Northern Illinois University
STEM Interest and Engagement (STEM IE)

We filmed six exemplary summer STEM programs for middle school students to create educational videos to support program and professional development and quality improvement in the ISL field. All the educational video clips are organized by program for those who might be interested in learning more about each program. Individual clips appear throughout the toolkit to exemplify findings from the STEM IE study that are important to communicate to the field. Similar to our research study, many of the youth featured in the videos are from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields.  Although the programs we filmed for educational purposes have similarities to those that we studied, they did not participate in the study.  For reasons of confidentiality related to research participants, none of the research video was used in making these video clips. 

• Chicago Botanic Garden Camp
• NIU Taft Science Technology Engineering Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Camp
• IMSA Integrated Science Camp

• Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy (IMSA) D Camp
• Michigan Bright Futures Camp
• Northern Illinois University (NIU) Engineering Amusements (EA) Camp

Chicago Botanic Garden Camp

Botanic Science First

This clip provides an overview of and information about the Science First program.

Botanic Individual Student Projects

This clip shows a central activity of the Science First Program. It captures important features of the program's quality. As the activity leaders and participants describe the individual project, several key research findings are exemplified: Creating a product is interesting to young people; connecting initial interests to science content increases interest in science and learning; when young adolescents are allowed to make choices they are more engaged; and when science is relevant to their lives they engage and learn more.

Botanic Learning

This clip focuses on learning STEM concepts both in a classroom and during field experiences. Quality summer programs for underrepresented youth tend to have both types of learning experiences.  However, low-quality programs do things like “drill and kill” in the classroom and do not connect what is being learned in the classroom to the outdoor/field experiences.  Motivation and engagement are both tied to young adolescents' perceptions that they are learning.  In short, youth like to learn!   

Botanic Fun

This clip presents Science First participants talking about how much fun they have in the program. An activity leader also talks about her belief that summer STEM programs need to be fun and demonstrates her enthusiasm while engaging in activities with youth. 

Botanic Value

Analogies are one way to make the content relevant for students.  The more relevant students find content, the more value they see in it and the more interested and persistent they become.  Duane is an activity leader who uses this strategy effectively.

Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy (IMSA) D Camp

Divas Program Overview

This clip shows the purpose, structure, and unique aspects of the program. The end of the clip focuses on the high school mentors. 

Divas Why Girls Only

Gender-segregated educational programs are controversial. This clip provides the rationale for why this engineering and technology-focused camp for middle school girls is needed and appropriate and why IMSA provides an all-girls summer program.

Divas Autonomy

Autonomy is an important aspect of motivation and perseverance in STEM and is especially important for young adolescents and for members of any groups who have traditionally had less power (in this case, girls) than a dominant group. Autonomy support consists of giving, encouraging, and supporting choices, and allowing young people to take responsibility for their own work. People who are encouraged to be autonomous often feel ownership of their work and, as a result, work harder.

Divas Interest

There are four stages of interest development. This clip illustrates the first two. The first is creating situational interest through modeling enthusiasm and providing novel, exciting, fun, emotionally satisfying and relevant experiences. The second stage is sustaining that interest by providing resources, materials, opportunities and skills to deepen interest.

Divas Value

This clip pertains primarily to relevance and utility value in relation to the skills youth are learning and the opportunity they have to make things. Support for utility value entails associating what youth are learning or doing with one of their interests or with something in their lives and/or in the world outside of camp or school.

NIU Taft Science Technology Engineering Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Camp

NIU Taft STEAM Camp

This clip introduces the STEAM camp and explains why STEAM camps that focus on both art and STEM might be important for young adolescents.

NIU Taft Polage

The purpose of this video is to show an activity that is both science and art in a summer camp for middle school students. Polage is a little known art form. The clip begins with the artists who developed polage talking about it. The remaining footage shows the science lesson pertaining to the physics of light, with a few examples of the art made by young adolescents in the program.

NIU Taft Automony

Autonomy support entails balancing choice with responsibility, which is an important aspect of the activity leader design of this camp.

NIU Taft Relevance

Activity leaders strive to make the content relevant to participants as they are learning the science behind their art projects.

NIU Taft Teamwork

Students in our research study said that working with helpful peers was valuable. Learning to communicate and work cooperatively is an essential skill in the sciences. This clip explains the importance of teamwork in STEM and a participant in the program talks about how the collaboration was very important for him.

Michigan Bright Futures Camp

Michigan The Bright Futures Program

The purpose of this clip is to introduce the program and present the basic purpose and organization of the program.

Michigan Egg Drop Activity

This clip shows a typical STEM activity that youth do in this program. It illustrates many of the features that we know are important: It's a task related to real life/careers, it's a challenge, it's fun, youth need to problem-solve and apply skills, youth get to make choices, activity leaders support and guide youth, and, after the activity is over, activity leaders have youth reflect on it.

Michigan Autonomy

Student voice and choice are very important both theoretically and practically for motivating, engaging, and empowering students. The purpose of this clip is to present an activity leader's thoughts about why he elicits and responds t student voice along with examples of him doing so. It serves as an example for other activity leaders of how to incorporate more student voice and empower students. Students take more responsibility and are more motivated when activity leaders and teachers empower them. This is important at all ages, but it is VERY important for young adolescents.

Michigan Relevance/Health

This clip demonstrates how activity leaders can embed mathematics and science in physical activities that are relevant to program participants. The director of this program was an elite athlete and is passionate about fostering physical activity and health. The clip also shows how practicing math facts is incorporated into an outdoor physical activity, in contrast to one of the programs we studied, in which young adolescents were given worksheet pages while they sat in a classroom on a beautiful summer day. In addition, many people in the populations served by this camp struggle with health problems and program staff believe that teaching youth about anatomy, physiology, and health will be beneficial for them

IMSA Integrated Science Camp

IMSA Integrated Science Camp

This clip introduces the IMSA Integrated Science program. The purpose of the program and online, in-class (lab and research projects), and residential components of the program are described.

IMSA Integrated Science Why Summer STEM for Underrepresented

This clip provides insight into why summer STEM camps are needed and valuable for students from groups that are underrepresented in science.

IMSA Integrated Science Dialysis Lab

This clip shows a typical activity planned for participants in the Integrated Science program. The program is heavily lab focused. The clip starts with explanations of the value and the problem-based learning basis of the lab. It then shows the progression of the lab, ending with a group discussion and interpretation of the data. Many of the concepts we are interested in are exemplified in this activity: promoting higher- order thinking, making labs relevant, promoting interest, and giving students responsibility.

IMSA Integrated Science Value

This clip shows how the activities and practices in this program are deliberately planned to be relevant for the participants.

Northern Illinois University (NIU) Engineering Amusements (EA) Camp

NIU Engineering Amusements Camp

This clip provides an overview of the Engineering Amusements camp.

NIU EA Automata

This clip shows campers building an automata. The project is connected to the goals of the camp and allows campers to make choices, problem-solve, learn about gears, and make something that is related to one of their interests.

NIU EA Scaffolding

This clip shows an intentional instructional approach used by activity leaders. They strive to provide instructional support that enables campers to move forward, understand, and be in control of their projects.

NIU EA Learning & Talking

This clip shows how activity leaders support learning by leading participants to think and talk about their experiences and activities.