scholarly journals A Collective Impact Model Towards Increasing STEM Major Student Retention

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (Volume 2, Issue 2) ◽  
pp. 21-30
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Collective Impact ◽  
Impact Model ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Hispanic Serving

This article presents the research findings of a multidisciplinary team's collective research effort at one university over a five-year period as funded by the National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program. A collaborative learning and retention action research effort at a large Hispanic Serving Institution is analyzed using mixed methods to document the power of collective impact as the foundation for a learning support model for students historically underrepresented majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academic programs. The actions of the team of researchers are presented to describe the Rising Stars Collective Impact model and the impacts achieved. This is a model that aligns objectives, intervention efforts, and reports collective results. The long-term goals of the Rising Stars Collective Impact multiple programs managed by the funded program team included the following: (a) to improve the campus sense of community for students historically under-represented in STEM, (b) to establish innovative and robust STEM education research-based practices to support critical skill attainment for students, and (c) to support faculty understanding of the funds of knowledge of diverse students. The positive student retention and success impacts of this research effort are measured through quantitative statistical analysis of the changes in second-year STEM undergraduate student retention rates and representation rates of women, Hispanics, and African American STEM majors.

The Summer Bridge Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-3
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Howard ◽  
Lonnie Sharpe Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Summer Bridge Program ◽  
Summer Bridge Programs ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Freshman Year ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
And Mathematics

Student retention is a consequential effort of all institutions of higher learning today.  The survival of the institution is dependent upon the success of students in obtaining their degrees (Knox, 2005; Noel, 1978).  In order to continue to grow a base of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students and produce quality graduates, it is imperative that best practices in student success and retention be identified, documented and replicated.  This study looked at the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Summer Bridge program results in STEM major retention and success in designated courses.  Three years of the TLSAMP Summer Bridge were randomly chosen from the inception of the first joint TLSAMP Summer Bridge Program in 2004 and the last one in 2013.  The years chosen for this study were 2008, 2012 and 2013.  The following information was gathered for participants in the 2008, 2012, and 2013 TLSAMP Summer Bridge Programs: (1) Major, (2) If student returned to school after freshmen year (3) If a change of major after freshman year, ( (4) First English course grade, and (5) First Math course grade.  TLSAMP Summer Bridge showed an indication to be a best practice for student retention and success in those targeted courses addressed in the bridge program.  From a broader perspective, it can be inferred that what works for STEM majors can also work for other majors when tailored for them and the culture of the institution.  Further study on the effectiveness and implementation of summer bridge programs on student recruitment and student retention is recommended.

scholarly journals Gender Inequality in STEM Employment and Earnings at Career Entry: Evidence from Millennial Birth Cohorts

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110643
Author(s):  
Tom VanHeuvelen ◽  
Natasha Quadlin
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
First Year College ◽  
And Mathematics

Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors remain male dominated, women’s greater enrollment in STEM is one of the greatest transformations to occur in U.S. higher education in the past half century. But to what extent have women’s gains in STEM enrollment translated to greater parity in labor market outcomes? Although the challenges women face in STEM have been well documented, questions about the influence of gender for STEM employment and earnings differences remain. In the present research, the authors use data from recent birth cohorts in the American Community Survey between 2009 and 2018 (starting with the first year college majors were available in the survey) and a reweighting technique from labor economics to track the evolution of gender inequalities in STEM employment and earnings inequality among STEM work at the onset of labor market entry. Even among a sample expected to produce highly conservative gender differences, sizable gender inequalities in STEM employment are observed. The authors show that despite women’s gains in STEM education among recent cohorts, women with STEM degrees face employment prospects in STEM work that more closely resemble those of men without STEM degrees than men with STEM degrees. Moreover, although modest gender earnings gaps eventually emerge for those without STEM degrees, large gaps occur at the outset of employment for STEM workers. Thus, although STEM education provides important opportunities for women’s earning potential, it may be less effective in itself to address significant gender inequalities among STEM employment.

scholarly journals Do Relative Advantages in STEM Grades Explain the Gender Gap in Selection of a STEM Major in College? A Multimethod Answer

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Stearns ◽  
Martha Cecilia Bottia ◽  
Jason Giersch ◽  
Roslyn Arlin Mickelson ◽  
Stephanie Moller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Future Research ◽  
College Seniors ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
Multimethod Approach ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Selection Of

Using a multimethod approach, we investigate whether gender gaps in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) major declaration in college are explained by differences in the grades that students earn in STEM versus non-STEM subjects. With quantitative data, we find that relative advantages in college academic performance in STEM versus non-STEM subjects do not contribute to the gender gap in STEM major declaration. To explore alternative explanations for gender gaps in major declaration, we analyze interviews with college seniors, finding that they recognize many other factors, including their interests in subject matter and confidence, are key in pushing them from STEM or pulling them into non-STEM majors. We conclude that future research seeking to account for gender gaps in STEM majors must extend beyond academic performance.

scholarly journals Broadening Participation in STEM College Majors: Effects of Attending a STEM-Focused High School

AERA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841880630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Means ◽  
Haiwen Wang ◽  
Xin Wei ◽  
Emi Iwatani ◽  
Vanessa Peters
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Two Year Colleges ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
School Sample ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
State Higher Education

To increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers, some states have promoted inclusive STEM high schools. This study addressed the question of whether these high schools improve the odds that their graduates will pursue a STEM major in college. State higher education records were obtained for students surveyed as seniors in 23 inclusive STEM high schools and 19 comparison schools without a STEM focus. Propensity score weighting was used to ensure that students in the comparison school sample were very similar to those in the inclusive STEM school sample in terms of demographic characteristics and Grade 8 achievement. Students overall and from under-represented groups who had attended inclusive STEM high schools were significantly more likely to be in a STEM bachelor’s degree program two years after high school graduation. For students who entered two-year colleges, on the other hand, attending an inclusive STEM high school was not associated with entry into STEM majors.

scholarly journals Beyond the Leaky Pipeline: Developmental Pathways that Lead College Students to Join or Return to STEM Majors

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-90
Author(s):  
Jue Wu ◽  
David Uttal
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Early College ◽  
Developmental Pathways ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Clinical Interviews ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
Leaky Pipeline

STEM education researchers often invoke the “Leaky Pipeline” metaphor (National Research Council, 1986) when explaining why so many students do not persist in STEM. This metaphor envisions the supply of potential workers as a pipeline.  Students “drip out” (leave STEM) of the pipeline from preschool through college. However, this metaphor does not adequately reflect the fluidity and multi-directionality of students’ decisions about their college majors.  For example, some students join STEM after leaving another (non-STEM) major, and others add STEM as a second major. Increasing the number of students who join STEM could contribute substantially to addressing the STEM shortage. We used the term STEM joiners to refer to these students. We conducted a qualitative study of 22 college STEM joiners to explore the developmental trajectories and motivations of these STEM joiners. Data was collected through semi-structured clinical interviews with each individual and was analyzed by an iterative, grounded coding processes to derive themes and categories. We found that the decision to join STEM after declaring another major was often motivated by a desire to return to original interests in STEM. Early college STEM courses, supportive STEM environments, and mentoring experiences were critical in students’ joining decisions. The results suggest ways in which STEM joining could be increased, which could lead to an increase in the number of STEM majors.

scholarly journals Sustaining Solutions in Undergraduate STEM Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
Ellene Tratras Contis ◽  
Batoul Abdallah
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Feature Learning ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Faculty Professional Development ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Underserved Students ◽  
Stem Programs ◽  
And Mathematics

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs that attract and sustain student interest feature learning that is experiential, investigative, hands-on, personally significant to both students and faculty, connected to other inquiries, and suggestive of practical application to students’ lives. Such learning flourishes in a community in which faculty are committed equally to teaching, to maintaining their own intellectual vitality, and to partnering with students in learning, and in which institutional support for such a community exists. The Creative Scientific Inquiry Experience (CSIE) Program at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) is involved in retaining and increasing the number of STEM graduates by including faculty professional development, student connectedness to the sciences and mathematics through academic service-learning, and curricular reform. In this conference paper we report on the success of the CSIE program, including course development, student engagement, student success, especially among underserved students, and sustainability. This work is important because it offers insight into the development, sustainability, and scalability into faculty-driven STEM education reform spanning 15 years. Keywords: STEM education, retention strategies, undergraduate STEM, majors/non-majors

Collaborative Learning in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Classroom

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn S. Potts ◽  
Sarah M. Ginsberg
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Abstract In recent years, colleges and universities across the country have been called upon to increase the quality of education provided and to improve student retention rates. In response to this challenge, many faculty are exploring alternatives to the traditional “lecture-centered” approach of higher education in an attempt to increase student learning and satisfaction. Collaborative learning is one method of teaching, which has been demonstrated to improve student learning outcomes.

Increasing undergraduate student retention rates

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Rickinson ◽  
Desmond Rutherford
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Student ◽  
Retention Rates

Shhh! No talking about retention in the library!

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Retention Rates

Student retention rates have long been a topic among school administrators, but it is an issue barely mentioned in library circles. This article will discuss the role the academic library can play in increasing and maintaining student retention rates on campus. By focusing briefly on four main topics, including reaching out to students early and often, getting them in the library door and getting them to stay, the reader will be able to see the broad picture of how crucial libraries are to fighting student attrition.

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