STEM Pathways of Rural and Small-Town Students: Opportunities to Learn, Aspirations, Preparation, and College Enrollment

Saw, Guan; Agger, Charlotte A.

doi:10.3102/0013189x211027528

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Rural students are less likely to matriculate to postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors compared to their urban and suburban peers (Goodpaster et al, 2012; Handwerk et al, 2008; National Rural Education Association, 2016; Saw & Agger, 2021). Exacerbating this finding is the persistent disparity in the percentage of students from rural areas attending a postsecondary institution—29.3% attending compared to 45% for nonrural peers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Rural schools contend with several barriers including issues of geographic isolation and sufficient bandwidth to support online access and full adoption of technological advances that provide access to advanced coursework in mathematics and science (Banilower et al, 2018; Kittleson & Morgan, 2012), and their educators have some of the highest attrition (Monk, 2007) and lowest salaries for teachers in the nation (Beeson & Strange, 2003; Lapan et al, 2003; National Rural Education Association, 2016). Rural students are also less likely to have access to STEM family nights, STEM out-of-school enrichment programs, STEM clubs, and STEM internships (Banilower et al, 2018; Saw & Agger, 2021). These barriers can result in rural students lacking access to the formal and informal learning opportunities needed to prepare successfully for and complete STEM coursework in high school and postsecondary settings.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Developing Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent in Rural After-School Settings: Rural Educators’ Affordances and Barriers

Ihrig

Assouline

Mahatmya

et al. 2022

Journal for the Education of the Gifted

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This study uses a naturalistic inquiry approach to investigate how rural educators navigate the affordances and barriers of implementing an out-of-school program to identify and develop middle school STEM talent in rural communities. At the time of this study, the STEM program was in its fourth year of implementation. Participants included 34 educators and 324 students in Grades 6–8 across 10 school districts in a predominately rural state. We used maximum variation purposive sampling to select 3 of the 10 districts as case study sites. The cross-case analysis resulted in the themes of (a) exercising local control, (b) expanding community for advanced STEM learning, and (c) leveraging the intersectionality of rurality, local agency, and expanded resources. One implication is that when supported with resources, rural educators will leverage the systems of their schools and communities to create robust ecosystems for advanced STEM talent development.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Developing Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent in Rural After-School Settings: Rural Educators’ Affordances and Barriers

Ihrig

Assouline

Mahatmya

et al. 2022

Journal for the Education of the Gifted

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“…With the recent maker movement, makerspace has been viewed as a new education revolution. Recent years witnessed a growing body of research in bringing makerspaces and ideas of maker education for teacher PD (Jones, 2020; Peterson & Scharber, 2018; Saw & Agger, 2021; Stevenson et al., 2019). However, teachers in rural areas are faced with the challenges of accessing such resources, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the technology adoption for rural areas has lagged behind, significantly and historically, which that in urban districts (Hollifield & Donnermeyer, 2003). Moreover, teachers in rural areas have limited access to high‐quality PD that prepares them for using technology (Lavalley, 2018; Saw & Agger, 2021). Rural communities are facing this challenge for makerspace education (Nixon et al., 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving is believing: Using telepresence robots to access makerspace for teachers in rural areas

Chen

Cao

Guo

et al. 2022

Brit J Educational Tech

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This study explored two different ways for K‐12 school teachers to access educational makerspace through virtual fieldtrips. K‐12 school teachers from rural areas of the Southeast USA were divided into two groups. The experimental group (n = 48) drove telepresence robots to take their fieldtrip, while the comparison group (n = 23) watched the same fieldtrip through a recorded video. Analyses of the quantitative and qualitative data, collected through surveys and written reflections, showed that the experimental group reported significantly higher scores in embodiment, social presence and engagement (ie, behaviour, emotion and cognition) than the comparison group, and that actual driving the robots for the virtual fieldtrips was highlighted as a favored experience. Educational significance and implications are discussed. What is currently known about this topic With makerspaces gaining increasing attention in K‐12 education, professional development (PD) opportunities are needed to help teachers understand makerspaces and related technologies. Teachers in rural areas are faced with the challenges of accessing makerspace resources and opportunities, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Little research has explored teacher makerspace PD in rural areas. Maker resource deficiency in rural areas and the COVID‐19 pandemic call for an alternative approach to the makerspace PD, particularly for teachers in rural areas. What this paper adds Explored the use of telepresence robots for rural teachers to access an authentic makerspace through virtual fieldtrips. Examined the effects of virtual fieldtrip to access makerspaces on K‐12 teachers' embodiment, social presence and engagement. Examined the aspects of the telepresence fieldtrip that were most valuable to K‐12 teachers. Investigated the factors that contribute to teachers' engagement in a virtual fieldtrip. Implications for practitioners Telepresence robot was an effective tool that enabled teachers in rural areas to explore authentic makerspaces through a virtual trip over distance. To help teachers conceptualize the idea of makerspace, it is important to allow teachers to move in the physical makerspace and interact with the environment. To design an engaging fieldtrip that triggers active learning, more attention should be given to how to develop the emotional aspect of a fieldtrip experience. Embodiment plays an important role in virtual fieldtrips. When teachers have a higher level of embodiment, they are more likely to be emotionally and cognitively engaged in a fieldtrip experience.

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“…One of the advantages of community science is questioning pernicious assumptions about who is capable of participating in science [9]. Engagement with students from rural backgrounds is important, since rural students are less likely to have access to camps or informal science learning environments such as museums and to enroll in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree programs, compared with their suburban peers [14]. Empowering wider participant engagement in community science has the potential to increase community science literacy or the ability to use science to advance local community issues [9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle-School Student Engagement in a Tick Testing Community Science Project

Prunuske

Fisher

Molden

et al. 2021

Insects

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Studies of tickborne illness have benefited from interactions between scientists and community members. Most participants in community science projects are well-educated adults, but there are anticipated benefits from engaging younger students in research. We evaluated whether an outreach experience for rural middle-school students promoted student interest in science and resulted in the generation of samples that could be used for tick testing to assess disease risk. Middle-school students from 78 Wisconsin communities developed interdisciplinary hypotheses about the spread of Lyme disease, identified ticks, and extracted DNA from ticks to assess the prevalence of pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophillium, and Babesia microti. As a result of this intervention, students were able to successfully complete the research protocol and explain the rationale for completing the experiment. Of student participants, 84.7% reported no difficulty completing the protocol, 66% of the student samples gave reliable PCR results, and 76% of students reported interest in participating in similar experiments. Our study shows that tick outreach programs that incorporate community-based science promote knowledge about Lyme disease, facilitate engagement between students and scientists, and generate samples that can be successfully utilized for pathogen testing.

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STEM Pathways of Rural and Small-Town Students: Opportunities to Learn, Aspirations, Preparation, and College Enrollment

Cited by 32 publications

References 52 publications

Developing Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent in Rural After-School Settings: Rural Educators’ Affordances and Barriers

Developing Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent in Rural After-School Settings: Rural Educators’ Affordances and Barriers

Driving is believing: Using telepresence robots to access makerspace for teachers in rural areas

Middle-School Student Engagement in a Tick Testing Community Science Project

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