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Urban High School Student Engagement Through CincySTEM iTEST Projects

Journal of Science Education and Technology volume 25, pages 995–1007 (2016)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 09 November 2016

Abstract

This paper focuses on the notable heightening of underrepresented students’ engagement in STEM education through project-based learning CincySTEM iTEST projects. The projects, funded by an iTEST NSF grant, were designed and facilitated by teachers at a new STEM urban public high school serving low-income African-American students. Student engagement conceptualized as a psychological process involving affective and behavioral participation in classroom activities was evaluated through a mixed-methods approach. Findings indicate that affective and behavioral participation was significantly enhanced when project activities utilized digital devices in hands-on investigations of real-world project activities. Explanations for the success of CincySTEM iTEST projects are presented in the conclusion along with challenges for sustainability.

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Notes

  1. An energy kaizen is a focused event where all users of energy within a site identify energy reductions. For the event to be successful, site stakeholders who are directly and indirectly involved in energy use must be committed to energy reduction.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Science Foundation (DRL-0929557). This manuscript is approved by the Cincinnati Public School District Research and Evaluation Office. The corresponding author has been authorized by all co-authors to act as an agent on their behalf in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript, and the order of author names is agreed by all authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iowa State University, 353 Ross Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Gulbahar H. Beckett

  2. Edgewood College, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, Madison, WI, 53711, USA

    Annette Hemmings

  3. University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210105, Cincinnati, OH, 45219, USA

    Catherine Maltbie

  4. Hughes STEM High School, 2515 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45219, USA

    Kathy Wright & Melissa Sherman

  5. Cincinnati Public Schools, P.O. Box 5381, Cincinnati, OH, 45201, USA

    Brian Sersion

Authors
  1. Gulbahar H. Beckett
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  2. Annette Hemmings
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  3. Catherine Maltbie
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  4. Kathy Wright
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  5. Melissa Sherman
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  6. Brian Sersion
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Correspondence to Gulbahar H. Beckett.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956-016-9668-7.

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Beckett, G.H., Hemmings, A., Maltbie, C. et al. Urban High School Student Engagement Through CincySTEM iTEST Projects. J Sci Educ Technol 25, 995–1007 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-016-9640-6

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