Experiences, activities, and personal characteristics as predictors of engagement in STEM‐focused summer programs

Abstract

Out‐of‐school‐time programs for youth that are focused on STEM content are often seen as affording opportunities to increase youth engagement, interest, and knowledge in STEM domains, yet we know relatively little about how youth actually experience such programs. In this article, we explore how experiences and activities employed in the delivery of summer STEM programs are associated with youth engagement during programming, and whether youth characteristics moderate these relationships. Data were collected from 203 youth (ages 10–16) in nine summer programs using multiple methods including video, experience sampling, and surveys. Through the use of cross‐classified, multi‐level models, we found that youth reported higher engagement in program activities they perceived to be more challenging and relevant, and in activities, they perceived to have more affordances for learning or developing skills. Gender moderated these relationships such that the positive relationships observed among males were muted or nonexistent for girls. We further identify that program activities are differently associated with fostering challenge, relevance, and learning. Findings have implications for out‐of‐school STEM programming for youth.

Understanding science career aspirations: Factors predicting future science task value

“…These results suggest that youth who do not experience science at home, do not have family members or adults who work in science, or do not have the materials at home to engage in science are less likely to feel confident in their ability to do science and are less likely to perceive science is valued by their family. Furthermore, families that engage in science activities together may be more likely to collaborate on the shared relevance of the science‐related task, and relevance has been shown to promote engagement in out‐off‐school STEM programs (Schmidt et al, 2020). These factors have roots in Archer et al's (2012) concepts of family science habitus which argues that a child's choice to engage in science is related to the support that the child receives at home for science.…”

Profiles of personal and ecological assets: Adolescents’ motivation and engagement in self-driven learning

“…It is positively associated with academic achievement in various domains, and social and emotional learning outcomes (Klem & Connell, 2004 ). Much research on engagement has been conducted in the formal learning context (Christenson et al, 2012 ; Schmidt et al, 2020 ), while recent years witness an increasing trend to employ the framework of engagement to understand learners’ learning experiences out of school (Bell et al, 2019 ; Christenson et al, 2012 ). For instance, Shernoff and Vandell ( 2007 , p. 891) conceptualized student engagement as “the simultaneous experience of concentration, interest, and enjoyment” and measured students’ engagement in after-of-school activities using the experience sampling method.…”

“…They found that students reported higher levels of engagement when participating in after-school sport and art activities than when completing homework at programs. Schmidt et al ( 2020 ) researched how youth experiences (e.g., challenge, relevance) are associated with their engagement in summer STEM programs. They measured youth momentary engagement using four items focusing on the levels of their hard work, concentration, enjoyment, and interest and found that when the youth perceived the program activities to be more challenging and relevant and to have more affordances for their development and learning, they tended to report higher engagement (Schmidt et al, 2020 ).…”

STEM Learning Environment: Perceptions and Implementation Skills in Prospective Science Teachers

“…It will provide opportunities for students to make knowledge connections in ways that are familiar to them. Even if necessary, STEM learning can present experiences close to students (personal experience) and real or related to students' real-life outside of school (Schmidt et al, 2020).…”