Chittum Jessica R, Jones Brett D, Akalin Sehmuz, Schram Ásta B
1Department of Elementary Education and Middle Grades Education, East Carolina University, 154 Speight Building (Mail Stop 504), Greenville, NC 27858 USA.
2School of Education (MC 0313), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA.
Int J STEM Educ. 2017;4(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40594-017-0065-4. Epub 2017 Jun 12.
One significant factor in facilitating students' career intentions and persistence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is targeting their interests and motivation before eighth grade. To reach students at this critical stage, a design-based afterschool STEM program, titled Studio STEM, was implemented to foster motivation and engagement in STEM topics and activities. The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to investigate how Studio STEM affected students' beliefs about science and whether these beliefs differed from their peers who did not participate in the program, and (b) to examine a case study of one Studio STEM implementation to investigate elements of the curriculum that motivated students to engage in the program.
After completing two Studio STEM programs, participants' ratings of their values for science and science competence were higher than those of non-participants. In addition, the Studio STEM participants' motivational beliefs about science and intentions to pursue a college degree were more resilient over time than their peers. We also found that students could be motivated in a voluntary afterschool program (Studio STEM) in which they grappled with STEM concepts and activities, and could verbalize specific program elements that motivated them.
Through this study, we found that students could be motivated in Studio STEM and that the experience had a positive impact on their perceptions about science as a field. Importantly, Studio STEM appeared to halt the decline in these students' motivational beliefs about science that typically occurs during the middle school years, indicating that afterschool programs can be one way to help students maintain their motivation in science. Studying the program features that the students found motivating may help educators to make connections between research and theory, and their classroom instruction to motivate their students.
促进学生在STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）领域的职业意向和坚持度的一个重要因素是在八年级之前关注他们的兴趣和动机。为了在这个关键阶段接触到学生，实施了一个名为“STEM工作室”的基于设计的课外STEM项目，以培养学生对STEM主题和活动的动机和参与度。本研究的目的有两个：（a）调查“STEM工作室”如何影响学生对科学的信念，以及这些信念是否与未参加该项目的同龄人不同；（b）研究一个“STEM工作室”实施案例，以调查促使学生参与该项目的课程元素。
在完成两个“STEM工作室”项目后，参与者对科学价值和科学能力的评分高于非参与者。此外，“STEM工作室”参与者对科学的动机信念和追求大学学位的意向随着时间的推移比同龄人更具韧性。我们还发现，学生可以在一个自愿的课外项目（“STEM工作室”）中受到激励，在该项目中他们努力应对STEM概念和活动，并能说出促使他们参与的具体项目元素。
通过这项研究，我们发现学生可以在“STEM工作室”中受到激励，并且这种经历对他们对科学领域的认知产生了积极影响。重要的是，“STEM工作室”似乎阻止了这些学生在中学阶段通常出现的对科学的动机信念的下降，这表明课外项目可以成为帮助学生保持科学学习动机的一种方式。研究学生认为有激励作用的项目特点可能有助于教育工作者将研究和理论与他们的课堂教学联系起来，以激励学生。
