Interest and the Development of Pathways to Science

Crowley, Kevin; Barron, Brigid; Knutson, Karen; Martin, Caitlin K.

doi:10.3102/978-0-935302-42-4_17

Cited by 53 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Efforts by teachers and parents can develop students' interest from situational to individual, for example, by offering new challenges or opportunities. Once situational interest is triggered with an appropriate task, girls have the opportunity to build this situational interest into a more durable and strong individual interest (Crowley, Barron, Knutson, & Martin, 2015). Without this first step of triggered situational interest, girls may be hesitant to begin to explore this field.…”

Section: Gender Gaps In Technology Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls

Master

Cheryan

Moscatelli³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

272

140

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The gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement is large and persistent. This gap is significantly larger in technological fields such as computer science and engineering than in math and science. Gender gaps begin early; young girls report less interest and self-efficacy in technology compared with boys in elementary school. In the current study (N=96), we assessed 6-year-old children's stereotypes about STEM fields and tested an intervention to develop girls' STEM motivation despite these stereotypes. First-grade children held stereotypes that boys were better than girls at robotics and programming but did not hold these stereotypes about math and science. Girls with stronger stereotypes about robotics and programming reported lower interest and self-efficacy in these domains. We experimentally tested whether positive experience with programming robots would lead to greater interest and self-efficacy among girls despite these stereotypes. Children were randomly assigned either to a treatment group that was given experience in programming a robot using a smartphone or to control groups (no activity or other activity). Girls given programming experience reported higher technology interest and self-efficacy compared with girls without this experience and did not exhibit a significant gender gap relative to boys' interest and self-efficacy. These findings show that children's views mirror current American cultural messages about who excels at computer science and engineering and show the benefit of providing young girls with chances to experience technological activities.

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Section: Gender Gaps In Technology Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls

Master

Cheryan

Moscatelli³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

272

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The role of “play” in the learning process of children has been well documented (Brewer, ; Crowley, Barron, Knutson, & Martin, ). Play serves as a catalyst for curiosity, initiative, investigation, innovation, and creativity (Alexander, Johnson, & Kelley, ).…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Origins of early STEM interest for Black male graduate students in engineering: A community cultural wealth perspective

Burt

Johnson

2018

School Sci & Mathematics

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The development of talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields remains a national priority, one for which increasing the number of STEM participants from historically underrepresented populations is germane. Increasing the number of historically underrepresented students who complete advanced degrees in STEM will not only aid in solving national problems such as building infrastructure and strengthening national security, but also provide more models of success for future generations. Addressing this priority requires developing a better understanding of what leads students into and through STEM pathways, and finding ways to eliminate systemic barriers to their participation in STEM. This study reports on the origins of early STEM interest among 30 Black male graduate students in engineering. Using a community cultural wealth perspective, this article uncovers the people and activities that nurtured students into and through STEM pathways. The findings from this study provide clues to the social support and activities necessary for early interest in STEM.

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“…Indeed, many of the families whose children participated in the cultural residencies in Swansea have returned to the National Waterfront Museum on multiple occasions. This represents an important shift in the activity of these families and one which has the 29 potential to extend the benefits of the cultural residency further into the lives of participating young children and moreover firmly integrate museums and other cultural settings into their learning ecologies (Barron 2006;Crowley et al 2015). In sum, cultural residencies comprise potentially transformative experiences for young children, their teachers, their families and even museums themselves.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another related perspective, gaining currency in studies of informal learning, is that of learning ecologies or 7 ecosystems (Barron 2006;Crowley et al 2015), which highlights the way in which learning occurs across settings -from schools and museums to the home and community environments -and that experiences in one setting build upon or are complemented by experiences in another. This conceptualisation reminds us that in order to best support learning, providers should acknowledge and reference experiences in other settings.…”

Section: Conceptual Framingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of extended cultural residencies for young children

DeWitt¹,

King

Wright

et al. 2018

Museum Management and Curatorship

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Although years of research efforts have investigated learning benefits from museum visits, relatively less attention has been paid to young children's experiences in these settings. Drawing on contextualist perspectives of learning, this paper seeks to address this gap, using two case studies to explore the experiences of children ages three to five who spent extended periods of time attending school in a museum setting. We draw on qualitative data from the evaluation of two museum-school partnerships, to investigate potential learning benefits of such experiences and elements that may have facilitated the outcomes observed. These two exploratory case studies indicate considerable potential for supporting language and communication skills in young children, as well as personal, social and emotional development. These outcomes appear to be linked to the rich nature of the experience, as well as its extended duration, which allowed it to be deeply child-centred, allowing for valuable learning from the museum environment.

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Interest and the Development of Pathways to Science

Cited by 53 publications

References 13 publications

Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls

Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls

Origins of early STEM interest for Black male graduate students in engineering: A community cultural wealth perspective

The potential of extended cultural residencies for young children

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