“Science Olympiad Is Why I’m Here”: the Influence of an Early STEM Program on College and Major Choice

Smith, Katie N.; Jaeger, A.; Thomas, Dana

doi:10.1007/s11165-019-09897-7

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Students are not forced into a set structure that defines who they and the teacher are and thus the students become engaged in the process of learning (Hermes, 2000). Olson blended the academic and cultural domains for NA, mixed SES, and rural students integrating aspects of student identities in their science learning where these identities did not have to be in competition (Hermes, 1997) thereby, increasing participation in SEFs beyond males, Asians, and Caucasians (Forrester, 2010; Lakin et al, 2019; Smith et al, 2019), extending benefits of SEF to underrepresented people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, Olson was a justice‐oriented ally who helped students to challenge and transform what meaningful learning looks like with Landon (rain gardens), Kait (wolves), Elizabeth (white noise), and Dyani (wild rice), to name just a few, where many SEF projects made injustices and solutions visible within a sociocultural context. In so doing, students established their rightful presence within a scientific community, disrupting the exclusion of students of NA cultures, mixed SES, and rural backgrounds from the SEF literature (Bencze & Bowen, 2009; Palomba & Tintori, 2017; Smith et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In SO, students do not present their own research projects. The Smith team (2019) found the SO influenced postsecondary college selection and choice of major because the state level SO tournament was located at the institution studied providing exposure and exploration of new subject areas with limited risk. Research by Sahin et al (2015) surveyed 172 participants in 2012 and 273 participants in 2013 (Top et al, 2015) at the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environment Project (I‐SWEEEP) where both studies affirmed that teachers, parents, and interest had more impact on career trajectories than I‐SWEEEP competitions.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Olson broke down cultural barriers for her NA students and their families (Hermes, 2000), as a start to addressing access and equity challenges for all students in SEFs (Bencze & Bowen, 2009; Smith et al, 2019). Importantly, she worked to broker trust within the NA community.…”

Section: Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Salient to the current study, SCCT was used in a few studies regarding STEM competitions. Smith et al (2019) investigated the long-term impact of participation in out of school programs like SO. In the United States, SO secondary school students compete in one of the three categories (energy, engineering, or environment) and qualify by having won an award at regional, state, or national SEF.…”

Section: Scct In Stem Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rubbing elbows with them: Building capacity in STEM through science and engineering fairs

Koomen

Hedenstrom

Moran³

2021

Science Education

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Using social cultural career theory (SCCT) linked with tenets of equity, we examined the role of participation in science and engineering fairs (SEFs) on youth's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational and career choices. We analyzed data for evidence of the SCCT constructs of self-efficacy, interest, and learning experiences using constructs of Native American (NA), culturally responsive, and rural equitable pedagogies. Qualitative data included semi-structured interviews, focus groups, practice presentations of SEF prtojects, classroom observations, and mentoring students. Quantitative data consisted of two surveys: STEM Semantics Survey and the Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Qualitative results reveal how the teacher built self-efficacy using equitable pedagogy by putting the students in control of their projects, created a network of experts in various science disciplines, developed a culture of mentorship that promoted belonging, and removed barriers for student participation by blending academics with culture for NA and rural mixed socioeconomic status students. She evoked asset-based pedagogies that inspired students to further their education and go into STEM fields. Quantitative findings reveal former student's orientation to participation in science fair activities related to their high interests, perceptions of a challenge, curiosity, and emerging mastery, where students demonstrated high [Correction added on February 17, 2021, after initial publication on February 04, 2021; the displayed quote in the section entitled "Dr. Olson successfully petitioned…" was initially placed as text due to a production error and has been reinstated.] dispositions in science and engineering and self-identified as STEM people. Implications include the use of SCCT, linked with equitable pedagogies to understand interest in STEM fields, mentoring, tapping into the expertise of local professionals to support development of projects, and navigating cultural barriers to provide access for underrepresented youth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scct In Stem Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Rubbing elbows with them: Building capacity in STEM through science and engineering fairs

Koomen

Hedenstrom

Moran³

2021

Science Education

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Interpersonal skills and STEM career choice of three types of FIRST mentors

Yoel

Dori

2023

J of Engineering Edu

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BackgroundFor Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics is an international, extra‐curricular program that fosters young students' interpersonal skills and career choices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). FIRST teams are guided by mentors, about half of whom are also mentees.PurposeTo describe and characterize FIRST mentors and their perceptions of their own interpersonal skills and STEM career choice and identify differences by mentor types and gender.MethodThe study participants included 261 FIRST mentors. A convergent mixed‐methods approach was used. Data was collected quantitatively via questionnaires and qualitatively via interviews. The analysis was guided by the social cognitive career theory (SCCT).ResultsFourteen categories were identified to describe and characterize the FIRST mentors. Nine were based on SCCT and five were new: influence of friends, interpersonal skill, personal contribution, challenges, and mentor‐as‐educator. Differences were found between three types of FIRST mentors: non‐FIRST mentors, graduate mentors, and mentee mentors. The correlations between factors and categories indicated that the mentors' perceptions were consistent with those of the mentees. The FIRST program impacted the STEM career choice of men more than women, and external motivation influenced women more than men.ConclusionsThe FIRST program contributes to developing its graduates' interpersonal skills and affects their STEM career choice. The study provides insights into mentors' influence on mentees' career choices, from which both genders benefit. Making FIRST available in schools as a widespread enrichment program is expected to foster students' STEM career choices, thereby contributing to the human resource reservoir of the high‐tech industry workforce.

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“We are sorry to inform you…”—The effects of early elimination on science competition participants’ career aspirations

Garrecht,

Steegh,

Schiering

2023

J Res Sci Teach

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In the past, students' participation in science competitions has been positively associated with their aspirations to pursue a career in science. Previous studies, however, were predominantly focused around successful competitors, overlooking the largest group of participants: those who are faced with early elimination. We therefore aimed to investigate the effects of elimination on the development of biology‐related study and career task values and expectancy of success in first‐round participants of the German Biology Olympiad (N = 381, mean age 16.5 years, 72% female). This study was the first of its kind to use a latent change score model approach to examine the effects of early elimination, with a particular focus on participants who placed great emphasis on succeeding in the competition. We found that, regardless of success or failure, participants' biology‐related study and career task value remained stable from the first to the second round of the competition, while their expectancy of success in biology‐related studies and career developed positively. Yet, for those participants who placed great importance on advancing in the competition, early elimination interfered with the development of study and career expectations, resulting in a weaker development. The outcomes of this study suggest that (1) science competitions should re‐envision themselves to more directly address participants' values about studies and careers, especially in earlier competition rounds, and (2) science competitions should find innovative ways to provide detailed feedback to students and teachers to improve post‐elimination performance. Our findings complement existing expectancy‐value research and can serve as a starting point for future studies exploring mechanisms behind early elimination in different science domains and cultural contexts, providing empirical insight into creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all science competition competitors.

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“Science Olympiad Is Why I’m Here”: the Influence of an Early STEM Program on College and Major Choice

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Rubbing elbows with them: Building capacity in STEM through science and engineering fairs

Rubbing elbows with them: Building capacity in STEM through science and engineering fairs

Interpersonal skills and STEM career choice of three types of FIRST mentors

“We are sorry to inform you…”—The effects of early elimination on science competition participants’ career aspirations

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