Research Study
What We Wanted to Learn and Why
- What program activities and instructional practices did youth perceive as challenging, relevant, and educational?
Informal Stem Learning (ISL) programs typically have a considerable amount of control over what kinds of activities they offer. We wanted to know what activities yielded positive responses from youth.
- Do youth perceptions of their experiences vary by characteristics of youth like their gender, interest in the content, and whether they were enrolled in the program by their own choice?
Preexisting differences among participating youth are known to influence their experiences. Knowing how that works might help activity leaders tailor program experiences to the youth in their group. Additionally, we asked whether youth perceptions vary by characteristics of the setting (program quality, activity leader relevance statements, promotion of youth agency).
- How do in-the-moment experiences of youth participants (their reports of
challenge , relevance, and learning) cultivate their engagement in STEM?
Prior research in the ISL field has asked youth to report on their experience retrospectively (after the program is over), but we know that retrospective reports are not as authentic as in-the-moment reports.
- Does youth in-the-moment engagement during the program contribute to changes in their general interest in STEM and their future goals and aspirations in STEM fields?
It is critical for the field and for funders to know whether there are long-term changes in youth’s interest and future goals, and aspirations as a result of participating in summer ISL activities.
