Undergraduate Research and the Enrollment Crisis in English Literature

Declines in undergraduate enrollments in English literature are well documented, and departments need to develop a coherent set of productive, practical responses to enrollment pressures. Drawing on studies of undergraduate research in STEM disciplines, this article explores how undergraduate research experiences in English literature can be envisioned not as unique, one-on-one experiences for motivated and interested students but as a curricular intervention that spans the undergraduate academic experience, fosters scholarly identity, and promotes inclusivity in scholarly training. Rather than functioning “by arrangement,” undergraduate research in English should be a coordinated enterprise that is established as an expectation for incoming students and a feature of every level of the major.

Gender Representation Cues Labels of Hard and Soft Sciences

While women's representation in STEM fields has increased over the past several decades, some fields have seen a greater increase women's participation than others. In the present research, we explore how women's participation in STEM disciplines influences labeling of those disciplines as hard vs. soft sciences. Study 1 found that increasing perceived participation of women in a STEM discipline increased the likelihood that participants would label it a soft science. Study 2 found that among people who did not work in science, this tendency to associate women's participation with soft science was correlated with endorsement of stereotypes about women's STEM competency. And Studies 3A and 3B showed that labeling disciplines as soft sciences led to the fields being devalued, deemed less rigorous, and less worthy of federal funding. These studies show that stereotypes about women's STEM competency can impact perceptions of fields in which women participate, with consequences for how scientific disciplines are perceived.

Do It by Yourself: An Instructional Derivation of the Laplacian Operator in Spherical Polar Coordinates

For scientists and engineers, the Laplacian operator is a fundamental tool that has made it possible to carry out important frontier studies involving wave propagation, potential theory, heat conduction, the distribution of stresses in a deformable solid and quantum mechanics. Knowing, understanding, and manipulating the Laplacian operator allows us to tackle complex and exciting physics, chemistry, and engineering problems. In this paper, contained in the Special Issue “Mathematics as the M in STEM Education”, we present an instructional derivation of the Laplacian operator in spherical coordinates. Our derivation is self-contained and employs well-known mathematical concepts used in all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Our lengthy but straightforward procedure shows that this fundamental tool in mathematics is not intractable but accessible to anyone who studies any of the STEM disciplines. We consider that this work may be helpful for students and teachers who wish to discuss the derivation of this vital tool from an elementary approach in their courses.

Beyond Content: The Role of STEM Disciplines, Real-World Problems, 21st Century Skills, and STEM Careers within Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Integrated STEM Education

Understanding teachers’ conceptions surrounding integrated STEM education is vital to the successful implementation of integrated STEM curricula in K-12 classrooms. Of particular interest is understanding how teachers conceptualize the role of the STEM disciplines within their integrated STEM teaching. Further, despite knowing that content-agnostic characteristics of integrated STEM education are important, little is known about how teachers conceptualize the real-world problems, 21st century skills, and the promotion of STEM careers in their integrated STEM instruction. This study used an exploratory case study design to investigate conceptions of 19 K-12 science teachers after participating in an integrated STEM-focused professional development and implementing integrated STEM lessons into their classrooms. Our findings show that all teacher participants viewed STEM education from an integrative perspective that fosters the development of 21st century skills, using real-world problems to motivate students. Our findings also reveal that teachers have varying ideas related to the STEM disciplines within integrated STEM instruction, which could assist teacher educators in preparing high-quality professional development experiences. Findings related to real-world problems, 21st century skills, and STEM careers provide a window into how to best support teachers to include these characteristics into their teaching more explicitly.

Georgia State University Perimeter College LSAMP Transfer Bridge Program: A Path Forward for Broadening Participation in Stem

Summer Bridge Programs are increasingly becoming a popular strategy for Colleges and Universities to retain more historically underrepresented minority students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Retaining students in STEM disciplines is a necessary first step in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of diversifying the STEM workforce to create innovative solutions for today’s complex problems. In this paper, the authors describe an exploratory and descriptive study of the promising Georgia State University Perimeter College (GSU-PC) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Transfer Bridge Program. Most summer bridge programs are designed to facilitate seamless entry into college for incoming first year students, but the GSU-PC LSAMP Transfer Bridge program is designed to support the successful transition of underrepresented STEM students transferring from a 2-year to 4-year institution. Early results indicate that the Transfer Bridge participants were significantly more likely to enroll in a 4-year STEM program, receive a STEM bachelor’s degree, enroll in a post-baccalaureate STEM program, and receive a STEM post-baccalaureate degree than a comparison group of non-Transfer Bridge students at Georgia State University Perimeter College.

Novel Statistical Analysis in the Context of a Comprehensive Needs Assessment for Secondary STEM Recruitment

There is a myriad of career opportunities stemming from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In addition to careers in corporate settings, teaching is a viable career option for individuals pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines. With national shortages of secondary STEM teachers, efforts to recruit, train, and retain quality STEM teachers is greatly important. Prior to exploring ways to attract potential STEM teacher candidates to pursue teacher training programs, it is important to understand the perceived value that potential recruits place on STEM careers, disciplines, and the teaching profession. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of the usefulness of STEM disciplines and their value in supporting students’ careers. A novel statistical method was utilized, combining exploratory-factor analysis, the analysis of variance, generalized estimating equation evaluations under the framework of a generalized linear model, and quantile regression. Using the outputs from each statistical measure, students’ valuation of each STEM discipline and their interest in pursuing teaching as a career option were assessed. Our results indicate a high correlation of liking and perceived usability of the STE disciplines relative to careers. Conversely, our results also display a low correlation of the liking and perceived usability of mathematics relative to future careers. The significance of these diametrically related results suggests the need for promotion of the interrelatedness of mathematics and STE.

Perusing the Past to Propel the Future: A Systematic Review of STEM Learning Activity Based on Activity Theory

Education is the road to sustainability, creating the appropriate environment for learners to socialize and acquire knowledge and skills for the 21st century. This study reviews 53 studies on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning activities from 2011 to 2020. In the past last 10 years, STEM education has gained attention, and little is known about how researchers designed and implemented learning activities. This systematic review based on activity theory reveals that STEM learning activities mostly involved elementary students in all STEM disciplines, with a sample size from 1 to 50. STEM learning activities emphasize mixed tasks, evaluating mixed learning outcomes with three STEM disciplines. Researchers mostly preferred project-based learning and problem-based learning methods, lasting from 9 to 24 weeks under teacher guidance with no rewards. This study revealed that most STEM activities were implemented in the classroom. Finally, the most often-used tools were mixed hardware. The quiz is the most often utilized in STEM activity. Major understudied areas that can be investigated by future studies are also revealed in depth. The results and implications for future studies are also discussed in detail.