Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM

For nearly a decade, two science interventions anchored in project-based learning (PBL) principles have been shown to increase student science learning in 3rd grade and high school physical science classes. Both interventions employed a randomized control trial of several thousand students (N = 3,27...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barbara Schneider, I-Chien Chen, Lydia Bradford, Kayla Bartz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.960327/full
_version_ 1811308923444002816
author Barbara Schneider
I-Chien Chen
Lydia Bradford
Kayla Bartz
author_facet Barbara Schneider
I-Chien Chen
Lydia Bradford
Kayla Bartz
author_sort Barbara Schneider
collection DOAJ
description For nearly a decade, two science interventions anchored in project-based learning (PBL) principles have been shown to increase student science learning in 3rd grade and high school physical science classes. Both interventions employed a randomized control trial of several thousand students (N = 3,271 in 3rd grade and N = 4,238 in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades). Incorporating a rich background of research studies and reports, the two interventions are based on the ideas of PBL as well as the National Academies of Science’s publications, including how children learn; how science learning and instruction can be transformed; and the performance expectations for science learning articulated in the Next Generation of Science Standards. Results show significant positive increases in student academic, social, and emotional learning in both elementary and secondary school. These findings can be traced, in part, to carefully crafted experiential participatory activities and high-quality instructional materials which act as strong facilitators for knowledge acquisition and use. Reviewing the innovations undertaken by these two interventions, this article describes the importance of studying social and emotional factors ‘in situ’, using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), that can motivate and engage students in science learning in both elementary and secondary school. Using these ‘in situ’ data collection (N = 596 students in 3rd and N = 1412 students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades) along with case studies and repeated measures analysis gave deep insights into emotional and social development for young children and adolescents. These methods should continue to be considered when trying to understand key factors of improving engagement in science.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T09:32:04Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5353a5d44f6e47d1ab9393d9648fc92d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-1078
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T09:32:04Z
publishDate 2022-11-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj.art-5353a5d44f6e47d1ab9393d9648fc92d2022-12-22T02:52:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-11-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.960327960327Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEMBarbara SchneiderI-Chien ChenLydia BradfordKayla BartzFor nearly a decade, two science interventions anchored in project-based learning (PBL) principles have been shown to increase student science learning in 3rd grade and high school physical science classes. Both interventions employed a randomized control trial of several thousand students (N = 3,271 in 3rd grade and N = 4,238 in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades). Incorporating a rich background of research studies and reports, the two interventions are based on the ideas of PBL as well as the National Academies of Science’s publications, including how children learn; how science learning and instruction can be transformed; and the performance expectations for science learning articulated in the Next Generation of Science Standards. Results show significant positive increases in student academic, social, and emotional learning in both elementary and secondary school. These findings can be traced, in part, to carefully crafted experiential participatory activities and high-quality instructional materials which act as strong facilitators for knowledge acquisition and use. Reviewing the innovations undertaken by these two interventions, this article describes the importance of studying social and emotional factors ‘in situ’, using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), that can motivate and engage students in science learning in both elementary and secondary school. Using these ‘in situ’ data collection (N = 596 students in 3rd and N = 1412 students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades) along with case studies and repeated measures analysis gave deep insights into emotional and social development for young children and adolescents. These methods should continue to be considered when trying to understand key factors of improving engagement in science.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.960327/fullengagementsocial and emotional learningscience learninginterventionsproject-based learning
spellingShingle Barbara Schneider
I-Chien Chen
Lydia Bradford
Kayla Bartz
Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
Frontiers in Psychology
engagement
social and emotional learning
science learning
interventions
project-based learning
title Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
title_full Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
title_fullStr Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
title_full_unstemmed Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
title_short Intervention initiatives to raise young people’s interest and participation in STEM
title_sort intervention initiatives to raise young people s interest and participation in stem
topic engagement
social and emotional learning
science learning
interventions
project-based learning
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.960327/full
work_keys_str_mv AT barbaraschneider interventioninitiativestoraiseyoungpeoplesinterestandparticipationinstem
AT ichienchen interventioninitiativestoraiseyoungpeoplesinterestandparticipationinstem
AT lydiabradford interventioninitiativestoraiseyoungpeoplesinterestandparticipationinstem
AT kaylabartz interventioninitiativestoraiseyoungpeoplesinterestandparticipationinstem