CAREER: Talking Science: Early STEM Identity Formation Through Everyday Science Talk

这是一份响应教师早期职业发展计划（Career）征集（NSF 17-537）并提交给推进非正式STEM学习计划的提案。该提案将解决发展儿童对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的认同这一关键问题，并将通过对话，特别是在服务不足和代表性不足的人群中，对现有关于STEM认同发展的有限知识做出回应。这项研究的前提是，在年轻时就对STEM产生兴趣并认同STEM的人，比在以后的生活中培养这些兴趣的人更倾向于追求与STEM相关的职业。关于这一主题的研究表明，在探索了各种童年非正式的STEM学习经历（如玩电子产品、照顾动物、参加课后科学俱乐部）之后，谈论科学和消费与科学相关的媒体是STEM身份的唯一预测因素。该研究将调查在成长期（即5 -9岁）与朋友和家人在校外的STEM相关对话是否能预测他们以后的STEM身份和STEM职业选择。该项目的目标将是：(1)了解支持大多数人和西班牙裔/拉丁裔人口STEM身份发展的对话的特征和背景；(2)将研究成果转化为非正式的STEM学习实践，有助于年轻人未来对STEM领域的看法。为了实现这些目标，本研究将解决以下研究问题：(1)5-9岁青少年与朋友和家人进行stem相关对话的内容、背景和结构是什么？(2)这些对话特征（即内容、语境、结构）与青少年STEM兴趣的发展、对STEM人的认同感和对STEM的自我认同有何关系？(3)与非西班牙裔/拉丁裔青年相比，西班牙裔/拉丁裔青年的文化价值观和科学谈话经历如何塑造与青年STEM兴趣、作为STEM人的认同感和对STEM的自我认同相关的谈话特征？(4)非正式STEM学习教育者的专业发展侧重于鼓励青少年与朋友和家人进行与STEM相关的对话，这是否对青少年对STEM的兴趣、认同感和自我认同有积极的贡献？为了解决这些问题，本研究将采用定性研究方法，在研究设计、数据收集和分析中应用现象学策略，以探索生活经验在社会和文化背景下的意义。参与者将包括来自不同社会、文化和语言背景的小学年龄学生（5-9岁；n = 50），他们参加了大迈阿密地区的暑期科学营，有意邀请那些由于社会经济和文化障碍而通常不会参加这类项目的儿童和家庭参与。根据对学生产生长期影响的童年谈话类型，包括选择或坚持在大学从事STEM职业的学生所记得的谈话经历类型，为面试协议的制定提供信息；该项目还将招募一年级和二年级的大学生作为参与者。数据收集和解释策略将包括对大学生的调查（n=32）和访谈（n= 16），以及对低年级学生的记录和编码半结构化访谈（n= 50）。stem相关对话的内容、上下文和结构的广泛编码将进一步细分为子代码，以使用定性分析策略识别模式。这项研究的结果将构成一个理论框架和模型，可以指导非正式学习机构的专业人员和计划活动的发展，特别是围绕通过科学讲座参与STEM的框架。外部评估人员将处理活动的形成性和总结性两个方面。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This is a proposal responsive to the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) solicitation (NSF 17-537) and submitted to the Advancing Informal STEM Learning program. The proposal will address the critical issue of developing children's identification with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and will respond to the existing limited knowledge about the development of STEM identities through conversations, particularly among very young children from underserved and underrepresented populations. The study will be based on the premise that individuals who develop STEM interest and identify with STEM at a young age tend to pursue STEM-related careers more so than individuals who develop these interests later in life. Research on the topic suggests that after exploring a variety of childhood informal STEM learning experiences, such as playing with electronics, taking care of animals, and joining after-school science clubs, talking about science and consuming science-related media were the only predictors of STEM identity. The study will investigate whether STEM-related conversations outside of school with friends and family during formative years (i.e., 5 -9 years old) predict their STEM identity later in life and their STEM-career choices. The goals of the project will be : (1) To develop an understanding of the features and context of conversations that support STEM identity development in both majority and Hispanic/Latino populations; and (2) To translate the research outcomes into informal STEM learning practices that contribute to young people's perceptions of STEM fields in their future.To achieve the goals, the work will address the following research questions: (1) What is the content, context, and structure of STEM-related conversations with friends and family that youth ages 5-9 participate in?; (2) How do these conversation features (i.e., content, context, structure) relate to the development of youth's STEM interests, sense of recognition as STEM people, and self-identification with STEM?; (3) How do the cultural values and science talk experiences of Hispanic/Latino youth shape conversation features related to youth's STEM interests, sense of recognition as STEM people, and self-identification with STEM in comparison to non-Hispanic/Latino youth?; and (4) Does professional development for informal STEM learning educators that focuses on encouraging youth to engage in STEM-related conversations with friends and family positively contribute to youth's STEM interest, sense of recognition, and self-identification with STEM? To address these questions, the study will adopt a qualitative research approach that applies phenomenological strategies in research design, data collection, and analysis to allow for exploration of the meaning of lived experiences in social and cultural contexts. Participants will include elementary-age students (ages 5-9; n = 50) from socially, culturally, and linguistically diverse backgrounds, enrolled in summer science camps in the greater Miami area that intentionally solicit the participation of children and families who would not typically participate in these kinds of programs due to socioeconomic and cultural barriers. To inform the development of interview protocols in terms of the kinds of childhood talk that leave a long-term impact on students, including the kinds of talk experiences remembered by students who choose or persist towards a STEM career in college; the project will also recruit first- and second-year college students as participants. Data gathering, and interpretation strategies will include surveys with college students (n=32) and interviews (n = 16), as well as recorded and coded semi-structured interviews with early-grade students (n= 50). Broad coding of the content, context, and structure of STEM-related conversations will be further subdivided into sub-codes to identify patterns using qualitative analytical strategies. The outcomes of this research will constitute a theoretical framework and models that can guide the development of both professionals and programmatic activities at informal learning institutions, particularly around scaffolding participation in STEM through science talk. An external evaluator will address both formative and summative aspects of the activity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.