Consistent with national trends, only about ½ of students who intend to major in STEM disciplines at Maryville College (MC) complete bachelor's degrees in these fields. The Scots Science Scholars (S[superscript 3] ) program was funded through the National Science Foundation's STEM Talent Extension Program to increase the number of students…

Background: Informal learning environments increase students' interest in STEM (e.g., Mohr-Schroeder et al. School Sci Math 114: 291-301, 2014) and increase the chances a student will pursue a STEM career (Kitchen et al. Sci Educ 102: 529-547, 2018). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an informal STEM summer learning experience…

Citizen science is on the rise, and Extension is poised to support this movement by offering technical assistance to citizen science programs, communities, federal partners, and researchers. The expansion of citizen science provides an opportunity for fostering innovative access to Extension resources and increasing engagement with new audiences.…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the results of a qualitative case study of three beginning elementary teachers' knowledge-in-practice of multicultural science education. Design/methodology/approach: Data included interviews, focus group discussions, audio-recorded lessons and daily field notes through the course of a month-long summer science…

This article describes an elementary science summer day camp at East Palatine High School in East Palestine, Ohio, for students in grades K-4, aided by high school (grades 9-12) student mentors. The school's Outdoor Area for Studies in Science (OASIS) is used for formal and informal studies in science for an elementary science camp week. The camp…

We describe interim results of an ongoing longitudinal pedagogical study investigating the efficacy of the Honours Integrated Science Program (iSci). We describe the pedagogical methods we use to prompt research skill development in a model from instructor-dependence to independent original research. We also describe a tool we use to help students…

In building a program to advance school leadership in science, a mechanism for prioritizing science education at a school was developed for schools and then carried out by school staff. The development process (including focus groups and interviews) and literature review yielded a difference in thought between teachers and administrators about…

The purpose of the study was to contribute to the literature regarding how STEM experiences affect preadolescent female students. More specifically, the purpose was to better understand the experience of 250 female fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students at a summer STEM camp and how those experiences might impact their interest in STEM subjects…

It is widely recognized that the United States needs to attract and retain more people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Intensive undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are one of the few strategies shown to improve longitudinal student interest and persistence in STEM-related career pathways; however, less…

To better prepare physiology students for 21st century careers, we incorporated classroom-based undergraduate research experiences and service learning/community-engaged learning (SLCE) into a college-level physiology laboratory course. The interventions were incorporated over 4 yr and assessed using validated surveys of student-reported learning…

To the extent that community college leadership seeks to provide access and equity to traditionally underrepresented groups, summer science bridge programs attempt to provide access to underrepresented science students. The problem addressed by the researcher is the impact of grade point average or science degree attainment of community college…

This research represents an unforeseen outcome of the authors' National Science Foundation Innovation Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program grant in science education. The grant itself focused on the use of serious educational games (SEGs) in the science classroom, both during and after school, to teach science content…

This article reports a systematic review of research on science programs in grades 6-12. Twenty-one studies met inclusion criteria including use of randomized or quasi-experimental assignment to conditions, measures that assess content emphasized equally in experimental and control groups, and a duration of at least 12 weeks. Programs fell into…

Youth are introduced to STEM topics through informal settings like science camps, aquaria, and zoos. In these interactive and sensory-rich environments, a well-designed programme can help participants to acquire knowledge and cultivate interest through experiential learning. Given the importance of informal activities in environmental education,…

The Lens on Climate Change (LOCC) is an informal, place-based science program designed to engage middle and high school students from underserved groups in learning and communicating about impacts of climate change on their communities. This student-driven experience involves identifying a local environmental challenge, researching the topic, and…