Roads Taken: A Retrospective Study of Program Strategies and Long-term Impacts of Intensive, Multi-year, STEM Youth Programs

所采取的道路：对强化、多年期、STEM 青年计划的计划策略和长期影响的回顾性研究

• 批准号: 1906396
• 负责人: Deborah Wasserman
• 金额: $ 167.38万
• 依托单位: Franklin County Historical Society
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1906396&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Roads; Taken; Retrospective; Study; Program

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. This Research in Service to Practice project will bring together representatives from six long-standing youth programs, experts in the field of out-of-school-time youth programming, and education researchers to collaboratively explore the long-term (15-25 years) impact of STEM-focused, intensive (100+ hours/year), multi-year programming. The six partnering programs have maintained records with a combined total of over 3000 alums who participated between 1995 and 2005. This four-year research project uses an explanatory, sequential, mixed-method design to carry out four steps: (1) identify and describe the impact on the lives of program alums who are now ages 30 to 45; (2) identify causal pathways from program strategies to long-term outcomes; (3) develop an understanding of these pathways from the perspective of the people who experienced them; and (4) disseminate this knowledge broadly to those associated with STEM-focused programming. Research questions include: How did these programs affect youth's lives as they progressed toward and into adulthood? What program strategies and what participant attributes contributed most to the staying power of these effects? What life events and social structures supported and inhibited participant outcomes? This project describes the effects, identifies the causal pathways, and produces materials that programs can use for both strategic planning and generating support resources. Additionally, this project provides research methodology for organizations that want to conduct their own retrospective research and lays a foundation for a more comprehensive study that includes programs without historical documentation. The project aligns with NSF's Big Idea "NSF INCLUDES: Transforming education and career pathways to help broaden participation in science and engineering" by providing essential information about the long-term effect of interventions on educational and career pathways in STEM. The project's approach involves three phases: (1) research preparation, (2) causal structural modeling of survey data from approximately 2,000 respondents, and (3) rich qualitative follow-up. Human ecological and self-determination theories inform data collection and analyses at every project phase. In the preparation phase, program staff complete program profiles from an historic perspective by identifying program strategies that may have included, for example, scientific research, robotics development, teaching science in informal settings, and working in scientific research labs. In the quantitative phase, the project will recruit alums who attended one of the 6 youth programs between 1995 and 2005 to submit a current resume and complete an online questionnaire, based on the following scaled variables: retrospective recall of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration in relation to perceived program strategies; STEM identity (at three time periods: pre-program; post-program; and current); current well-being; career influences; and career barriers. The questionnaire also includes open-ended questions about life events related to the following categories: family and friends, school and work, and living conditions. Analysis of the questionnaire will lead to development of a causal structural model. In the qualitative phase, data will be collected from a purposefully selected sample of 30 alums based on findings from the quantitative phase. Methods include interviews, photo journals, and STEM pathways maps. Analysis of interviews, resumes, and photo journals take place within the structure of basic psychological need satisfaction and motivational quality across ecological systems over time. Qualitative analysis uses the constant comparative method, and findings are used to update and refine the final causal structural model and inform overall findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the project.Since the 1990s, out-of-school time programs have engaged youth from underserved communities in STEM learning and in building interest in STEM careers, yet these programs often based on untested assumptions that participation has lasting effects on education, career, and life choices related to STEM. This Research in Service to Practice project has the potential to 1) guide practitioners in program improvement and improved program outcomes; 2) provide insight into achieving program goals, such as equity, increased well-being of participants, an informed citizenry, and a diversified STEM workforce; and 3) inform multi-stakeholder decision-making with respect to this type of programming. This research also builds a foundation of research data collection and analysis methods to guide and support future research on long term-impacts and youth STEM programming. Dissemination strategies include a website, webinars, video, infographics, conference presentations, and written reports to reach stakeholders including practitioners, researchers, administrators, and funders.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.

作为加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划寻求促进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和发展的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括为扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验提供多种途径，推进对非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及加深参与者对更深层次学习的理解。这一服务实践研究项目将汇集来自六个长期青年计划的代表、校外青年规划领域的专家和教育研究人员，共同探索以STEM为重点的、密集(100+小时/年)、多年规划的长期(15-25年)影响。这六个合作项目保持着记录，1995至2005年间参与的校友总数超过3000人。这项为期四年的研究项目使用解释性、顺序、混合方法设计来执行四个步骤：(1)确定和描述对现在30至45岁的计划校友生活的影响；(2)确定从计划战略到长期结果的因果路径；(3)从亲历者的角度对这些路径进行理解；以及(4)向那些与STEM重点计划相关的人广泛传播这一知识。研究问题包括：这些计划如何影响青少年进入成年期的生活？哪些项目策略和参与者的哪些属性对这些影响的持久力贡献最大？哪些生活事件和社会结构支持和抑制参与者的结果？这个项目描述了影响，确定了因果路径，并制作了可用于战略规划和生成支持资源的材料。此外，该项目为希望进行自己的回溯性研究的组织提供了研究方法，并为包括没有历史文档的项目的更全面的研究奠定了基础。该项目与NSF的“大构想”保持一致，“NSF包括：转变教育和职业途径，以帮助扩大对科学和工程的参与”，通过提供有关STEM教育和职业途径干预措施的长期影响的基本信息。该项目的方法包括三个阶段：(1)研究准备，(2)对大约2,000名受访者的调查数据进行因果结构建模，以及(3)丰富的定性后续行动。人类生态和自主决策理论为每个项目阶段的数据收集和分析提供了依据。在准备阶段，项目工作人员从历史的角度完成项目概况，确定可能已经包括的项目战略，例如，科学研究、机器人开发、在非正式环境中教授科学，以及在科学研究实验室工作。在量化阶段，该项目将招募1995至2005年间参加6个青年计划之一的校友提交一份当前简历，并完成一份在线问卷，基于以下衡量变量：回顾与所感知的计划战略有关的基本心理需求满足和挫折；STEM身份(在三个时间段：计划前、计划后和当前)；当前幸福感；职业影响；和职业障碍。问卷还包括与以下类别相关的生活事件的开放式问题：家庭和朋友、学校和工作以及生活条件。对问卷的分析将导致开发因果结构模型。在定性阶段，将根据定量阶段的调查结果，从有目的地选择30个明矾样本中收集数据。方法包括访谈、照片日记和STEM路径图。随着时间的推移，对采访、简历和照片日记的分析是在整个生态系统的基本心理需求满足和动机质量的结构中进行的。定性分析使用不断比较的方法，调查结果被用来更新和改进最终的因果结构模型，并为项目的总体发现、结论和建议提供信息。自20世纪90年代以来，课外时间计划吸引了来自服务不足社区的年轻人参与STEM学习和培养对STEM职业的兴趣，但这些计划往往基于未经检验的假设，即参与对与STEM相关的教育、职业和生活选择具有持久影响。这一服务实践研究项目有可能1)指导实践者改进计划和改善计划结果；2)为实现计划目标提供洞察力，如公平、增加参与者的福祉、知情的公民和多样化的STEM劳动力；以及3)为多方利益相关者关于此类计划的决策提供信息。本研究还建立了研究数据收集和分析方法的基础，以指导和支持未来关于长期影响和青年STEM规划的研究。传播战略包括网站、网络研讨会、视频、信息图、会议演示文稿和书面报告，以接触到利益相关者，包括从业人员、研究人员、管理人员和资助者。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。