Case Study of Experiential, Capstones in Industry: Understanding High School Students Interest and Preparation for STEM Careers

该项目的目的将是帮助在校学生，特别是代表性不足的少数民族和女性，获得科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的职业。该战略将研究一种已证明成功的学习模式，将传统的高中STEM课程与STEM商界的现实世界项目相结合。这项研究将阐明该计划的各个组成部分如何共同努力，以支持学生的动机和为STEM职业生涯做准备，特别是女性和少数族裔学生。这项研究的结果将使该计划有可能在全国范围内类似的情况下实施。在公立学区的背景下更好地理解体验式学习可能会对数万名学生产生潜在影响。该项目的目标是对蓝谷高级专业研究中心(BVCAPS)进行一次探索性的案例研究，该中心是高级专业研究中心(CAPS)网络的创始地点。CAPS将为公立高中三年级和大四学生提供包括STEM顶峰经验(在医学、生物科学、技术或工程方面)的课程。在社会认知职业理论和高质量项目式学习的理论和概念结构的指导下，本研究试图回答以下研究问题：1)CAPS模式如何支持学生的STEM职业动机和准备？2)BVCAPS模式的哪些方面有助于增加女性和未被充分代表的少数族裔学生的STEM职业动机和准备？定性探索将被用来创建一套有效和可靠的工具，可用于研究这一计划和更广泛的类似计划，因为它们与STEM职业生涯的动机和准备有关。本研究将在基于项目学习的高中STEM教育领域的文献基础上，以及在高中时期的顶峰经验的基础上，补充发展中的关于高中STEM体验式学习的文献。这项研究创建的测量工具将使人们能够在学校网络内的项目中(全美13个州80多个学区的10,000多名学生)以及更广泛的范围内检查Capstone模型。除了测量工具本身的潜在影响外，这项研究的结果还将探讨其他STEM教育工作者如何支持学生在STEM职业生涯中的动机和准备，特别是女性和少数族裔。在这一领域收集的信息将有助于推进高中STEM改革，为高等教育事业和学习机会做准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The aim of this project will be to help school students, particularly under-represented minorities and females, to access careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The strategy will be to study a demonstrated successful learning model that integrates traditional high school STEM curriculum with real world projects from the STEM business community. The study will illuminate how the components of the program work together to support students' motivation and preparation for STEM careers, in particular female and minority students. The findings of the study will make it possible to implement the program in similar contexts across the nation. A better understanding of experiential learning within a public school district context can potentially impact tens of thousands of students. The goal of this project is to conduct an exploratory case study of Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (BVCAPS) which is the founding location of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) network. CAPS will provide programming that includes STEM capstone experiences (in medicine, bioscience, technology, or engineering) for public school high school juniors and seniors. Guided by the theoretical and conceptual constructs of social cognitive career theory and high-quality project-based learning, this study will seek to answer the following research questions: 1) How does the CAPS model support students' motivation and preparation for STEM careers? 2) What aspects of the BVCAPS model contribute to increased female and under-represented minority student motivation and preparation for STEM careers? The qualitative exploration will be used to create a set of validated and reliable instruments that can be used to study this and similar programs more broadly as they relate to motivation and preparation for STEM careers. This study will build on the literature in high school STEM education in the area of project-based learning and capstone experiences in high school and add to the developing literature on high school STEM experiential learning. Measurement tools created by this study will enable examination of the capstone model in programs within the network of schools (over 10,000 students in more than 80 school districts within 13 states across the US) and more broadly. In addition to the potential impact of the measurement tools themselves, the findings of this study will address how other STEM educators can support the motivation and preparation for students in STEM careers, in particular female and minorities. Information gleaned in this area will help advance high school STEM reform and preparation for post-secondary careers and learning opportunities.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.