The objective of this study at Harvard University is to examine the impact of ITEAMS (Innovative Technology-Enabled Astronomy for Middle Schools) intervention strategies on student persistence in high school STEM course-taking and career expectations, and the value that students place on STEM careers. The central research questions are: 1) does ITEAMS participation boost students' STEM course-taking and their interest in, and valuation of, STEM careers throughout their high school years; 2) to what extent did students' ITEAMS experiences, in terms of knowledge and disposition, have an effect; and 3) which ITEAMS strategies or attributes have been most effective in bringing about positive outcomes? Special focus is on the predictors of persistence for girls and minority students.
The project utilizes a mix of interviews and surveys with current high school students who in previous years participated in ITEAMS (DRL-0833378) as middle-school students, and who are now juniors and seniors. The project surveys a randomly selected cohort of 75 former ITEAMS participants who were enrolled in ITEAMS for two or three years. The project-specific survey instrument includes pertinent demographic questions. The random selection of up to 15 surveyed ITEAMS students for in-depth interviews is also included.
EAGER: ITEST Longitudinal Study (DRL 1355323) This EAGER project, conducted by researchers at the Science Education Department (SED) at the Harvard College Observatory, was a small-scale pilot initiative targeting a limited number of middle-school students. Its goal was to identify the factors, in part from an out-of-school time (OST) program, that increased the interest and disposition of underserved youth for ICT and STEM careers and persistence in STEM course-taking in their high school years. The two main objectives were to: a) create and administer a retrospective STEM career interest survey to about one hundred high school students, a small number of whom participated when in middle school in the OST program (Innovative Technology Enabled Astronomy for Middle Schools, or ITEAMS – NSF DRL 0833378), to assess the impact of the program, if any, on their ICT and STEM career aspirations as compared to non-ITEAMS students, and b) identify a small number of the most salient survey questions and career interest factors to be used in a large, online nationwide learning community (ITEAMS II) developed as a follow-on to ITEAMS. The complete survey is transportable for use my other researchers. The intellectual merit of the project has been to develop a model for assessing the impact of an OST program for middle-school student participants once they have moved to upper grades, particularly as it relates to STEM course-taking and sustained interest in STEM-related careers. Researchers developed the retrospective STEM career interest survey that most students completed in 20-25 minutes. From the survey it was possible to track the STEM interest of both ITEAMS and non-ITEAMS students from elementary school into high school, and to identify factors that may have contributed to persistent STEM interest. Researchers then used findings from the survey as a focus for some student interviews. The broader impact of the project has been to provide a useful model for the OST community to examine long-term impacts of a range of diverse programs. While the most recent OST research has generally found increased interest and skills in STEM among middle-school students, there are few, if any, studies tracking these students when in the upper grades. Nearly all of the longitudinal studies about STEM persistence and disposition use data from large, national surveys that are independent of any specific program. By employing the retrospective framework, developed for this EAGER project, to capture student responses to questions about in-school and out-of-school STEM activities, attitudes towards STEM courses, identification with STEM as a career pathway, family support for STEM, and more, it is possible for researchers to use or modify the survey to assess other programs in a similar way. The number of students surveyed in this EAGER project was very small. As such, while the findings may only be impressionistic, an important narrative did emerge. Those students who saw themselves both as science people and who expressed confidence in doing well in their science courses had strong dispositions for STEM careers. Students do not necessarily hold these two attributes simultaneously. That is, some see themselves as science people, but lack confidence to do well. Others do well, but do not feel a part of the science community. We find that students who reported they talked about science with friends and family, read non-fiction science and science fiction, had positive science experiences throughout their elementary and middle-school years, and found interactions with STEM professionals, were strongly disposed to STEM career pathways.
