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

研究表明，当科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）教育和社会情感发展（SED）在课后，夏季和其他非正式环境中得到支持时，年轻人可以更好地发展未来的技能，如领导力，决策和关系建立，以便他们能够在STEM中获得成功的职业/参与。然而，在校外时间（OST）部门工作的研究人员和从业人员往往没有这些领域的联系。在OST项目交付和数据收集中更多地整合STEM和SED的呼吁仍然是抽象和雄心勃勃的。这个文献综述和综合项目是将OST领域朝着STEM和SED在研究和实践中的有意，明确和基于证据的整合方向发展所需的下一步。该项目将创造必要的共同理解，以改善计划内容，员工培训和评估。这份综合报告将支持未来关于统一的STEM+SED的研究，从而实现更有效、更公平和更适合发展的规划。改进的规划将有助于人才发展，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（AISL）项目资助，旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习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与正式STEM教育环境相比，K-12青年在非正式STEM学习环境中对STEM+SED界面的哪些领域和技能的研究最多。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加入STEM+SED等式。该项目小组将搜索和评估经验和灰色文献（2001-2020），以确定在服务K-12青年的非正式环境中STEM+SED界面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。搜索将开始与STEM+SED技能在四个基本领域（代理，归属，参与和反思）确定以前与STEM和SED领域的专家。搜索将包括所有现有的，合格的参考资料，从正式的K-12设置，以对比常用的研究领域和技能（例如，毅力，自我调节，团队合作，解决复杂问题，自我意识）在正式和非正式的学习环境。然后，研究方法将通过上述人口统计学变量比较这些领域和技能。在创建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，以建立STEM+SED整合的一致性：现象（知道），实施（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，建立概念上的一致性，将有助于更好地理解STEM+SED在开放源码软件实践中的作用，突出在非正式环境中学习的最重要的内容和技能，并确定青年应该在STEM+SED界面上学习具体内容和技能的时间和方式。将一致性应用于STEM+SED的整合，可确保原则和做法得到仔细的分层，避免肤浅的清单或重复努力，并有意义地建立在年轻人的知识和技能基础上。长期目标是在学校和OST计划之间建立STEM+SED的联系和协调。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.