| NSF Org: |
DGE Division Of Graduate Education |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | July 27, 2022 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 27, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 2222509 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Andrea Nixon
anixon@nsf.gov (703)292-2321 DGE Division Of Graduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2022 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $300,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $300,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409 ATHENS GA US 30602-1589 (706)542-5939 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
Athens GA US 30602-1589 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | Postdoctoral Fellowships |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).
Black women make up the smallest percentage of persons in STEM careers. Girls aged three through fourteen years old, regardless of ethnicity, consider science occupations as unachievable at higher rates than other groups because they sense that these occupations are inappropriate for girls. Prior research also indicates that factors influencing Black girls to consider STEM majors and careers include interest in the science being studied, the learner's own sense of identity, and whether interest can be sustained. This project aims to develop an informal learning program designed as a venue through which Black girls tell STEM educators and researchers about the science activities that propel their interests and participation. The associated study will examine connections between Black girls? lived experiences and their interest in pursuing STEM careers. Making a ?connection? to students? lived experiences has the potential to decrease the science achievement gap for students historically marginalized in their participation in STEM. The study?s premise is that connecting to science through lived experiences has the potential to support Black girls? sustained interest in science, and thus increase the potential for them to pursue careers in STEM. The out-of-school program developed in this study will incorporate activities that use low-cost science supplies thereby increasing the curriculum?s potential use in other contexts.
This study will recruit Black girls in fourth through sixth grades with various levels of interest in STEM for participation in a summer camp. During the camp, participants will explore the fields of engineering, mathematics, and physical science and learn to use multiplicative and additive comparisons, conduct investigations about matter and sound, and use engineering design processes and scientific inquiry to make connections to their real-life lived experiences. Lived experiences are the experiences, knowledge gained through those experiences, and the ways these experiences inform an individual?s evolving culture. Additionally, participant?s guardians are an important part of their lived experiences. The research study will employ a single-case methodology of off/on/off, quantitatively analyzing surveys and qualitatively analyzing observations, interviews, and artifacts. To inform the analysis of resulting data, the study will adopt a framework of seeking to understand how society organizes itself along intersecting lines of gender, race, class, and other forms of social hierarchies.
The project responds to the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field.
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.
1. Accomplishments
Major Project Goals
- Incorporated the everyday and lived experiences of young Black girls’ lives into science.
- Carry out engineering and physical science activities with young Black girls in a space that is away from a formal school setting.
- Impact young Black girls’ interest in STEM.
- Positively influence young Black girls’ interest in science related careers.
Major Activities – Regarding everyday and lived experiences, we measured the weight of hair extensions with and without burettes, beads, and clips. We discussed the conservation of mass with and without these items. Participants brought in items that they have at home to further continue the discussion around the conservation of matter. Also, regarding participants’ lived experiences in discussing sound, the participants mentioned the amount of noise that takes place in and or near where many of them live. Though the topic and activity was talking about sound engineers, most of the participants related the travel of sound from cars passing through their neighborhoods.
Specific Objectives – A specific objective was to carry out engineering and physical science activities with young Black girls in a space that is away from a formal school setting such that participants could come to feel more relaxed in their engagement with science and engineering.
Significant Results – Regarding, positively influence young Black girls’ interest in science related careers, participants completed a Likert Scale of several statements ranging from “Strongly Disagree” “Disagree” “Neither Agree nor Disagree” “Agree” or “Strongly Agree”. When asked “I might choose a Career in Science,” 90% of the participants had a positive shift at the end of the camp. This shift was represented in participants moving any number of options towards “Strongly Agree”.
2. Products – list any products resulting from your project.
- Invited to submit to the edited book Creating and Maintaining a Home in Science Education Research: Voices Across the African Diaspora to be published in the Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education
- Asked to revise and resubmit single author manuscript to Journal of Research Science in Teaching (JRST).
- Co-author to manuscript in Nature Scientific Reports.
- Presented at National Association for Research in Science and Teaching Annual International Conference, March 17-20, 2024 in Denver, CO.
- Presented at Association for Science Teacher Education International Meeting, New Orleans, LA., January 10-13, 2024.
- Revise and resubmit to Cultural Studies in Science Education (CSSE) and asked for a revise and resubmit that is due 12/31.
3. Participants
Individuals who have worked on the project
|
Name |
Most Senior Project Role |
Nearest Person Month Worked |
|
Mary Atwater |
Sponsoring Researcher |
July 2024 |
|
Jasmine Newsome |
Graduate Research Assistant |
January 2024 |
|
Alyssa Moreno |
Undergraduate Assistant |
August 2024 |
Has there been a change in the active other support of the PI since the last reporting period?
The PI is now an Assistant Professor of Science Education at Syracuse University.
What other organizations have been involved as partners?
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Athens, GA. The YWCA
4. Impacts
What is the impact on the development of the principal discipline(s) of the
project? This project focused on an Out-of-School (OST) learning space and the capacity was only for 20 girls, yet in year two there were more girls of the eligible grade that wanted to sign up but could not and for those left out, it impacts their view of science.
What is the impact on other disciplines? Two weeks focused on engineering and in year two, I noted that the participants’ idea of engineering did not align with their actions. As seen in the attached image. Their actions in carrying out engineering activities took on confidence and self-initiative.
What is the impact on teaching and educational experiences? Participants were able to engage in science and freely communicate with each other. Participants would occasionally blend their working conversations of the hands-on experiments in with other events of the day that were unrelated to the task at hand.
What is the impact on physical resources that form infrastructure? Year two of data collection took place in the science classroom of an elementary school versus year one when data collection was sharing a section of a dining hall’s banquet space. Though the science classroom had three sinks which was helpful, it still lacked the feeling of a laboratory. It brings into question why elementary schools are designed without the thought of adequate space for science to take place.
What is the impact on society beyond science and technology? Girls that realized that they were too young to be in the program, would say to me that when they are that big that they are going to do science.
5. Changes/Problems
Changes in approach and reason for change: The data collection venue of year 2 was changed to an organization operating out of an elementary school.
Last Modified: 11/08/2024
Modified by: Heather Lavender
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
