A Systematic Review of STEM Learning and Social-Emotional Development in Out of School Time

研究表明，当在课外、暑假和其他非正式环境中支持科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育和社会情绪发展(SED)时，年轻人可以更好地培养未来的技能，如领导力、决策和建立关系，从而使他们能够在STEM取得成功的事业/参与。然而，在校外时间(OST)领域工作的研究人员和从业者往往在这些领域没有联系。在OST计划的交付和数据收集中，对STEM和SED进行更多整合的呼吁仍然是抽象和令人向往的。这一文献综述和综合项目是推动OST领域在研究和实践中有意、明确和基于证据地整合STEM和SED所需的下一步。该项目将建立必要的共同理解，以改进计划内容、工作人员培训和评估。这一综合将支持未来关于统一STEM+SED的研究，从而导致更有效、更公平和更适合发展的规划。改进的方案编制将有助于人才培养，满足STEM劳动力需求，并促进社会经济流动性，使儿童、青年、教育工作者和社会受益。该项目由推进非正式STEM学习计划(AISL)资助，该计划旨在促进对非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。该项目将系统地研究非正式STEM学习环境中K-12青少年在STEM+SED界面上研究最多的领域和技能，与正规STEM教育环境相比。该团队将进一步探索如何将性别、种族和其他交叉形式的公平添加到STEM+SED方程式中。项目组将搜索和评估经验和灰色文献(2001-2020年)，以确定在为K-12青年服务的非正式环境中STEM+SED交界处最常研究的领域和技能。审查和综合过程将包括四个步骤：搜索、评估、综合和分析。搜索将从之前与STEM和SED领域的专家确定的四个基本领域(代理、归属、参与和反思)的STEM+SED技能开始。该搜索将包括来自正式K-12设置的所有现有的、符合条件的参考资料，以对比正式和非正式学习环境中通常研究的领域和技能(例如，毅力、自我调节、团队合作、解决复杂问题、自我意识)。然后，研究方法将通过上述人口统计学变量来比较这些领域和技能。在建立了一个强有力的证据目录之后，将使用三个“支柱”来综合信息，以便在STEM+SED一体化中建立一致性：现象(知道)、执行(做)和评估(结果)。这些支柱将被用来组织和批判性地分析文献。通过系统地审查和综合STEM和SED领域的文献来建立概念上的连贯性，将有助于在OST实践中更好地理解STEM+SED，突出在非正式环境中学习的最重要的内容和技能，并确定青年何时以及如何在STEM+SED的界面上学习具体的内容和技能。将一致性应用于STEM+SED的整合，确保原则和做法的层次分明，避免肤浅的清单或重复的工作，并有意义地建立在年轻人的知识和技能的基础上。我们的长期目标是促成STEM+SED在学校和OST项目之间的联系和协调。这项研究将产生指导公平、有效的STEM+SED研究、实践和政策的建议和路线图。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。

Research suggests that when both science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and social-emotional development (SED) are supported in afterschool, summer, and other informal settings, young people can better develop skills for the future such as leadership, decision-making, and relationship-building so they could have successful careers/participation in STEM. However, researchers and practitioners working in the out-of-school time (OST) sector often do so without connections across these fields. The appeal for more integration of STEM and SED in OST program delivery and data collection has remained abstract and aspirational. This Literature Review and Synthesis project is the next step needed to move the OST field toward the intentional, explicit, and evidence-based integration of STEM and SED in research and practice. The project will create shared understanding necessary to improve program content, staff training, and evaluation. This synthesis will support future research on unified STEM+SED that can lead to more effective, equitable, and developmentally appropriate programming. Improved programming will contribute to talent development, address STEM workforce needs, and promote socioeconomic mobility to benefit children, youth, educators, and society. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments.This project will systematically examine what domains and skills at the interface of STEM+SED are most researched among K-12 youth in informal STEM learning environments, compared to formal STEM educational environments. The team will further explore how gender, race, and other intersectional forms of equity can be added to the STEM+SED equation. The project team will search and appraise empirical and gray literature (2001-2020) to identify the most commonly researched domains and skills at the interface of STEM+SED in informal environments serving K-12 youth. The review and synthesis process will include four steps: search, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis. The search will begin with STEM+SED skills in four foundational domains (agency, belonging, engagement, and reflection) identified previously with experts from the fields of STEM and SED. The search will include all existing, eligible references from formal K-12 settings to contrast commonly studied domains and skills (e.g., perseverance, self-regulation, teamwork, complex problem-solving, self-awareness) in formal versus informal learning environments. The study approach will then compare these domains and skills by the demographics variables noted above. Following the creation of a strong catalog of evidence, information will be synthesized using three “pillars” for building coherence in STEM+SED integration: phenomenon (the knowing), implementation (the doing) and assessment (the result). These pillars will be used to organize and critically analyze the literature. Building conceptual coherence through a systematic review and synthesis of literature from the fields of STEM and SED will lead to greater understanding of STEM+SED in OST practice, highlight the most important content and skills to learn in informal environments, and identify when and how youth should learn specific content and skills at the interface of STEM+SED. Applying coherence to the integration of STEM+SED ensures that the principles and practices are layered carefully, in ways that avoid superficial checklists or duplication of effort and build meaningfully upon young people’s knowledge and skills. The long-term goal is to broker connections and alignment of STEM+SED across schools and OST programs. Recommendations and a roadmap to guide equitable, effective STEM+SED research, practice, and policy will result from this research.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.