Investigating How Museum Experiences Inform Youths' STEM Career Awareness and Interest

美国的博物馆每年接待约5500万来自学校团体学生的参观。对艺术博物馆的实地考察被发现对批判性思维技能、同情心和宽容心产生了积极影响--这对来自农村或高度贫困地区的青年来说可能更为重要。虽然实地考察很受欢迎，特别是在科学博物馆，但还没有关于实地考察对STEM职业选择和兴趣的影响的实验研究，更不用说使用文化敏感和响应方式的研究了。鉴于投入实地考察的资源，本研究调查博物馆的经验和对青年的影响之间是否存在因果关系。科学工业博物馆采用学习实验室的方法吸引游客。 这些“学习实验室”是运行大约一个小时的便利体验。目前有12个实验室主题。这项研究的重点是MedLab-学习实验室之一-作为研究的设置。MedLab是专为现场和在线体验使用超复杂和高度通用的技术，从他们的社区面临的青少年的顶级医疗保健问题的研究所采取的挑战。这项研究是由社会认知职业理论（SCCT）和种族和民族身份的研究和理论告知。前者描述了许多人在考虑职业选择时所遵循的一个过程。后者描述了人们如何通过其种族和/或族裔群体的成员身份来看待自己在世界上的地位。这两个过程可以共同影响STEM职业选择。本研究采用嵌入式混合方法设计。定量部分包括一个实验性的，前/后/延迟后测试设计的教育工作者和他们的学生使用多种措施，主要是从以前出版的文书。定性部分包括MedLab会议的观察标题沿着采访和焦点小组与工作人员，教育工作者，学生和家庭发生在博物馆内外。这是一项在真实的世界背景下对中等规模的异质教师和学生群体进行的实验研究。它涉及比较参加MedLab的年轻人和教育工作者与那些没有参加的人。通过进行研究，通过他们独特经历的透镜来看待每个社区，研究将更敏感和真实地衡量他们的影响，解决当前关于非正式科学，技术，工程，或数学（STEM）职业教育与不同的学生。这项研究是由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划。AISL计划旨在推进新的方法，并以证据为基础的理解，在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习。ITEST项目旨在更好地理解和促进提高学生追求STEM相关领域职业的动机和能力的实践。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Museums in the US receive approximately 55 million visits each year from students in school groups. Field trip visits to an art museum have been found to positively impact critical thinking skills, empathy and tolerance - an increase that can be even more significant for youth from rural or high-poverty regions. While field trips are popular, especially at science museums, there have been no experimental studies about their impact on STEM career choices and interests, much less any which used a culturally sensitive and responsive approach. Given the resources put into field trips, this study investigates if causal links can be drawn between museum experiences and impact on youth. The Museum of Science & Industry uses a Learning Labs approach for engaging its visitors. These "Learning Labs" are facilitated experiences that run roughly an hour. Currently there are 12 lab topics. This study focuses on MedLab--one of the learning labs--as the setting for the research. MedLab is designed for on-site and online experience using ultra-sophisticated and highly versatile technology in challenges taken from research on the top healthcare issues that face adolescents in their communities.This study is informed by research and theory on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Racial and Ethnic Identity. The former describes a process many follow when thinking about career options, broadly. The latter describes how people see themselves in the world through their membership with a racial and/or ethnic group. Both processes can collectively influence STEM career choices. This study follows an embedded mixed-method design. The quantitative portion includes an experimental, pre/post/delayed post-test design of both educators and their students using multiple measures taken mostly from previously published instruments. The qualitative portion includes observation rubrics of MedLab sessions along with interviews and focus groups with staff, educators, students and families that take place both within and outside of the museum. This is an experimental study of moderate size of both heterogeneous teacher and student populations in real world settings. It involves comparing youth and educators that participate in MedLab with those who do not. By conducting research that looks at each community through the lens of their unique experiences, the research will measure their impact more sensitively and authentically, addressing a gap in current literature on informal science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) career education with diverse students.This study is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program and the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. The AISL program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. The ITEST program seeks to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers STEM-related fields.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.