STEM Mentorship Programs: A Corporate and University Perspective

poster abstractThe US2020 National Mentoring Initiative, with a goal of engaging 1 million mentors in STEM programming by the year 2020, was born out of a call to action from President Obama. The TechPoint Foundation for Youth (TPF4Y) has taken on the role of Coalition Lead for US2020 in Indianapolis. Indianapolis has a large and growing STEM community, with extensive STEM knowledge and wisdom, but, in 2013, had no large scale system to connect potential mentors and K-12 mentees. To address this issue, TechPoint Foundation for Youth assembled a core group of STEM-based corporate partners in the city and joined the US2020 program, adding the support of three AmeriCorps VISTAs—Volunteers in Service to America—who each had roles dedicated to a piece of the volunteer coordination continuum. In partnership with Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the STEM Education Research Institute, TPF4Y also sought to increase the awareness of US2020 and STEM mentoring programs on a college campus. This presentation will share growing pains and learned lessons from Year 1 that can apply to the development of future STEM mentorship programs both in a company and on a college campus

Identifying Connections and Potential Synergies among IUPUI STEM Education Initiatives

poster abstractSERI is the new STEM Education Research Institute at IUPUI. One of its initial projects is a search for potential synergies among the many STEM education initiatives ongoing at IUPUI. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish best practices for identifying and implementing such synergistic connections among STEM education initiatives within a single large campus or consortium of geographically connected smaller campuses. The project will be implemented in three phases. During Phase 1, which is currently underway, SERI researchers will non-intrusively identify and categorize campus STEM education initiatives through IUPUI websites, institutional reports, and funding reports from foundations such as NSF and NIH. In Phase 2, researchers will both conduct fact-checking interviews with IUPUI faculty/staff and develop a comprehensive and accessible database of current STEM education initiatives across campus. With Phase 3, researchers will conduct an analysis of IUPUI’s initiatives using the database and, when needed, additional faculty/staff interviews both to assess internal synergy and cost-saving and to identify the potential for additional synergistic development at IUPUI. Following the completion of this tripartite process, results will be gathered and assembled into an NIH or NSF proposal requesting funding to formalize the process and expand it to a sample of other campuses

Development of Undergraduate STEM Students through Global Service-Learning in a Medical Context

poster abstractGlobal service-learning and study abroad programs have the potential to affect students’ personal, social, and professional development. The exact ways in which this development is influenced by international medical service-learning has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. This study analyzes the motivations, experiences, and outcomes of undergraduate STEM students participating in a weeklong international medical service-learning and study abroad trip to Las Canas, Dominican Republic. Participants had various backgrounds, STEM majors, and career goals. Utilizing a mixed-methods research approach consisting of observations, interviews, participant reflections, and pre- and post-trip surveys, several of the meaningful motivations, experiences, and outcomes for the participants were identified. Additionally, two case studies were produced by qualitatively collecting data from multiple sources and reporting the description and themes of the cases. The specific aims of this study were understanding: 1) the individual experiences during a health science-based study abroad trip that are instrumental in refining and solidifying STEM interest; and 2) the personal, social, and professional student-level outcomes produced by an international medical service-learning experience. Through the case studies, the combined impact of past and trip experiences was explored as it relates to experiential learning and identity development. For case study participants Brianna and Hannah, the trip combined multiple experiences that were relevant to their career goals, such as working with underserved populations and involvement with global health

Evaluating K-12 STEM Education Programs in Indiana: The SERI/I-STEM Partnership

poster abstractThe Indiana Science Initiative (ISI) is a K-8 systemic science and literacy program managed by the I-STEM Resource Network involving 2,000+ teachers and 53,000+ students in grades K-8 using research-developed curricular modules. The poster will present data and preliminary analysis on three key program evaluation areas. First, initial data will be presented on student performance at ten schools where all teachers at all grade levels implemented the ISI during both the pilot and first year. Secondly, the poster will present the preliminary analysis of data from the Lilly Science Coaches, which is a program that places Lilly staff and scientists with ISI teachers to support science program implementation through regular or semi-regular classroom visits. Finally, results of change in teachers’ self-efficacy as measured via the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) will be reported. The early indications of these data are positive towards the success of the programs. This evaluation represents a partnership between the STEM Education Research Institute at IUPUI (SERI) and the I-STEM Resource Network. A summary of implications for this type of partnership are also presented

Adolescent women's daily academic behaviors, sexual behaviors, and sexually related emotions

PURPOSE: Emerging literature suggests that the emotional and behavioral experience in young women's romantic/sexual relationships may link to their academic success. However, existing studies' reliance on retrospective and/or global measures prevents detailed understanding of how and when specific academic experiences link to specific relationship experiences and whether these associations could vary over different school days. METHODS: Adolescent women (N = 387; 14-17 years at enrollment) were recruited from primary care adolescent clinics for a longitudinal cohort study of sexual relationships and sexual behavior. Participants provided daily diary information on academic behaviors, sexual emotions, and sexual behaviors. Chi-square and generalized estimating equation ordinal logistic or linear regression, respectively, assessed prevalence of sexual behaviors or differences in sexual emotions when academic behaviors did and did not occur. RESULTS: Young women's weekday reports of skipping school or failing a test were significantly linked to more frequent vaginal sex, less frequent condom use, and different levels of sexual emotions, on that same day. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that the emotional and behavioral experiences in young women's romantic/sexual relationships may impact young women's reaction to academic events

Understanding the INDA Student Summer Camp Experience

poster abstractSERI conducted an evaluation of IUPUI’s Nanotechnology Discovery Academy (INDA) for students (n=47) during the summer of 2013. SERI evaluators utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods evaluation plan comprised of surveys (pre- and post-), observations, and four student focus groups. Using a mixed methods approach facilitates a dialogue between quantitative representations of change and the everyday experiences and perceptions of participating students, thereby constructing insights into the complexity of the learning process and its effects. Student learning outcomes and comfort with collaborative learning were measured through pre- and post-question change. A student Nanoscore was determined using survey questions assessing nanotechnology comfort, confidence, and understanding. Both the change in student Nanoscore and their comfort with collaborative learning had statistically significant increases. Qualitative data was used to elaborate on the significance of these changes, suggesting that INDA provided an educational environment that emphasized and improved nanotechnology awareness and collaborative abilities. However, findings from this evaluation also reveal that many participants struggled with the interdisciplinarity of nanotechnology. More specifically, students who had yet to take high school physics reported struggling with INDA content due to their lack of physics knowledge

Impact of Sustainability Study Abroad Course on Students

The School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has offered a short study abroad course, called GO GREEN, on sustainable practices in businesses, industries and municipalities in Germany for the past 15 years. Over 150 students have participated in the course since its inception in 2003. A survey was conducted to determine what these students had ascertained from the course and to see if any of these students were using the skills acquired in this class in their work or daily lives. The survey, consisting of 23 questions, was designed to determine how students have used the interdisciplinary subject matter of sustainability in their lives and careers after taking the course, as well as, questions about key elements of the course. Some of the results of the survey will be discussed in this paper/presentation

The Efficacy of Project Lead the Way: A Systematic Literature Review

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a non-profit organization offering project-based STEM education curricula for K-12 students. As of 2015, PLTW was by far the largest pre-engineering program implemented throughout the United States with a presence in over 6500 schools. Since its conception in 1997, PLTW rapidly expanded and today covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The PLTW Engineering curriculum offers a sequence of courses that students may take over the course of high school, and many university programs allow students who complete this sequence the opportunity to earn college credit. The PLTW Gateway curriculum targets students in Grades 6-8 and the PLTW Launch curriculum targets K-5 students. See the PLTW website for current program titles. They now simply use PLTW Engineering, PLTW Gateway and PLTW Launch. This study investigates the efficacy of PLTW efforts through a systematic literature review process. Specifically, we explored the following research questions: • To what extent has PLTW been an area of scholarly investigation and what has been the nature of these investigations? • What primary strengths and weaknesses of PLTW have these investigations identified? • What gaps in PLTW literature exist and what future research is needed? After an initial data collection and literature reduction processes, we synthesized 31 articles that collected and analyzed empirical data related to PLTW. Our gathered literature included 16 journal articles, 11 dissertations, and 4 theses. Using an emergent coding process, we found that primary strengths of PLTW curricula include motivating students to pursue STEM degrees, providing teachers with professional development opportunities and support, and facilitating student interest in STEM subjects. However, weaknesses of PLTW include minimal evidence supporting PLTW in improving students’ mathematics and science abilities, scheduling and space issues, and moderate financial costs for schools to participate in PLTW. Altogether, the literature collected varied widely and, as a result, each of these strengths and weaknesses requires further investigation. This study concludes with an identification of gaps in PLTW literature that can focus future PLTW-related investigations and, if investigated, help improve future PLTW-related interventions

Project Lead the Way: Analysis of Statewide Student Outcomes

poster abstractProject Lead the Way (PLTW) is a STEM education programming provider implementing hands-on, project-based engineering or biomedical science curricula in U.S. secondary schools. The goal of PLTW is to increase student interest and knowledge in these and other STEM majors/careers. A large, longitudinal dataset of students who graduated from an Indiana high school in 2010 was created. Preliminary analysis of the dataset found that students who took PLTW engineering courses were significantly more likely to select a STEM major, select an engineering major in college, and persist from the first to the second year of college. Additionally, taking three or more PLTW classes increased the likelihood of selecting a STEM major, selecting an engineering major in college, and persisting from the first to the second year of college. We also examined factors of PLTW students that made them more likely to major in a STEM field, enroll in a 4-year institution, and persist from their first to their second year of college. We found that being male, having a higher math ISTEP+ score, and receiving an honors diploma increased a PLTW students’ likelihood of majoring in STEM. PLTW students who were not eligible for free and reduced lunch, who were part of an underrepresented minority, who received an honors diploma, and who had higher ELA ISTEP+ scores were more likely to attend a 4-year institution. PLTW students who received an honors diploma and were not eligible for free and reduced lunch are more likely to persist from freshman to sophomore year. These findings elucidate interesting and important patterns in the data, highlighting a need for “scale-up research” to further determine the potential factors influencing student access and success. As such, the broad objective of our future research is to produce a multi-scalar representation of PLTW outcomes in Indiana, which can then be used as a modality for understanding the outcomes, impacts, and factors influencing PLTW success nationwide. More specifically, the project will identify PLTW outcomes in rural, suburban, and urban schools and their effects on the everyday experience of students in STEM programs at IUPUI. This multi-scalar approach will explore the broader sociocultural configuration of Indiana high schools, the extent to which those schools evidence PLTW implementation fidelity, and the longitudinal impact of PLTW curriculum on current STEM majors at IUPUI

A Multilevel Analysis of Persistence of Students Taking a Pre-Engineering Curriculum in High School

Using data from the 2010 Indiana, USA public high school graduating class (N=55612), this project employed a multi-level analysis to determine, what if any differences occurred in majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math and freshman to sophomore year persistence, between students attending a school that offers Project Lead the Way and students that don’t, while controlling for being a PLTW student. Results imply that PLTW had a statistically significant impact on the students participating in the program excluding students who were eligible for free and reduced lunch. However, this impact does not appear to carry over to the rest of the student body that does not participate in PLTW