Targeted marketing to the underserved: Examining the factors that influence college intent and choice for minority male high school students in Edgecombe County, North Carolina

This mixed-methods study investigates the real and perceived barriers that African American male Edgecombe County high school students face when considering college enrollment to inform potential interventions to improve college enrollment of this market segment. Phase I of the study design included a survey of current, African American, male college students to determine potential barriers African American high school students may face when considering college. Phase II included semi-structured group interviews of African American male Edgecombe County high school students. "Uncertainty" and "frustration" were revealed as the main barriers these students face when considering postsecondary enrollment. Participants indicated uncertainty about college majors, college cost, paying for college, student loans, money, and self-efficacy. Additionally, participants indicated frustration related to course choices in college programs, mathematics classes, as well as their high school GPA not being an accurate indicator of their ability. Phase III included the development of career and technical education (CTE) certificates to create more dual enrollment options for underserved students. Finally, a focus group review of 9-14 pathway samples by African American male students was used to develop a student-informed template for future 9-14 pathways utilized by Edgecombe Community College. Responses from study participants and subsequent meetings with key stakeholders show opportunities to improve the college approach to recruiting students from this demographic. More dual-enrollment certificate options and clearly defined educational pathways (from high school through college) with job market analysis incorporated in those pathways were tools that this study has indicated may help create more postsecondary opportunities for African American male high students in the Edgecombe Community College service area. Additionally, financial aid literacy initiatives for both students and parents and increased recruiting visits to area high schools as the Novel Corona Virus pandemic begins to wane were also indicated as outreach and recruitment strategies. The findings of this study helped develop intentional, dual enrollment certificate options and 9-14 educational pathways the college will utilize to create more postsecondary opportunities for African American males and other underserved groups of students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Supporting Future Teachers to Promote Computational Thinking Skills in Teaching STEM—A Case Study

In recent years, teachers in various fields, such as science, mathematics, linguistics and others, have been interested in alternative learning strategies as opposed to traditional activities, in order to help students to examine their learning progress. The integration of computational thinking in teaching activities, after returning to face-to-face activities, can meet the needs of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research, two samples of students in their first year of study were recruited for the teacher training program validation for computational skills in STEM education. The training model offers an explanation for the differences between the following two sets of data: the CT modules used in a substantial number of teacher workshops, and the results obtained, which are closely related to the argument that teachers can support students’ lifelong learning by developing computational thinking activities. The results related to the students’ scores may have contributed to their improvement in computational thinking skills and it could be one of the best examples of how to change the ways of learning about 21st century skills and sustainable education.

Enriching STEM Curricula with Electronic Resources for Teaching Online

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed many aspects of people’s lives, including all forms of education. Online studies and distance learning have become a reality across the globe. This study offers a detailed review of the effectiveness of “traditional” virtual class activities (online lectures with recordings, video conferencing, and virtual lab demonstrations) as well as openly-accessed educational resources (digital libraries, collections of the digitized films and videos, free-license software tools, hands-on lab tutorials, and project-development environments and infrastructures) that could be effectively used by instructors and students to enrich STEM educational activities. The case studies overview the necessity of improving students’ self-study skills, online tutoring, faculty training, new partnerships between academic institutions and high-tech companies, the role of multimedia platforms, and financial-support opportunities. The challenges of unresolved issues (remote internship, constraints of old-style professional certification examinations and learning-outcome assessments, and violations of students’ privacy in Cloud and social-media communications) are addressed.

Closing the Achievement Gap by Bringing STEM Kits Home

According to Quinn and Polikoff (2017), "summer slide" is a phenomenon in which students' academic skills regress over the summer. To assist students who do not have internet connectivity during extended breaks, the authors created STEM kits in which educational materials and directions are placed in a bag and provided to students who would be most at risk of falling behind academically. Because these activities were aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS;NGSS Lead States 2013) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS-M;NGAC and CCSSO 2010), the STEM kits helped students to continue their academic progress through hands-on activities. In these cases, teachers can have materials available, and students can help package them before leaving for break. [...]the STEM kits can also be used to complement instruction in an online or hybrid format. [...]the authors encouraged students to use their cell phones to create a short video or share

Career and technical education high school teachers perceptions of social, emotional, and academic learning in the COVID-19 pandemic during remote and hybrid learning

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and teachers had to change how they taught overnight. Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers had a particularly difficult task of shifting their classes to an online format due to the hands-on nature of the courses. This qualitative study examined the perceptions of high school CTE teachers and how their students were impacted socially, emotionally, and academically during the pandemic. The overarching research question that guided this study was: "What are CTE teachers' perceptions of how their students were impacted socially, emotionally, and academically during the COVID-19 pandemic?" The research was conducted in the Midwest part of the United States in one suburban high school with CTE teachers. These teachers all taught during the COVID-19 pandemic in a remote and/or hybrid model. The theoretical framework for the research, which helped in making sense of the data, was from Bandura's social cognitive theory and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework. This study involved virtual one-on-one interviews and a virtual focus group to gather data. The findings from the data resulted in three themes: Social Interactions, Emotional Disconnect, and Academic Expectations Shifted. Practical implications from the results of this study provide an overview for school districts on the perceptions of CTE teachers and how students are impacted. It will allow teachers and school leaders to re-evaluate how students access Tier 1 supports in the school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Benchmarking the assessment of barriers to the admission of management education in India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose>This paper proposes a decision-making framework for assessing various dimensions and barriers that have affected the admission process in management educational institutions during the ongoing pandemic. The framework considers the interrelationship between the obstacles and highlights the importance of each barrier.Design/methodology/approach>An integrated method based on decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and analytical network process is proposed to structure the barrier assessment framework. Results obtained from the study are validated by comparing them against the conventional analytical hierarchy process.Findings>The results obtained from this study indicate four significant dimensions that hinder admission in Indian management institutes, namely, governmental, financial, sectoral, institutional and market. The top five barriers are demand shift towards technical (alternative) skills, acceptance of the graduated students, lack of industry–institute collaboration, lack of long-term vision and opening new Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs).Research limitations/implications>During this ongoing pandemic, many educational institutes have been forced to shift from the traditional classroom to a virtual teaching model. In this regard, this study helps identify and assess the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during this epidemic and thus, contribute to the literature. The findings will assist all stakeholders and policymakers of management institutions design and develop appropriate managerial strategies. The study is conducted in the Indian management educational institute context and can be extended to technical education institutions for deeper insights.Originality/value>The paper develops an assessment framework for analysing the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Research implications are discussed in the context of a developing country.

Adaptive Individual Differences in Math Courses

A higher education that can be defined as sustainable ensures the acquisition of competencies that are necessary to address the current and future needs of the society in which it exists. Because math competencies are an essential component of college students’ academic and professional success, poor performance outcomes are particularly problematic in the context of an education that aims to be sustainable. This research sought to identify dispositions that are predictive of math performance in the post-pandemic world to develop an early detection system for at-risk students of an understudied population (college students of Middle Eastern descent from Saudi Arabia). It specifically targeted female and male students in STEM or non-STEM majors who were enrolled in a math course of the general education curriculum. During the second semester of a return to entirely face-to-face instruction, their self-efficacy, math learning anxiety, math evaluation anxiety, and preference for morning or evening study activities were surveyed. In the post-pandemic world of this understudied population, the math performance of STEM male and female students was hurt by concerns about learning math. The math performance of non-STEM male students benefited from self-efficacy, whereas that of non-STEM female students was unaffected by any of the dispositions surveyed in the present investigation. These findings suggest that individual difference measures can inform early interventions intended to address performance deficiencies in selected groups of students with the overreaching goal of ensuring a sustainable education for all.

“Thanks for helping me find my enthusiasm for physics”: the lasting impacts “research in schools” projects can have on students, teachers, and schools

Using 6 years of evaluation data, we assess the medium- and long-term impacts upon a diverse range of students, teachers, and schools from participating in a programme of protracted university-mentored projects based on cutting-edge space science, astronomy, and particle physics research. After having completed their 6-month-long projects, the 14–18-year-old school students report having substantially increased in confidence relating to relevant scientific topics and methods as well as having developed numerous skills, outcomes which are corroborated by teachers. There is evidence that the projects helped increase students' aspirations towards physics, whereas science aspirations (generally high to begin with) were typically maintained or confirmed through their involvement. Longitudinal evaluation 3 years later has revealed that these projects have been lasting experiences for students which they have benefited from and drawn upon in their subsequent university education. Data on students' destinations suggest that their involvement in research projects has made them more likely to undertake physics and STEM degrees than would otherwise be expected. Cases of co-created novel physics research resulting from Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE) has also seemed to have a powerful effect, not only on the student co-authors, but also participating students from other schools. Teachers have also been positively affected through participating, with the programme having influenced their own knowledge, skills, and pedagogy, as well as having advantageous effects felt across their wider schools. These impacts suggest that similar “research in schools” initiatives may have a role to play in aiding the increased uptake and diversity of physics and/or STEM in higher education as well as meaningfully enhancing the STEM environment within schools.

Experimental Mathematics - A Course-Based Research Experience in Machine Learning

Efforts to expand the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce have been topics of United States policy action for more than 50 years (Hira 2010). Unfortunately, among U.S. undergraduate curricula, STEM has one of the highest attrition rates (Tinto 1993) with less than half of students in the U.S. that enroll in an undergraduate STEM program ultimately receiving a degree in a STEM field (Hayes 2009). Naturally, the high rate of attrition is a topic of persisting concern. Many programs have been designed and implemented to model best practices in retaining students in STEM disciplines. One retention strategy is to engage STEM undergraduates in research experiences, and a number of programs have been implemented to provide such experiences. The Towson University Research Enhancement Program (TU REP) is one such program. This cohort-based program supports faculty in the development of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). In this note we describe a CURE in machine learning offered by the Towson University Department of Mathematics whose development was supported by TU REP. We categorize this course along the spectrum of traditional, inquiry, CURE and internship in each of the five dimensions characteristic of a CURE.

Work-In-Progress: Hybrid Education: From Telecommuting with e-Learning to Broadcasting Ourselves

The popularity of Distance Learning during the Covid-19 lockdowns, apart from adhering to the doctrine of utilitarianism as a serviceable amenity for societies deprived of their natural outlets for mental effort, has also served as a forerunner for services and activities that could reshape the formal manner for conveying professional training. In the sphere of Educational TV, the exchange of standardized high-level emissions regulating the transfer of skills and knowledge on specific subjects has been plagued by phrenic pursuits to cling online learning material, designed for use in an Institute’s training courseware, as a de facto substitute compelling the thoroughness or comprehensiveness of regular study material. This research examines how this stance fits in accordance with facts or reality. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

best-practices in STEM education in a virtual learning environment

Quality STEM curricula combines rich content and challenging activities, which require rigor, creativity, teamwork, perseverance, problem-solving skills, conceptual orientation, and higher-order thinking skills (National Science Foundation, 2011;Patel et al., 2019). Middle school curricula should strengthen students' academic core, immersing them in high quality math and science courses taught by highly qualified and effective teachers, and establish supportive and safe learning environments that value students and their learning (Indiana Department of Education, 2013;Torres et al., 2014). High school students should also confidently accept failure as a positive experience and opportunity to practice on-the job skills, which include taking risks and troubleshooting (Simpson & Maltese, 2016). PBL has been shown to increase student achievement and is a product of the constructivist learning theory, which suggests people learn better when they actively participate in the learning process while interacting with their peers and with the instructor in a meaningful way (Verma et al., 2011).

Evaluating the Online Learning Experience at Higher Education Institutions

In light of recent COVID-19 pandemic, universities had to cope by resorting to online learning without previous preparation. This paper tries to investigate students’ satisfaction with online learning. The literature review identified seven factors that influence satisfaction (quality, interaction, information technology, academic experience, comprehension, student support, and assessment), with four demographic factors (grade point average (GPA), gender, nationality, and major classification). All variables were significant predictors of satisfaction except assessment. Only GPA was a significant predictor among the four demographic factors. Mean comparisons on the level of satisfaction indicated that no difference between females and males, nationals possessed higher levels of satisfaction, and non-STEM students possessed higher satisfaction level. The study utilized a sample of 2,354 students from a public university in the Gulf region. The coefficient of determination for the regression model was 0.723. Conclusions and implications are reported at the end of the paper.

Unplugged Activities in Cross-Curricular Teaching: Effect on Sixth Graders’ Computational Thinking and Learning Outcomes

There is a debate about the way to introduce computational thinking (CT) in schools. Different proposals are on the table;these include the creation of new computational areas for developing CT, the introduction of CT in STEM areas, and the cross-curricular integration of CT in schools. There is also concern that no student should be left behind, independently of their economic situation. To this effect, an unplugged approach is the most cost-effective solution. In addition, this topic is interesting in the context of a pandemic situation that has prevented the sharing of materials between students. This study analyzes an unplugged cross-curricular introduction of CT in the Social Sciences area among sixth grade students. A group of 14 students was selected to carry out an unplugged intervention design—where they were required to program an imaginary robot on paper—in the Social Sciences area. Their CT development and academic results were compared to those of 31 students from the control group who continued attending regular classes. Results showed that an unplugged teaching style of CT in Social Sciences lessons significantly increased CT (p < 0.001) and with a large effect size (d = 1.305) without differences in students’ academic achievement. The findings show that children can potentially develop their CT in non-STEM lessons, learning the same curricular contents, and maintaining their academic results.

Interstate Drone League (iDrone National) to promote hands-on remote STEM learning using cloud-based virtual meeting platforms in the global pandemic (COVID-19)

[...]of technological improvements, e-learning platforms are rapidly evolving and becoming a fundamental tool for many educational activities worldwide to gain a competitive edge (Sanchez, R. & Hueros, A., 2010). The main advantage of Google Sites (Google Sites, 2020) is the versatility to develop a course website using the existing templates. [...]a user can build their own project hubs, team sites, and public-facing websites by dragging content where needed. Zoom's video-first, unified communication platform is an excellent alternative to hosting an in-person event during the global pandemic (COVID-19). Since Zoom offers a solution tailored to fit our planned online camp, we took full advantage of the existing technology to maximize our impactful digital event, iDrone Online. According to the survey results, about 70% of participants from both in-person (offline) and virtual (online) camps classified themselves as having a strong STEM identity.

Exploring Structural Relationships in Attracting and Retaining International Students in STEM for Sustainable Development of Higher Education

Attracting and retaining international students has been widely discussed in higher education settings. Increasing the number of international students has become an indispensable strategy for national and global competition. This study focuses on effective strategies and international students’ issues regarding satisfaction in the most popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. We designed a structural equation modeling (SEM) method to determine the effect of institutional mediation between push factors and satisfaction factors for the development of better strategies by which to attract and retain international students. This study employed a self-designed questionnaire to collect data: 485 degree-seeking international students in STEM programs were invited and successfully participated in this study during spring 2021 in Taiwan. IBM SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 (Analysis of Moment Structure) were used to carry out the data analysis. We employed reliability, factor, and SEM analyses. This study assumed that the impact of push factors could be modified by institutional situations and result in international students’ satisfaction with their learning and environment and regarding migration policy. The results revealed that the predictors, mediation, and criteria were significant at the 0.05 or 0.01 levels. The findings suggest that push factors impact international students’ satisfaction when using institutional leadership and strategy. The results of the bootstrap with a generalized least-squares method showed that the SEM model fit in 2000 bootstrap samples. The effect of institutional mediation can provide useful information for STEM programs to boost their future recruitment and retention strategies. This study provides an innovative approach to the detection of issues among international students in specific programs. The design of the study can be extended to similar higher education settings. These findings can enrich our knowledge regarding attracting and retaining global students in higher education.

STEM Education Needs STEM Talk

Rose et al shared their experiences in designing, teaching, and learning from a virtual STEM after-school enrichment program for young multilingual children in a new immigrant community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to a larger pattern observed as children and PSTs completed design tasks in a virtual setting, they showed an example case of highly visual and material-rich ways of successfully engaging in block coding to design wearable technology. They also recognized how the integration of more specific multilingual STEM talk was needed to make learning visible. Focusing on helping children see themselves as capable STEM learners, they presented three classroom recommendations that provide continued ways to recognize and cultivate the multiple and creative ways children already make sense of the designed world while also supporting children in expanding ways of making these ideas known. Their aim is that through intentionally linking teacher and child language in multilingual and multimodal STEM interactions, they create multiple pathways for children's ideas about STEM to matter and be recognized by their peers, teachers, and families.

Enhancing the STEM Framework

As Manak and Puig write this article amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they are more aware than ever of the overlapping and interconnected nature of science, literacy, and real-world issues. This pandemic is not simply a problem to be solved by expertise in any one discipline but necessitates a transdisciplinary approach requiring the integration of many fields including biology, virology, economics, politics, engineering, education, and psychology. As they adapt instruction to educate students and support social-emotional learning, we must collaboratively seek new solutions to these dynamic, real-word issues in our global society. We propose building on the STEM acronym (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) with Stamina, Transdisciplinarity, Engagement, and Mindfulness crosscutting STEM subjects to foster students' acceleration of critical thinking of disciplinary practices across core ideas. Within the concept of three-dimensional learning, they situate stamina, transdisciplinarity, engagement, and mindfulness as a framework for enhancing instruction across the disciplines to engineer solutions to real-world issues.

Analysis of Students' Grades in STEM Subjects at Senior School Certificate Examination Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe global health crisis that has spread to practically all sectors of human life. The education sector has been severely hit due to the closure of schools, alternative learning arrangements and concerns about access to learning by indigent students. It was therefore the purpose of this study to investigate the academic performance of students in STEM subjects of the senior secondary school exams conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) amid the challenges and issues in teaching and learning in Nigeria caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data regarding students' grades in;Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Technical Drawing, Basic Electricity, Auto Mechanics, Home Management, and Food and Nutrition, within four years (2017-2020) were sourced from the National Examinations Council. The study employed a longitudinal technique in an ex post facto research design to look at the grades obtained by candidates that sat for SSCE in STEM subjects in the period. Quite surprisingly, it was found that the students performed better in 2020 when compared to 2017, 2018, and 2019. This was suspected to be attributed to resilience on the part of the students who may have put extra effort to beat the odds introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

4th Mathematics, Informatics, Science and Education International Conference

The 4th Mathematics, Informatics, Science and Education International Conference was successfully held on October 3, 2020 at Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. This conference was organized by Universitas Negeri Surabaya. The 4th MISEIC was the first conference in the history of MISEIC which was completely conducted using a digital platform in line with the social distancing norms due to the COVID-19 breakout. The theme for the 4th MISEIC was “Advancing Research on Mathematics, Informatics, Science and Education for Building a Better Society”. Using the theme, the 4th MISEIC invited scientists, education experts, practitioners, and students through this scientific forum to share their ideas, research findings, and issues about theoretical and practical knowledge in Mathematics, Informatics, Science, and STEM education. Their shared ideas were expected to have important contributions for building “a better society”, such as solving problems caused by, but not limited to, the pandemic situations. This year, MISEIC was held in the form of An International Joint Conference on Science, Technology, Art, and Humanities. The joint conference merged five Universitas Negeri Surabaya-organized conferences into one major event which was held on 3rd to 4th of October 2020. The joint conference included the 4th MISEIC, the 3rd International Conference on Vocation Education and Electrical Engineering (ICVEE), the 4th International Conference on Education Innovation (ICEI), the 2nd International Conference on Research and Academic Community Services (ICRACOS), and the 1st International Conference on Cultural Studies and Applied Linguistics (ICCSAL). The first day was dedicated to the conferences which have scopes focused on Science and Technology, namely MISEIC, ICVEE, and ICRACOS, whereas the second day represented Art and Humanities-focused conferences. In this joint conference, each individual conference was represented by one keynote and one or more speakers from overseas universities or institutions. However, the joint conference was organized only for the meeting day. Practically, each supporting conference had its own brochure, website, and article management system. The modification from an individual conference into the joint conference was conducted because of reallocation of academic budget to COVID-19 aids. The joint conference was completely conducted online using Zoom as a platform. Similar to offline form, the online joint conference included plenary and roundtable sessions. In the plenary session, each keynote speaker delivered a talk directly on the Zoom within 30 minutes. This session was also broadcasted live via an official YouTube channel of Universitas Negeri Surabaya. Each talk was followed by live Question and Answer (Q&A) for 15 minutes. Participants were offered to deliver their questions to each keynote speaker using oral or written forms on the Zoom or via live chat on YouTube. After one hour break, the roundtable sessions were conducted and organized by each individual supporting conference. For MISEIC, these roundtable sessions were preceded by a 20-minute live talk on the Zoom from an invited speaker. This session invited particularly all presenters and participants of the 4th MISEIC. The live Q&A for this forum was held using oral and written forms on the Zoom and lasted for 10 minutes. At the end of the session, each MISEIC presenter was assigned to a particular roundtable discussion room based on the ID shown in the Zoom. The committee provided 10 roundtable discussion rooms to accommodate all MISEIC’s presenters. Each room consisted of one moderator, one IT technician, 8-9 presenters, and some participants. There were three sessions in each roundtable discussion room which lasted for 50 minutes for each session comprising of 25 minutes for presenters’ video presentations and 25 minutes for live Q&A via Zoom. Preceding to the conference day, each MISEIC’s presenter was required to submit a seven-minute video presentation to a link which was provided by the committee. The decision to use a video instead of a live presentation was taken in order to avoid delay during the presenters’ presentation due to internet connection problems. List of Technical Program Committee, Conference Overview, Images are available in this pdf.