted different motivations for choosing teaching as a career. Participants rated their change of interest in teaching after reading each vignette. The latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: dissuaded participants, unpersuaded participants, moderately persuaded participants, and highly persuaded participants. The highly persuaded profile reported the highest levels of self-efficacy, interest, perceived fit, and enjoyment in teaching. Participants from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be persuaded by the recruitment intervention, but gender, ethnicity, or program levels did not significantly affect profile membership. The findings demonstrate the potential of recruitment interventions to influence the interest of STEM undergraduate students in teaching and underscore the importance of considering individual characteristics and motivations when attracting prospective teachers to the profession.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the context of global educational reform, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, as an interdisciplinary educational model, has become increasingly central to foundational pedagogical reforms. However, research on the impact and development of STEM teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities is relatively limited. This meta-analysis explored STEM education’s impact on elementary and secondary school teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities. The review encompassed 21 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2023 and aimed to quantify the effect size of STEM interventions on teachers’ interdisciplinary abilities. A moderately positive correlation (r = 0.452) was found between STEM education and teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities. The role of potential moderating variables, including demographic traits, gender, academic qualifications, subject specialization, pedagogical tenure, and prior exposure to interdisciplinary learning, was scrutinized. The findings highlighted a substantial improvement in teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities through STEM education, emphasizing the critical role of knowledge integration. STEM programs significantly aided educators in bridging and amalgamating diverse disciplinary insights. Variations in the efficacy of STEM education across different educational tiers, subject domains, levels of teaching seniority, and interdisciplinary familiarity were identified, indicating that the benefits of STEM training were contingent upon individual teacher profiles. Notably, gender disparities in the enhancement of interdisciplinary teaching abilities through STEM education were not observed. Despite the methodological diversity of the included studies, which encompassed various research paradigms, sampling strategies, and evaluation instruments, the integration of findings across these diverse methodologies added intricacy to the interpretation of the meta-analytic results. The study’s potential limitations, such as the risk of sample selection bias and the use of potentially imprecise assessment tools, were acknowledged as possibly having influenced the meta-analytic outcomes. The findings had two implications. First, they provided a roadmap for the strategic design and execution of STEM initiatives aimed at fostering excellence in interdisciplinary teaching. Second, they highlighted the imperative for tailored approaches to the development of STEM teachers, which recognize the heterogeneous needs and potential based on their unique professional and experiential backgrounds.
{"title":"A meta-analysis of interdisciplinary teaching abilities among elementary and secondary school STEM teachers","authors":"Xinning Wu, Yaru Yang, Xianfeng Zhou, Yonggeng Xia, Huiyan Liao","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00500-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00500-8","url":null,"abstract":"In the context of global educational reform, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, as an interdisciplinary educational model, has become increasingly central to foundational pedagogical reforms. However, research on the impact and development of STEM teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities is relatively limited. This meta-analysis explored STEM education’s impact on elementary and secondary school teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities. The review encompassed 21 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2023 and aimed to quantify the effect size of STEM interventions on teachers’ interdisciplinary abilities. A moderately positive correlation (r = 0.452) was found between STEM education and teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities. The role of potential moderating variables, including demographic traits, gender, academic qualifications, subject specialization, pedagogical tenure, and prior exposure to interdisciplinary learning, was scrutinized. The findings highlighted a substantial improvement in teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching abilities through STEM education, emphasizing the critical role of knowledge integration. STEM programs significantly aided educators in bridging and amalgamating diverse disciplinary insights. Variations in the efficacy of STEM education across different educational tiers, subject domains, levels of teaching seniority, and interdisciplinary familiarity were identified, indicating that the benefits of STEM training were contingent upon individual teacher profiles. Notably, gender disparities in the enhancement of interdisciplinary teaching abilities through STEM education were not observed. Despite the methodological diversity of the included studies, which encompassed various research paradigms, sampling strategies, and evaluation instruments, the integration of findings across these diverse methodologies added intricacy to the interpretation of the meta-analytic results. The study’s potential limitations, such as the risk of sample selection bias and the use of potentially imprecise assessment tools, were acknowledged as possibly having influenced the meta-analytic outcomes. The findings had two implications. First, they provided a roadmap for the strategic design and execution of STEM initiatives aimed at fostering excellence in interdisciplinary teaching. Second, they highlighted the imperative for tailored approaches to the development of STEM teachers, which recognize the heterogeneous needs and potential based on their unique professional and experiential backgrounds.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-12DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00496-1
Jessica M. Karch, Sedrah Mashhour, Micah P. Koss, Ira Caspari-Gnann
The learning assistant (LA) model supports student success in undergraduate science courses; however, variation in outcomes has led to a call for more work investigating how the LA model is implemented. In this research, we used cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to characterize how three different instructors set up LA-facilitated classrooms and how LAs’ understanding and development of their practices was shaped by the classroom activity. CHAT is a sociocultural framework that provides a structured approach to studying complex activity systems directed toward specific objects. It conceptualizes change within these systems as expansive learning, in which experiencing a contradiction leads to internalization and critical self-reflection, and then externalization and a search for solutions and change. Through analyzing two semi-structured retrospective interviews from three professors and eleven LAs, we found that how the LA model was implemented differed based on STEM instructors’ pedagogical practices and goals. Each instructor leveraged LA-facilitated interactions to further learning and tasked LAs with emotionally supporting students to grapple with content and confusions in a safe environment; however, all three had different rules and divisions of labor that were influenced by their perspectives on learning and their objects for the class. For LAs, we found that they had multiple, sometimes conflicting, motives that can be described as either practical, what they described as their day-to-day job, or sense-making, how they made sense of the reason for their work. How these motives were integrated/separated or aligned/misaligned with the collective course object influenced LAs’ learning in practice through either a mechanism of consonance or contradiction. We found that each LA developed unique practices that reciprocally shaped and were shaped by the activity system in which they worked. This study helps bridge the bodies of research that focus on outcomes from the LA model and LA learning and development by describing how LA learning mechanisms are shaped by their context. We also show that variation in the LA model can be described both by classroom objects and by LAs’ development in dialogue with those objects. This work can be used to start to develop a deeper understanding of how students, instructors, and LAs experience the LA model.
学习助理（LA）模式有助于学生在本科理科课程中取得成功；然而，由于结果的差异，人们呼吁开展更多工作，调查如何实施学习助理模式。在这项研究中，我们使用文化历史活动理论（CHAT）来描述三位不同的指导教师是如何设置由 LA 主持的课堂的，以及课堂活动是如何影响 LA 对其实践的理解和发展的。历史活动理论是一种社会文化框架，为研究针对特定对象的复杂活动系统提供了一种结构化方法。它将这些系统中的变化概念化为扩展性学习，其中，经历矛盾导致内化和批判性自我反思，然后外化并寻求解决方案和变革。通过分析三位教授和 11 位法律助理的两次半结构式回顾性访谈，我们发现法律助理模式的实施方式因 STEM 教师的教学实践和目标而异。每一位教师都利用洛杉矶辅导员促进的互动来促进学习，并让洛杉矶辅导员在安全的环境中为学生提供情感支持，帮助他们解决学习内容和困惑；然而，三位教师都有不同的规则和分工，这些规则和分工受到他们对学习的看法和他们的课堂目标的影响。对于法律顾问，我们发现他们有多种动机，有时甚至是相互冲突的动机，这些动机可以被描述为实用性动机，即他们所描述的日常工作；也可以被描述为感性动机，即他们如何理解自己工作的原因。这些动机如何与集体课程目标相结合/相分离或相一致/相匹配，通过一种和谐或矛盾的机制影响着法律助理在实践中的学习。我们发现，每个法律助理都发展了独特的实践，这些实践相互影响着他们工作的活动系统，同时也被活动系统所影响。这项研究通过描述洛杉矶法律协会的学习机制是如何受其环境影响的，有助于弥合关注洛杉矶法律协会模式成果和洛杉矶法律协会学习与发展的研究机构之间的差距。我们还表明，LA 模式的变化既可以用课堂对象来描述，也可以用 LA 在与这些对象的对话中的发展来描述。这项工作可用于深入了解学生、教师和学习者是如何体验学习者模式的。
{"title":"Expansive learning in the learning assistant model: how instructors’ goals lead to differences in implementation and development of LAs’ practices","authors":"Jessica M. Karch, Sedrah Mashhour, Micah P. Koss, Ira Caspari-Gnann","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00496-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00496-1","url":null,"abstract":"The learning assistant (LA) model supports student success in undergraduate science courses; however, variation in outcomes has led to a call for more work investigating how the LA model is implemented. In this research, we used cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to characterize how three different instructors set up LA-facilitated classrooms and how LAs’ understanding and development of their practices was shaped by the classroom activity. CHAT is a sociocultural framework that provides a structured approach to studying complex activity systems directed toward specific objects. It conceptualizes change within these systems as expansive learning, in which experiencing a contradiction leads to internalization and critical self-reflection, and then externalization and a search for solutions and change. Through analyzing two semi-structured retrospective interviews from three professors and eleven LAs, we found that how the LA model was implemented differed based on STEM instructors’ pedagogical practices and goals. Each instructor leveraged LA-facilitated interactions to further learning and tasked LAs with emotionally supporting students to grapple with content and confusions in a safe environment; however, all three had different rules and divisions of labor that were influenced by their perspectives on learning and their objects for the class. For LAs, we found that they had multiple, sometimes conflicting, motives that can be described as either practical, what they described as their day-to-day job, or sense-making, how they made sense of the reason for their work. How these motives were integrated/separated or aligned/misaligned with the collective course object influenced LAs’ learning in practice through either a mechanism of consonance or contradiction. We found that each LA developed unique practices that reciprocally shaped and were shaped by the activity system in which they worked. This study helps bridge the bodies of research that focus on outcomes from the LA model and LA learning and development by describing how LA learning mechanisms are shaped by their context. We also show that variation in the LA model can be described both by classroom objects and by LAs’ development in dialogue with those objects. This work can be used to start to develop a deeper understanding of how students, instructors, and LAs experience the LA model.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142184514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-02DOI: 10.1186/s40594-024-00493-4
Maya Usher, Miri Barak
As artificial intelligence (AI) technology rapidly advances, it becomes imperative to equip students with tools to navigate through the many intricate ethical considerations surrounding its development and use. Despite growing recognition of this necessity, the integration of AI ethics into higher education curricula remains limited. This paucity highlights an urgent need for comprehensive ethics education initiatives in AI, particularly for science and engineering students who are at the forefront of these innovations. Hence, this research investigates the role of an online explicit-reflective learning module in fostering science and engineering graduate students' ethical knowledge, awareness, and problem-solving skills. The study’s participants included 90 graduate students specializing in diverse science and engineering research tracks. Employing the embedded mixed-methods approach, data were collected from pre- and post-intervention questionnaires with closed-ended and open-ended questions. The study's results indicate that the online explicit-reflective learning module significantly enhanced students' knowledge of AI ethics. Initially, students exhibited a medium–high level of perceived ethical awareness, which saw a modest but statistically significant enhancement following the participation. Notably, a more distinct increase was observed in students' actual awareness of ethical issues in AI, before and after the intervention. Content analysis of students’ responses to the open-ended questions revealed an increase in their ability to identify and articulate concerns relating to privacy breaches, the utilization of flawed datasets, and issues of biased social representation. Moreover, while students initially displayed limited problem-solving abilities in AI ethics, a considerable enhancement in these competencies was evident post-intervention. The study results highlight the important role of explicit-reflective learning in preparing future professionals in science and engineering with the skills necessary for ethical decision-making. The study highlights the need for placing more emphasis not only on students’ ability to identify AI-related ethical issues but also on their capacity to resolve and perhaps mitigate the impact of such ethical dilemmas.
{"title":"Unpacking the role of AI ethics online education for science and engineering students","authors":"Maya Usher, Miri Barak","doi":"10.1186/s40594-024-00493-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00493-4","url":null,"abstract":"As artificial intelligence (AI) technology rapidly advances, it becomes imperative to equip students with tools to navigate through the many intricate ethical considerations surrounding its development and use. Despite growing recognition of this necessity, the integration of AI ethics into higher education curricula remains limited. This paucity highlights an urgent need for comprehensive ethics education initiatives in AI, particularly for science and engineering students who are at the forefront of these innovations. Hence, this research investigates the role of an online explicit-reflective learning module in fostering science and engineering graduate students' ethical knowledge, awareness, and problem-solving skills. The study’s participants included 90 graduate students specializing in diverse science and engineering research tracks. Employing the embedded mixed-methods approach, data were collected from pre- and post-intervention questionnaires with closed-ended and open-ended questions. The study's results indicate that the online explicit-reflective learning module significantly enhanced students' knowledge of AI ethics. Initially, students exhibited a medium–high level of perceived ethical awareness, which saw a modest but statistically significant enhancement following the participation. Notably, a more distinct increase was observed in students' actual awareness of ethical issues in AI, before and after the intervention. Content analysis of students’ responses to the open-ended questions revealed an increase in their ability to identify and articulate concerns relating to privacy breaches, the utilization of flawed datasets, and issues of biased social representation. Moreover, while students initially displayed limited problem-solving abilities in AI ethics, a considerable enhancement in these competencies was evident post-intervention. The study results highlight the important role of explicit-reflective learning in preparing future professionals in science and engineering with the skills necessary for ethical decision-making. The study highlights the need for placing more emphasis not only on students’ ability to identify AI-related ethical issues but also on their capacity to resolve and perhaps mitigate the impact of such ethical dilemmas.","PeriodicalId":48581,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Stem Education","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141886454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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