Engaging pre-service teachers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) challenges offers active learning experiences that promote an understanding of the significance of STEAM in early childhood education. By integrating community, cultural, and personal assets, STEAM becomes a versatile approach with endless opportunities for…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty members transitioned their courses online. This paper describes how assessment practices were altered in online "active learning" STEM recitations at a large research university. Survey data collected for this study included aspects of the in-person recitation that were retained, lost, or…

The purpose of this article is to understand how educators may support students from different backgrounds (both relatively privileged and marginalized) to participate equitably and meaningfully in ethical data science discussions. To do this, we draw on the literature regarding STEM identity formation, use Cobb and Yackel's (1996) framework for…

In order to improve the student success rate in a "gateway" undergraduate Biology course, changes were made to both content delivery and classroom support, and the impact of these changes was measured. Requiring students to interact with course material prior to class time by viewing pre-recorded lectures freed up time in class to delve…

The Prospect Park Biodiversity Project was a SENCER collaboration project between the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Mathematics at the New York City College of Technology. The goal of this project was to enhance students' participation and learning in STEM disciplines through a civically engaged framework. The project utilized…

Gateway courses are high-enrollment, low completion introductory courses foundational to a major. Because these courses have a disproportionately negative impact on the retention and persistence of Latinx students to their desired STEM major, we refer to these understudied, high-stakes courses as gatekeeping courses. Framing our exploratory study…

The Student Participation Observation Tool (SPOT) is a web-based classroom observation protocol developed for higher education STEM courses and based on research on evidence-based practices. The low-inference and objective nature of the SPOT and visual outputs make it an optimal tool for teaching professional development. The SPOT allows novice…

A project-based art instillation, with the purpose of delivering a message, provided high school students with authentic learning. In an ever-changing world, students need a highly skilled and knowledgeable teacher to be the guide-at-the-side. This case study challenges P-12 teachers to see students as capable learners. Teachers allowed for…

Overwhelming evidence demonstrating the benefits of active-learning pedagogy has led to a shift in teaching that requires students to interact more in the classroom. To date, few studies have assessed whether there are gender-specific differences in participation in active-learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses,…

The purpose of this action research was to implement a digital game development project and describe its effects on the performance and attitudes of eighth-grade students in a required computer science course at South Carolina School District Alpha. The following research questions were explored: (1) How does the game development project impact…

Maintaining undergraduate interest in STEM is a formidable challenge. Numerous studies have reported that structured, authentic research experiences in the classroom increase retention rates and introduce students to the skills needed to conduct independent research as upperclassmen and beyond. Most importantly, these strategies are inclusive,…

Background: Research illustrates that student motivations influence learning engagement, persistence, and achievement in powerful ways and that positive motivations are linked to deeper learning, critical thinking, pro-social behavior, and better performance. Most studies of learner motivation, however, are conducted outside of STEM and are…

Schools in the United States are not producing competent STEM graduates qualified to meet employment demands. STEM employment is projected to increase twice as quickly as all other occupations combined over the next decade. Since competition is increasing internationally for scientific and technological innovations, the United States is focusing…

Little is known about the impact of science fair participation on student science inquiry learning. Furthermore, there is only a small research base relating to science fair participation and student attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and coursework. In this study, 41 seventh-grade science fair…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education is currently receiving much attention from governments and educational institutions. Our work is based on active learning and video-based learning approaches to support STEM education. Here, we aimed to increase students' engagement through reflective processes that embrace video…