Collaborative Research: Investigating the Most Impactful Culturally-responsive Informal Pedagogical Practices for STEM Afterschool Programs Engaging Marginalized Youth

美国拉丁裔人口的增长超过了拉丁裔在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学位和职业方面的增长，进一步扩大了STEM的种族差距。数学经常被认为是阻碍许多年轻人，特别是少数民族青年追求STEM研究的瓶颈。发展强大的数学资产的机会不平等解释了少数民族青年经常经历的数学技能和理解方面的差异。在课外活动中实施文化响应实践（CRP）有可能促进少数群体青年的数学技能和动力。然而，需要进行广泛的研究，以了解哪些文化响应的非正式教学实践（CIPPs）是最有影响力的，为什么。该项目旨在确定和记录这些做法，阐明课外工作人员在实施这些做法时所面临的挑战，并为课外工作人员开发培训资源，以应对这些挑战。该项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。该项目解决的基本研究问题集中在（1）在STEM大学社区合作伙伴关系中，哪些CIPP最重要，以及（2）在什么样的背景和条件下，这些CIPP与青年参与者和大学导师/促进者的积极成果有关。第三个目标是建立课外工作人员在非正式STEM课外计划中实施CIPP的能力。前两个目标是通过一个混合方法的研究，其中包括定量调查和定性深入访谈五个队列的青少年参与者，家长和本科生导师。每年将在全年的四个时间点向青少年和导师收集调查;深入采访将在春季向青少年、家长和导师收集。共有840名青少年和210名导师将接受调查; 87名青少年，87名家长和87名导师将接受采访。第三个目标将通过利用研究结果和从业人员和研究人员开发的集体知识来解决，以创建一个公共档案，其中包含非正式STEM课后计划和课后工作人员培训模块的CIPP文件。该小组将在加州及其他地区与非正式的课外实践者广泛传播这些资源。最终，该项目将改善全国各地非正式STEM课后项目中少数群体青年的成果，并增加少数群体青年在STEM追求中的代表性。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。

Growth in the US Latinx population has outpaced the Latinx growth in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and occupation, further widening the ethnic gap in STEM. Mathematics has often identified as a bottleneck keeping many youth, especially minoritized youth, from pursuing STEM studies. Unequal opportunities to develop powerful math assets explain differences in math skills and understanding often experienced by minoritized youth. Implementing culturally responsive practices (CRP) in afterschool programs has the potential to promote math skills and motivation for youth from minoritized groups. However, extensive research is needed to understand which culturally responsive informal pedagogical practices (CIPPs) are most impactful and why. This project aims to identify and document such practices, shed light on the challenges faced by afterschool staff in implementing them, and develop training resources for afterschool staff to address these challenges. 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.The fundamental research questions addressed by the project focus on (1) which CIPPs matter most in the context of a STEM university-community partnership engaging Latinx youth, and (2) in what context(s) and under what conditions do these CIPPs relate to positive outcomes for both youth participants and college mentor/facilitator. A third aim is to build capacity of afterschool staff for implementing CIPPs in informal STEM afterschool programs. The first two aims are addressed through a mixed-methods research study which includes quantitative surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews with five cohorts of adolescent participants, parents, and undergraduate mentors. Each year, surveys will be collected from adolescents and mentors at four time points during the year; the in-depth interviews will be collected from adolescents, parents, and mentors in the spring. In total, 840 adolescents and 210 mentors will be surveyed; and 87 adolescents, 87 parents, and 87 mentors will be interviewed. The third aim will be addressed by leveraging the research findings and the collective knowledge developed by practitioners and researchers to create a public archive containing documentation of CIPPs for informal STEM afterschool programs and training modules for afterschool staff. The team will disseminate these resources extensively with informal afterschool practitioners in California and beyond. Ultimately, this project will lead to improved outcomes for minoritized youth in informal STEM afterschool programs across the nation, and increased representation of minoritized youth in STEM pursuits.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.