
NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | July 19, 2018 |
Latest Amendment Date: | July 19, 2018 |
Award Number: | 1811155 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Julie Johnson
jjohnson@nsf.gov (703)292-8624 DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
End Date: | March 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $250,000.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $250,000.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1 INTREPID SQ NEW YORK NY US 10036-1007 (646)381-5253 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
One Intrepid Square New York NY US 10036-4103 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | AISL |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): | |
Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Gathering evidence for the long-term impact of programs for youth on their involvement in STEM studies and careers continues to be a challenge, especially for program interventions happening in earlier stages of development (e.g., elementary, middle, high-school years. Work that focuses on mechanisms for mitigating these challenges is important. The conference and associated activities aim to build a research action agenda that is rooted in practice to support better understanding of the long-term impacts of informal STEM programs for girls, along with methods and approaches for measuring them. The project team will use a collaborative co-design approach to establish a STEM for Girls Research Alliance. The Alliance will include three levels of participants, with different levels of commitment: a core planning group (CPG) of 8-10 people, approximately 20-25 participating members (PM) and 50-60 interested stakeholder group representatives (SGR). The project team will utilize face-to-face meetings, digital engagement strategies, and surveys to develop the agenda and solicit multiple rounds of feedback and input. The CPG, consisting of leaders and representatives from state-based STEM for Girls organizations that are part of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and members of the New York State STEAM for Girls Collaborative, will be responsible for setting priorities and guiding the action agenda. The PM will include representatives (educators and researchers) from informal STEM programs at cultural institutions that participate in the state-based collaboratives. The PM will be regularly consulted on important aspects of the action agenda that relate to their work. Finally, the SGR will include representatives from several audiences that are being served by or work with the participating members: girls and young women, parents, educators, funders, researchers and employers. The SG will be engaged via focus groups virtually or at national meetings to which these individuals attend.
To support broader involvement of professionals working in this sector, a comprehensive digital engagement plan using web and social media networks will be developed. The plan will utilize a consistent hashtag, allowing participants to follow the conversation across social media platforms. Social media platforms to be utilized will include Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Snapchat and others. More than 60,000 people will be engaged via the networks of the NY STEAM Collaborative, NGCP, WSKG Public Media and project partners. A robust research action plan will position researchers to further explore the role of informal STEM education experiences in shaping the career choices of girls and identify where there are breaks in the hoped-for pathways to STEM college and careers. It also will benefit informal STEM organizations by yielding information that will help them to fine-tune their programs for girls and young women. Ultimately, contributions to the knowledge base will result in broadened participation of girls and women in STEM programs and careers. This work is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program as part of its strategy to enhance learning in informal environments and support innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of settings.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The STEM Effect project was undertaken in partnership by staff from the Education Development Center, the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Through a variety of methods, the project convened representatives from cultural institutions (museums, science centers, zoos, botanical gardens and aquaria) from across the country which provide STEM programming aimed at increasing the participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), researchers and girls themselves. The focus was to develop a collaborative document, an 'action agenda' outlining current understandings and future research which will address the gaps in what is known about the mid- and long-term impact of informal STEM programs for girls, along with methods and approaches for measuring them.
The project synthesizes what is known from previous research with what practitioners at cultural institutions care about and want to learn about their programs as well as the challenges they face in understanding the long-term impacts of their programs. Over a one and a half year period, the STEM Effect team undertook a survey of relevant existing research, collected examples of program logic models used for evaluation, held two, two-day convenings of a core group of regional representatives from the NGCP (who work with informal STEM-education sites in their areas) and scholarly advisors whose work has centered on informal STEM education. They also hosted two Twitter chats involving more than 120 participants including researchers, STEM educators, and representatives from cultural organizations discussing avenues for, and challenges to, tracking the long-term impacts of STEM programs for girls, and different models of STEM programs for girls held at cultural institutions. In addition, five focus groups were conducted with specific targeted groups: 1. staff members of girl-focused STEM programs at cultural organizations; 2. middle school and younger high school aged girls who participated in informal STEM programs; 3. older high school and college-aged young women who participated in informal STEM programs; 4. women who have acted as mentors to girls in STEM programs; and 5. parents/caregivers of girls who participated in STEM programs at cultural institutions.
The work resulted in the development of the following resources, tools and research plans referred to collectively as the action agenda:
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A generalized logic model representing the relationships among resources, program activities, and the short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term changes that are hoped for in girl-focused STEM programs at cultural institutions
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A model of critical junctures of girls' pathways into STEM studies and careers where they may either be held back or given supports to move forward
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Research questions that could inform future projects
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Proposed methodologies for collecting and analyzing longitudinal data
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Guidelines for nurturing and maintaining relationships with program participants and their families
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Suggestions for implementing longitudinal research
A draft of the resulting action agenda was then presented for discussion at a webinar hosted by the NGCP which had 245 registrants who would receive the recording, including 138 who attended 'live' during the presentation and discussed the agenda's elements and relevance to their work. A follow up survey for further feedback was sent to all who registered. The project team was gratified at the responses. From the survey we learned that 83% found the generalized logic model very or extremely relevant to their work. The five priority areas for research identified by the team were interesting to the respondents, especially the priority area which proposed an approach for building knowledge around how to design programs that support girls from non-dominant racial or ethnic groups in their STEM participation (more than 75% were very or extremely interested in further research in this area). 68% of respondents felt the critical junctures model was very or extremely helpful to understanding points where girls' interest and engagement in STEM may need more support. Respondents were also asked if they would consider using the action agenda in their future work. 57% responded that they probably or definitely would with another 39% responding that they possibly would be using it.
The completed agenda was to be presented this year at the American Educational Research Association and American Alliance of Museum annual meetings. Both were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the resulting publication, The STEM Effect: An Action Agenda for Assessing the Long-term Impact of STEM Programs for Girls will be disseminated through other avenues and Networks, such as e-lists for the National Informal STEM Education Network, the New York CIty STEM Education Network and the NCGP regional networks.
Last Modified: 06/30/2020
Modified by: Lynda Kennedy
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