STEM Pathways of Rural and Small-Town Students: Opportunities to Learn, Aspirations, Preparation, and College Enrollment

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013189X2110275
Author(s):  
Guan K. Saw ◽  
Charlotte A. Agger
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Extracurricular Programs ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Stem Teaching ◽  
Lower Stem

Using the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), this study documents that rural and small-town students were significantly less likely to enroll in postsecondary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degree programs, compared with their suburban peers. This study also shows that schools attended by rural and small-town students offered limited access to advanced coursework and extracurricular programs in STEM and had lower STEM teaching capacity. Those opportunities to learn in STEM were linked to the widening geographic gaps in STEM academic preparation. Overall, our findings suggest that during high school rural and small-town students shifted away from STEM fields and that geographic disparities in postsecondary STEM participation were largely explained by students’ demographics and precollege STEM career aspirations and academic preparation.

Beyond Academic Math: The Role of Applied STEM Course Taking in High School

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Robert Bozick ◽  
Sinduja V. Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
School Students ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Els 2002 ◽  
Federal Initiatives ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
K 12

Background/Context Educational policymakers and researchers are concerned about the declining quantity and quality of U.S. students in line to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As one policy response, a number of federal initiatives have been enacted to enhance STEM curriculum in schools. Part of this push has been to offer applied STEM courses in the K–12 curriculum to reinforce academic STEM material as well as motivate students to remain in these fields. Prior to this current study, no national-level research has evaluated the effectiveness of these courses. Purpose (a) What applied STEM courses are most commonly taken by high school students? (b) To what extent are high school students taking both academic math courses and applied STEM courses? (c) Do applied STEM courses in high school improve achievement in math? Participants To address the three research questions listed above, this study relies on a comprehensive longitudinal dataset: the Education Longitudinal Survey (ELS:2002). The present study is based on a sample of approximately 11,112 students who participated in the base-year (10th grade, 2002) and first follow-up (12th grade 2004) interviews, who completed math assessments in both years, and for whom valid transcript information was collected. Research Design This study begins with a descriptive analysis to evaluate which students have taken applied STEM courses and at which ability level. From this, a common set of applied STEM courses is determined across this nationally representative dataset. Next, this study relies on a linear regression model of math achievement where the dependent variable is a standardized math score. Independent covariates include measures as to whether or not a student had taken applied STEM courses, academic math courses taken by the student, and a range of controls. Findings Students who take an applied STEM course had higher math scores than their peers who did not take an applied STEM course, all else equal. These courses may be particularly beneficial for those students who are less oriented toward advanced math. Conclusions/Recommendations Applied STEM courses can be used to support learning in math instructed elsewhere in the curriculum, particularly for those students at the lower end of the math pipeline. In providing hands-on learning, often with technology and with direct application to concrete occupationally specific problems, applied STEM courses may serve as a critical means to support an understanding of concepts taught in lower level math pipeline courses.

Examining High School Students’ Gendered Beliefs about Math: Predictors and Implications for Choice of STEM College Majors

2021 ◽  
pp. 003804072110147
Author(s):  
Catherine Riegle-Crumb ◽  
Menglu Peng
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
School Students ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Math Ability ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics

Utilizing the High School Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students, this study investigates the factors that predict different beliefs about gendered math ability and the potential consequences for students’ choices to enter gender-segregated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors in college. Among other results, analyses reveal that while about 25 percent of students report a traditionally stereotypical belief in male superiority, about 20 percent report a counter-stereotypical belief in female superiority; among female students, such beliefs are more common among black students. Further, models reveal a robust association between holding counter-stereotypical beliefs and the likelihood that women choose biological science majors, which are female dominated, compared to non-STEM fields. Among men, holding counter-stereotypical beliefs is associated with a lower likelihood of majoring in physical science, computer science, math, and engineering fields, which are strongly male dominated, versus non-STEM fields. Implications for gender inequality in STEM fields are discussed.

scholarly journals Who’s Taking What? “Applied STEM” Coursetaking for High School Students With Learning Disabilities

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842199907
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Jay Plasman ◽  
Jennifer A. Freeman ◽  
Shaun Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
High School Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics

Increasing and improving the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational pipeline has been a point of emphasis for decades, and federal policy in the United States has urged high schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one example, applied STEM courses—one growing branch within career and technical education (CTE)—are designed to reinforce traditional academic STEM content and to motivate students’ interests and long-term pursuits in STEM areas. That said, little is known about who takes these courses, and applied-STEM-CTE enrollment in these courses has not been explored in the research for students with learning disabilities. Using the High School Longitudinal Study (a nationally representative data set of high school students), we asked whether CTE coursetaking differed for students with learning disabilities compared with those without disabilities, and whether there were specific coursetaking differences in applied-STEM-CTE. We found that students with learning disabilities were more likely to earn more units in CTE courses compared with students without disabilities. Yet, when looking at applied-STEM-CTE courses, we see that although students with learning disabilities earn more CTE units than students without disabilities, students with learning disabilities do not take different amounts of applied-STEM-CTE courses. Implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Geoffrey Vincent Raynor, 2 October 1913 - 20 October 1983

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 546-563
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Scientific Study ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Seventieth Birthday ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
At Home

Geoffrey Vincent Raynor died in Birmingham on 20 October 1983 after a short illness that began on his seventieth birthday. He was born in Nottingham on 2 October 1913, the youngest of three children, all sons (the second of whom died in infancy), of Alfred Ernest and Florence Lottie ( née Campion) Raynor. They were a small, close-knit family with many relations living nearby. Later in life Geoffrey Raynor missed the ‘small town’ atmosphere of his early days in Nottingham. His family was not academic, his father being a lace dressers’ manager, but he was encouraged to work at his studies in the local infant and primary school at West Bridgford, as a result of which he won a scholarship which took him to Nottingham High School in 1925. This was a most decisive step. The High School had a tremendous influence on him and laid the foundations for all his future academic life. With the general encouragement of the Head master, C. L. Reynolds, and the wise and kind help of his chemistry master, G. F. (‘Freddy’) Hood and house and mathematics master, H. (‘Algy’) Goddard of Maple’s House, reinforced by many happy hours spent at home with a Meccano set, Geoffrey Raynor developed rapidly into a fine scholar who was regularly rewarded with school prizes in chemistry and science generally. His love of scientific study was, however, always balanced by a delight in sport. He won his rugby colours and also enjoyed shooting, winning the musketry prize on two occasions, and swimming; but his main and long-lasting delight was in rowing. He became Captain of Boats in 1931/2.

Disposable Computing

Digitized ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Bentley
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Alan Turing ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
And Control

A billion times improved, what once filled large halls and cost millions are now so small and cheap that we throw them away like empty sweet wrappers. Their universal design and common language enables them to talk to each other and control our world. They follow their own law, a Law of Moore, which guarantees their ubiquity. But how fast and how small can they go? When the laws of physics are challenged by their hunger and size, what then? Will they transform into something radical and different? And will we be able to cope with their future needs? . . . A high-pitched voice cut through the general murmur of the Bell Telephone Laboratories Cafeteria. ‘No, I’m not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I’m after is a mediocre brain, something like the President of American Telephone & Telegraph Company.’ Alan Turing was in town. Turing was visiting the Bell Labs towards the end of his American visit, in early 1943. He was there to help with their speech encipherment work for transatlantic communication (coding the transmission of speech so that the enemy could not understand it). But the visit soon became beneficial for a different reason. Every day at teatime Turing and a Bell Labs researcher called Claude Shannon had long discussions in the cafeteria. It seemed they were both fascinated by the idea of computers. But while Turing approached the subject from a very mathematical perspective, Shannon had approached the topic from a different angle. Claude Shannon was four years younger than Turing. Born in a small town called Petoskey, MI, USA, on the shores of Lake Michigan, his father was a businessman, and his mother was the principal of GayLord High School. Claude grew up in the nearby town of GayLord and attended his mother’s school. He showed a great interest in engineering and mathematics from an early age. Even as a child he was building erector sets, model planes, a radio controlled boat, and a telegraph system to his friend’s house half a mile away (making use of two barbed wires around a nearby pasture).

Squaring Matrices: Connecting Mathematics and Science

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-106
Author(s):  
Robert M. Horton ◽  
Elaine M. Wiegert ◽  
Jeff C. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Matrix Multiplication ◽  
Food Chains ◽  
Algebra 1 ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Language Of Science ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Scientific Ideas ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Mathematics And Science

We have all heard that mathematics is the language of science, yet many teachers have not had sufficient opportunities to learn how to use mathematics to provide insight into scientific ideas. Consequently, in many mathematics classes, students learn procedures yet have difficulty understanding why they are learning them. In working with both high school and college students, we have found that matrix multiplication is one of these procedures. In fact, when we introduced our students to problems similar to the ones presented here, we discovered that, although they had been taught how to multiply matrices, they did not understand the rationale behind the procedure. Further, they were unaware how useful this procedure could be for studying some important realworld phenomena. In this article, we present a technique for matrix multiplication that is appropriate for algebra 2 or late algebra 1 students and provides a means for investigating food chains, a rich source of study in both science and mathematics classes.

Cross-Lagged Models of Mathematics Achievement and Motivational Factors Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic High School Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guan Saw ◽  
Chi-Ning Chang
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
School Students ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Math Test ◽  
Racial Ethnic

This study examines the disparities in, changes in, and longitudinal interrelationships among mathematics achievement and motivational factors for Hispanics and their White, Black, and Asian peers throughout high school. Analyzing the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, regression results indicate that Hispanics trail other racial/ethnic groups in math cognitive and psychosocial factors, except that they outperform their Black counterparts in math standardized assessments. Cross-lagged path analyses further reveal that while math intellectual competencies and expectancy-value beliefs are generally reciprocal over time for all racial/ethnic groups, the estimated effect of initial math expectancy on subsequent math test scores for Hispanics is 2.4 to 2.6 times larger than for non-Hispanics. This finding highlights the distinctive developmental patterns of math achievement and motivational factors for young Hispanic students, which have important implications for research and practice on increasing participation of Hispanics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALGORITHMIC CULTURE AND PROGRAMMING CULTURE OF STUDENTS IN PROFILE CLASSES WHILE STUDING THE BASIS OF PROGRAMMING IN C++

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-33
Author(s):  
K. V. Rozov
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Writing Programs ◽  
School Students ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
C Programming ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Basic Level ◽  
Special Control

The article presents the structure, content and results of approbation of the C++ programming course developed for the 10th grade students of physics and mathematics profile and implemented as part of the academic subject “Informatics”. The aim of the course is to develop in the student not only knowledge and skills in programming, but also his algorithmic culture and programming culture as important qualities of a potential IT-specialist. This is facilitated by special control of educational process by the teacher, which consists in monitoring the activities of students in writing programs and timely correction of this activity. The assessment of the level of development of student algorithmic culture and programming culture relative to the basic level of their formation (when mastering the basics of algorithmization and programming in the 9th grade) was carried out on the basis of a number of criteria presented in the article. The results of approbation showed that the specially organized teacher activity makes it possible to increase the level of algorithmic culture and programming culture of high school students when studying the basics of programming in C++.

Students graduate of the degree course in Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the exercise of teaching profession: findings and implications for basic education

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
A. C. R. Trevisan ◽  
E. P. Trevisan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Teaching Career ◽  
Professional Performance ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
And Mathematics

In the article we seek to address questions regarding the interest of graduates of a degree course in Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to the teaching career in basic education. The course enables its graduates to work in the subjects Science and Mathematics in the final years of elementary school and Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in high school. Our intention is to identify and reflect on the perceptions of these graduates about teaching, highlighting with this inherent aspects to the exercise of this profession in basic education. From the application of questionnaires to graduates of this course, we produced data regarding their performance in basic education, which enabled us to reflect on the national scenario in relation to the exercise of this profession. We could observe that the majority of the students participating in the research are not working in basic education and that the current scenario of devaluation of the teaching career exerts a significant influence in the decision making process of choosing or not the teacher profession for professional performance after graduation.

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