Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an applied STEM program first introduced nearly three decades ago to enhance the STEM content of Career Technical Education (CTE). Currently, more than 12,000 US high schools offer the program. Using data from three cohorts of public high school freshmen in Missouri, we investigate the impact of PLTW program offer…

This is a story of becoming. In this creative non-fiction essay, I share a case study of an informal science program for high school aged youth that took place over 5-weeks one summer in an urban park in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. I conducted observations, interviews, and artifact analysis to explore how youth environmental interest and identity…

This article describes how disciplinary literacy practices were enacted among youth within the context of Youth Built Change, a science based program incorporating principles of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). Highlighting two YPAR projects, one conducted in a predominantly Black and Latino/a suburban school and one conducted in a…

This study explores how a biology teacher from a summer science program engaged high school students of color in a three-week science unit exploring community health at the intersection of history, race, place, and power. The goal of this study is to better understand what community-driven science looks like in a science classroom when a health…

This article explores the perception of gender inequality in science and the influencing factors. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with students belonging to a science club; we present it as a case study. This research sheds light on what high school and university students studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instruction in the United States has been a major focus of educational reform since the release of the PISA rankings in 2000, which showed that the U.S. was behind many other countries on the international stage in the areas of Science and Math. Students are also leaving the "STEM…

Purpose: Studies have shown that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers remain to be one of the areas where there is considerable job growth (Lacey & Wright, 2009; National Science Board, 2010; Singh et al., 2002). However, in many rural regions, science teachers still find it challenging to motivate adolescents to…

This research project applied Projective Reflection (PR) as a theoretical and methodological framework to "facilitate" learning as identity exploration. PR was used to iteratively design and implement three versions of "Virtual City Planning," an augmenting virtual learning environment (AVLE) course in a science museum…

Background: To attend to the social production of girls of color in science through the lens of history in person and local contentious practice, we propose a relational and nonrepresentational reading of STEM pathways. We invoke the conceptual lenses of wayfaring, knots, and meshwork to highlight the infinite ways of figuring science and becoming…

Our planet is facing many environmental challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and habitat, and pollution, while many of our populations are also experiencing marginalization due to poverty, race, gender, language, ability, and environmental injustices. Environmental hazards and policies often impact those in society who are…

In the secondary and high school science program implemented in Turkey in 2018, the importance of engineering and design skills is underlined under domain-specific skills. The purpose of this study, in which case study method, one of the qualitative research methods, is used to examine the engineering design skills of high school students within…

Science mentoring programs are powerful opportunities for youth to develop conceptual knowledge, undertake authentic practices, and have impacts on their science-related identity work. Here, we use design-based research to understand how a university-community partnership expanded upon traditional mentoring structures to facilitate…

This longitudinal critical ethnographic study gave voices to Black and Brown girls who are racially and traditionally marginalized in STEM education. With the understanding that current science curricula are not culturally inclusive (Adjapong & Emdin, 2015; Atwater, 1996; Emdin, 2016; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Mensah, 2012; Takaki, 2012), the…

The Transformative Experience Questionnaire (TEQ) has previously been used only in formal science learning environments to examine how students' learning experiences extend beyond the classroom into their daily lives. In the present study, an example of how this tool can be useful to assess transformative experiences in an informal learning…

Biology education plays a vital role in nurturing the understanding of learners about the intricacy of life. Various efforts have emerged to strengthen learning biological concepts but there were still studies that showed that learners have low mastery in some aspects. To determine how well students understood various biological topics, including…