OUTCOMES IN STEM BESIDES ACHEIVEMENT

OUTCOMES IN STEM BESIDES ACHIEVEMENT

SARAH DUNIFON

Informal learning, also referred to as out-ofschool learning, refers to any learning that takes place outside of a formal classroom. For STEM learning, this includes museum camps, visits to the zoo, watching STEM-centric TikTok or Youtube videos, and even experimenting with recipes in your kitchen.

Researchers estimate that up to 95% of a person ’ s life is spent outside of school (Falk & Dierking, 2010). Therefore, informal learning is an immensely important element of a person ’ s education.

Some informal learning is guided through field trip programs, after school clubs, or other informal learning contexts, while other informal learning experiences are free-form and without intervention from an adult or other learner.

Another key difference is the way in which educators think about program impacts. Much of formal learning is structured around academic and social-emotional achievements. While this can also be true for some informal learning programs, many other programs focus on psychosocial outcomes, such as building science identity, fostering self-efficacy in STEM, and encouraging pro-environmental behaviors.

Formal educators are already familiar with assessing their curriculum for alignment with national standards and evaluating their students ’ learning and progression throughout the school year. They might consider thinking about other intended impacts of their work, and how those constructs - like science identity - can be built into their instruction.

Three common constructs to informal STEM education are science identity, science interest, and 21st century skills. Please note, while referred to here as science identity and science interest, these concepts can be applied to all of STEM more generally as you will see in the following text.

Science identity is a term which refers to the socially constructed sense of self as it relates to science. People with strong science identities will see themselves as “ science people ” and tend to have strengths in science competence, performance, and recognition (Carlone & Johnson, 2007). Science identity is an important indicator for persistence in STEM fields, and studies show that by middle school, students tend to self-select out of STEM when they do not see themselves as “ science people. ”

This effect is particularly true for individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in the STEM fields.

“In addition to the achievement gap, which is one piece of data, we need to think about the identity gap. Research shows that youth of color[sic] and women and girls just don ’t see themselves as belonging in STEM. There are not enough role models. There ’ s a lot of literature on that. The other piece that I think is interesting is that some youth, African American youth for example, feel conflicted: ‘Do I want to risk any erasure of who I am in order to be somebody in STEM?’ Researchers say that 60% of STEM professionals decided they wanted to pursue that as a career at ages 12 or 13. The issue of an identity gap should be something that is addressed right from the get-go, at a young age. ” (Tan, 2017).

Developing a strong science identity in students can lead to deeper science literacy, academic achievement, and even persistence in STEM fields (Bell et a., 2019). It’ s clear that science identity is an important thing to foster in our students. But how might you incorporate this construct into your teaching? (1) Ensure you have diverse representations of STEM professionals in your curriculum and guest speakers. (2) Encourage students to think about what they might be like as a STEM professional in the future. (3) Cultivate science identity by showing students that a career in STEM is attainable for them, that other people like them pursue STEM, and that STEM is relevant and relatable to their lives and interests.

Science interest is a term which likely already feels familiar to you. We know it when we see it through cues in facial expressions, body language, and speech. Researchers define science interest as: “ a cognitive and motivational variable that describes (a) engagement, or participation, with some content (such as physics, writing, or baseball) and also (b) the motivation to continue to seek opportunities to engage with that content: seeking information, posing questions, and tackling challenge. ” (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). Similar to science identity, science interest can be an important indicator of future science - or STEM engagement. As such, educators use techniques in their instruction to make STEM content accessible, relevant, and engaging to their students, in order to foster a deeper science interest. Ways that educators can incorporate this idea even further into their teaching include: (1) Give students opportunities to explore STEM concepts which are interesting to them, perhaps via an inquiry or guided inquiry experience. (2) Show the connections between things they enjoy in their lives (be it a certain sport, music, technology, or any other interest), and how elements of STEM allow that interest to exist and happen. (3) Encourage students to ask questions and seek out answers. 21st century skills are a set of skills defined as critical for success in the 21st century workforce. These include cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills, such as “ planning for success, ” “ problem solving, ” and “ verbal communication ” (National Research Council, 2011).

In the United States, 21st century skills have been and are increasingly an important construct for both formal and informal education. A heavy emphasis on this skill set ensures that we recognize the importance of developing a person

as a whole - not just their STEM skills and knowledge. For teachers, this is not a new concept - I would suspect all of you have spent time thinking about how to improve student communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Continue giving students opportunities to practice these necessary skills.

In the economy of tomorrow, students will be judged less on their ability to recall information (because hey - there is always the internet for that/your smartphone to pull that up), and more on their ability to think critically and work with others.

By focusing on outcomes beyond academic achievement, educators can foster important attitudinal and behavioral changes in their students, contributing to their academic and career success, and the development of wellrounded world citizens.

References

- Bell, J., Besley, J., Cannady, M., Crowley, K., Grack Nelson, A., Philips, T., Riedinger, K., & Storksdieck, M. (2018). The role of identity in STEM learning and science communication: Reflections on interviews from the field. Washington, DC: Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education. - Carlone, H. B., & Johnson, A. (2007). Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: science identity as an analytic lens. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(8), 1187-1218. - Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2010). The 95 percent solution. American Scientist, 98(6), 486-493. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25766726 - National Research Council. 2011. Assessing 21st Century Skills: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13215. - Renninger, L. A., & Hidi, S. E. (2020). To level the playing field, develop interest. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7(1), 10-18. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/237273221986 4705 - Tan, E. (2017, November 14). What is STEM identity? An interview with Edna Tan. Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education. https://www.informalscience.org/biography/ednatan

Sarah Dunifon

Sarah M. Dunifon is Founder and Principal Evaluator of Improved Insights, an evaluation consulting firm specializing in informal STEM learning and youth-focused programs. Improved Insights helps STEM organizations to improve their work and amplify their impacts by evaluating learning and psychosocial outcomes like science identity, science interest, and 21st century skills. Dunifon is based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and can be reached at sarah@improvedinsights.com.