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Digital educational games exhibit substantial promise in advancing STEM education. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence on both the efficacy of digital game-based learning and its designs in STEM education is characterized by notable inconsistencies. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate (1) the general effect of digital game-based STEM learning over STEM learning without digital game, and (2) the enhancement effect of added game-design elements against base game versions in STEM learning. Two meta-analyses were conducted in this study. Based on the 136 effect sizes extracted from 86 studies, the first meta-analysis revealed a medium to large general effect of digital game-based STEM learning over conventional STEM learning (g = 0.624, 95% CI [0.457, 0.790]). In addition, digital game-based STEM learning appeared to be differentially effective for different learning outcome, different types of game, and different subject. A total of 44 primary studies and 81 effect sizes were identified in the second meta-analysis. The results revealed a small to medium enhancement effect of added game-design elements over base game versions (g = 0.301, 95% CI [0.163, 0.438]). Furthermore, our results indicated that the game-design elements added for content learning were more effective than those added for gaming experience. Possible explanations for these findings, as well as the limitations and directions for future research were discussed.

Background: Capturing measures of students' attitudes toward science has long been a focus within the field of science education. The resulting interest has led to the development of many instruments over the years. There is considerable disagreement about how attitudes should be measured, and especially whether students' attitudes toward science can or should be measured unidimensionally, or whether separate attitude dimensions or subscales should be considered. When it is agreed upon that the attitudes toward science construct should be measured along separate subscales, there is no consensus about which subscales should be used. Methods: A streamlined version of the modified Attitudes Towards Science Inventory (mATSI), a widely used science measurement instrument, was validated for a more diverse sample as compared to the original study (Weinburgh and Steele in Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 6:87-94, 2000). The analytical approach used factor analyses and longitudinal measurement invariance. The study used a sample of 2016 self-reported responses from 6 and 7th grade students. The factor analysis elucidated the factor structure of students' attitudes toward science, and some modifications were made in accordance with the results. Measurement invariance analysis was used to confirm the stability of the measure. Results: Our results support that the subscales, "anxiety toward science" and "value and enjoyment of science," are two factors and stable over time. Conclusions: Our results suggest that our proposed modified factor structure for students' attitudes toward science is reliable, valid, and appropriate for use in longitudinal studies. This study and its resulting streamlined mATSI survey could be of value to those interested in studying student engagement and measuring middle-school students' attitudes toward science.

Background: Out-of-school time (OST) science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programming has positive impacts for youth, and the importance of engineering design activities and principles within STEM programming is well-supported by research. Including subject matter experts (SMEs) in these programs enriches the experience of youth participants. Public libraries are widely accessible to the public, and their role in the OST arena is expanding. Library staff can boost the quality of STEM learning experiences by partnering with SMEs. Purpose: Subject matter experts (SME) contribute more than just their expertise. Between 2018 and 2019, a group of diverse professional engineers and librarians co-facilitated engineering activities at six U.S. libraries serving traditionally underserved populations. This study investigates the alignment in active learning preferences between youth, library staff, and professional engineer volunteers. Method: The study's design implemented the Framework for the Observation and Categorization of Instructional Strategies (FOCIS), which identifies seven different types of learning activities: collaborating, competing, performing, discovering, making, teaching, and caretaking. The FOCIS helped researchers evaluate the learning activity preferences of youth participants, engineers, and librarians. Results: The analysis showed that the learning activity preferences of youth and engineers were much more closely aligned than those of librarians. Conclusions: Alignment between youth-program participants and SME program facilitators has the potential to enrich the program experience and foster active engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In longitudinal studies, measurement invariance is required to conduct substantive comparisons over time or across groups. In this study, we examined measurement invariance on a recently developed instrument capturing student preferences for seven instructional strategies related to science learning and career interest. We have labeled these seven instructional strategies as Collaborating, Competing, Caretaking, Creating/Making, Discovering, Performing, and Teaching. A better understanding of student preferences for particular instructional strategies can help educators, researchers, and policy makers deliberately tailor programmatic instructional structure to increase student persistence in the STEM pipeline. However, simply confirming the relationship between student preferences for science instructional strategies and their future career choices at a single time point is not sufficient to clarify our understanding of the relationship between instructional strategies and student persistence in the STEM pipeline, especially since preferences for instructional strategies are understood to vary over time. As such, we sought to develop a measure that invariantly captures student preference over a period of time: the Framework for Observing and Categorizing Instructional Strategies (FOCIS). We administered the FOCIS instrument over four semesters over two middle school grades to 1009 6th graders and 1021 7th graders and confirmed the longitudinal invariance of the FOCIS measure. This confirmation of longitudinal invariance will allow researchers to examine the relationship between student preference for certain instructional strategies and student persistence in the STEM pipeline.

MD-PhD training takes, on average, 8 years to complete and involves two transitions, an MD-preclinical to PhD-research phase and a PhD-research to MD-clinical phase. There is a paucity of research about MD-PhD students' experiences during each transition. This study examined transition experiences reported by 48 MD-PhD students who had experienced at least one of these transitions during their training. We purposefully sampled medical schools across the United States to recruit participants. Semistructured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis; items focused on academic and social experiences within and outside their programs. Using a phenomenological approach and analytic induction, we examined students' transition experiences during their MD-PhD programs. Five broad themes emerged centering on multiple needs: mentoring, facilitating integration with students in each phase, integrating the curriculum to foster mastery of skills needed for each phase, awareness of cultural differences between MD and PhD training, and support. None of the respondents attributed their transition experiences to gender or race/ethnicity. Students emphasized the need for mentoring by MD-PhD faculty and better institutional and program supports to mitigate feelings of isolation and help students relearn knowledge for clinical clerkships and ease re-entry into the hospital culture, which differs substantially from the research culture.

This study examined a new form of pervasive gender inequality: the gender gap among high achievers in math and considered its implication for developing STEM talents. Using the cross-nation Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) data from both 2003 and 2012, we examined the mathematics gender gap among 15-year-old high achievers across ten countries/regions. We showed a consistent male advantage among the top performers in mathematics. Follow-up regression analyses revealed that the gap was associated with some socio-demographic and schooling/attitudinal variables, even after controlling for the background variables. We argue that education communities should acknowledge and address this form of gender inequality, as it could have ramifications for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education pipeline. Educators and society in general still face challenges in closing the gender gap among high achievers in math with an aim to develop a gender-balanced STEM talent pool.

This study investigated the interaction between students' academic background (high school grades, standardized exams, and enrollment in advanced high school courses) and how much autonomy they reported having in high school science through labs and projects. The objective was to see if students who reported experiencing more or less self-directed projects and labs performed differently in college science when prior academic background was taken into account. To provide a more solid foundation for the conclusions, the same analysis was performed on three different data sets in biology, chemistry, and physics. The authors found that autonomous learning activities in high school science interact with high school mathematics grades to produce a significant association with college science grades. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Using a national survey of more than 7,000 students from 128 different college introductory science courses, the authors compared students who experienced Block scheduling and Traditional scheduling in high school. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Survey data from 8,594 students in 55 randomly chosen colleges and universities finds that those having passed an AP science exam earn somewhat higher college science grades, but not enough to assume prior mastery. Moreover, half of this performance difference appears to be related to demographics and high school coursework and not to students' AP coursework. (Contains 4 figures, 4 tables and 26 footnotes.)

Shortages of qualified science and mathematics teachers are a ubiquitous problem in the United States. Many schools face both sides of the problem: recruitment and retention of those teachers. Since bringing new teachers in and keeping them are equally important, where should school districts look for teachers that are most likely to stay? While many school districts cannot afford to be too choosy in where they look, their limited resources also mean that they cannot look everywhere. Therefore, information on who are more likely to stay may be valuable for districts to focus their resources for maximum impact. Using a sample of mathematics and science teachers extracted from the "Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of 1999-2000" and the "Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) of 2000-2001," connections between teacher and school district characteristics regarding retention are investigated to offer insight into how mathematics/science teacher recruitment might be focused. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table and 3 footnotes.)

In light of shortages of mathematics and science teachers, alternative certification was introduced in the mid-1980s. This study examined the effect of alternative certification among math and science teachers who moved to a different school or left the profession. This was accomplished using the national "SASS" and "TFS" databases. The results indicated that alternatively certified teachers were comparable in their commitment to their current school and the teaching profession when compared with their traditionally certified colleagues. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for education policy makers and school administrators.

The connection between high school chemistry pedagogical experiences and introductory college chemistry performance has been a topic researched in published science education literature since the 1920s. However, analysis techniques have limited the generalizability of these results. This review discusses the findings of a large-scale, multi-institutional research study addressing many of these previous limitations. The findings reveal that high school experiences are significantly associated with college performance. The implications indicate that high school chemistry teachers may have a positive impact in preparing their students for future success in introductory-level college chemistry. (This paper is a summary of Tai, Sadler, & Loehr, 2005.)

Do summer laboratory research apprenticeships during high school have an impact on entry into MD/PhD programs? Apart from the nearly decade-long span of time between high school and matriculation into an MD/PhD program, young people have many life-shaping experiences that presumably impact their education and career trajectories. This quantitative study (n = 236,432) examines the connection between early laboratory research apprenticeship experiences at the high school level and matriculation into one of the more rigorous educational programs for scientific research training. The span of time covered by this analysis reaches across more than a decade, examining the potential importance of research experiences during the precollege years in the educational trajectory of young people. Intertwined with this question on research experiences is a second major concern regarding diversity in the life sciences research corps. Diversity in this wide-ranging discipline refers specifically to the underrepresentation of Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latino/as, and American Indians/Alaska Natives among the ranks of research scientists. Thus, this study includes analyses that specifically focus on research apprenticeships of Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latino/as and their entrance into MD/ PhD programs.

Recent research and public policy have indicated the need for increasing the physical science workforce through development of interest and engagement with informal and formal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiences. This study examines the association of family education and physical scientists' informal experiences in science along with the association of informal family science experiences and early initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression analyses. Research questions addressed are as follows: Controlling for demographic variables, do physical scientists parents' level of education associate with participation in informal family science experiences? And which informal family science experiences are associated with physical scientists that report an initial personal interest in science by elementary school? These questions are analyzed with survey data from Project Crossover (N = 4,285), a sequential mixed-methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results indicate that families with higher parental education are more likely to take part in informal science experiences and therefore more likely to provide positive encouragement for their children to develop an early interest in science. Detailed analyses show that the following family forms of informal science education: occupation, diversions and hobbies, and encouragement are associated with an early initial interest in science by elementary school.

Mentors play important roles in determining the working environment of out-of-school-time clubs. On robotics teams, they provide guidance in hopes that their protégés progress through an engineering process. This study examined how mentors on one robotics team who defined their mentoring style as "let the students do the work" navigated the challenges of a "build season" and participation in regional competitions. What were some of the challenges faced by mentors and students? How did they cope when students played the largest role in team and design decisions? The mentor-student interactions captured in the research showed mentors playing supporting roles while students took command of all aspects of building the robot. The students on the team found themselves self-directing, learning, and gaining confidence by doing, and having fun with like-minded peers.

Research shows that women are entering the field of physics at a faster rate than the field of chemistry through bachelor's and doctoral degrees. However, STEM studies primarily compare women to men or examine them as a single entity. Therefore, a paucity of research exists that examines what may differentiate women in certain critical and underrepresented fields of STEM education, such as the physical sciences. The focus of this study is to examine differences among women in chemistry in the physical sciences based on background demographics and motivational factors such as academic achievement and experiences ranging from secondary through postsecondary education. This study examines the following research question: "On average, do females who select chemistry as compared to physics doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field?" This question is analyzed using variables in a logistic regression from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). Results show that females who have higher secondary and postsecondary grades and positive experiences in postsecondary chemistry as well as negative postsecondary physics experiences are more likely to enter the field of chemistry as opposed to physics. Therefore, success and experiences in entry-level chemistry courses are critical for female entry into the field and should be further examined. Overall, analyses show that women should not be studied in comparison only to men or as a single entity; they should also be compared to one another to uncover what motivation and background variables influence them to enter a particular field.

The majority of existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research studies compare women to men, yet a paucity of research exists that examines what differentiates female career choice within the physical sciences. In light of these research trends and recommendations, this study examines the following question: On average, do females who select physics as compared to chemistry doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field? This question is analyzed using variables from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). A logistic regression analysis and prototypical odds ratio uncover what differentiates women in the physical sciences based on their academic achievement and experiences ranging from high school through undergraduate education. Results indicate that females who have negative undergraduate chemistry experiences as well as higher grades and positive experiences in undergraduate physics are more likely to pursue a career in physics as opposed to chemistry. Conclusions suggest that a greater emphasis should be placed on the classroom experiences that are provided to females in gateway physics courses. Analyses show that women are not a single entity that should only be examined as a whole group or in comparison to men. Instead women can be compared to one another to see what influences their differences in educational experiences and career choice in STEM-based fields as well as other academic areas of study.

This study addresses the association between middle-school students' reported participation in science summer programmes and their reported expectation of a career in science and engineering. Data were collected on 1,580 students from eight middle schools in five states, applying an accelerated longitudinal design. Two consecutive cohorts were sampled over a two-year period time. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between students' participation in science summer camps and their career interest in science and engineering while initial career interest and background information were considered. Results indicate that students who participated in science summer camps before or in the first year of the study, compared to students who did not, are significantly more likely to report science and engineering as their future career field in the second year of the study. It appears that students who once participated in science summer camps were more likely to later report a career interest in the science and engineering fields.

With recent attention to improving scientific workforce development and student achievement, there has been a rise in effort to understand and encourage student engagement in physical science. This study examines the association of family influence and initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression models. Research questions addressed include Controlling for demographic variables, are physical science doctoral students or scientists who report family as a primary source of interest in science, as opposed to those that do not, more likely to develop an early interest in science? And what specific forms of family support are associated with doctoral students or scientists who report family as a primary source of initial interest in science? The study uses survey data from Project Crossover ("n" = 4,285), a sequential mixed methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results suggest that family interest in science facilitates earlier initial interest in science. Further analyses show that family influence shifts from parental occupation as the primary source of interest for the older generation of scientists to one of three influences (occupation, diversion or hobby, and encouragement) among doctoral students. (Contains 2 tables.)

The underrepresentation of women in physics doctorate programs and in tenured academic positions indicates a need to evaluate what may influence their career choice and persistence. This qualitative paper examines eleven females in physics doctoral programs and professional science positions in order to provide a more thorough understanding of why and how women make career choices based on aspects both inside and outside of school and their subsequent interaction. Results indicate that female physicists experience conflict in achieving balance within their graduate school experiences and personal lives and that this then influences their view of their future careers and possible career choices. Female physicists report both early and long-term support outside of school by family, and later departmental support, as being essential to their persistence within the field. A greater focus on informal and out-of-school science activities for females, especially those that involve family members, early in life may help influence their entrance into a physics career later in life. Departmental support, through advisers, mentors, peers, and women's support groups, with a focus on work-life balance can help females to complete graduate school and persist into an academic career. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

The conflict between the amount of material to be addressed in high school science classes, the need to prepare students for standardized tests, and the amount of time available forces science educators to make difficult pedagogical decisions on a daily basis. Hands-on and inquiry-based learning offer students more authentic learning experiences with benefits beyond test scores. However, these alternative teaching/learning techniques can be more time consuming than textbook use and exacerbate the conflict between pedagogy and time. The study reported in this article questioned 2712 college Biology students about their high school science experiences. Analyses indicate that the amount of time spent reading biology texts does not influence learning outcomes. (Contains 3 tables.)

Children's early science interest begins well before middle school, and parents can be important in generating and sustaining such interest. This qualitative study addresses how parental occupations shape physical scientists' early science interest. Our framework uses Social Cognitive Career Theory, and our research question is, "How do parental occupations create learning opportunities for children and motivate them to pursue physical science?" We examine interviews from 17 physical scientists in Project Crossover, a sequential mixed-methods study that broadly examines factors influencing entry into physics and chemistry doctoral programs. Parental occupations can create learning opportunities through role modeling, encouragement, exposure, familiarity, and bonding. Thus, parents can be valuable in creating learning opportunities for children outside classrooms. Study limitations include a small sample and lack of information about familial structure. Our research contributes to the emergent understanding of the role of parental occupations in science interest, which further influences individual career trajectories.

The loss of talented women from the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline has been widely recognized within science education as a pressing issue, particularly in the physical sciences. To provide a gender-based perspective of a popular educational device, the present study evaluated undergraduate research experiences (UREs) from a longitudinal perspective in respect to participation, learning enhancements, and contribution to the pursuit of a postgraduate education. Data from practicing scientists and graduate students indicated that women were more likely to participate in these research programs than their male counterparts. Of those who had participated (n = 1829), similar patterns in conferred gains for men and women were reported; however, gender-based variations were observed within items associated with self-efficacy, science interest, and the practice of authentic research. Women were found to identify UREs as a primary reason for entering graduate school at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts. Results of this study suggest the long-term efficacy of UREs as a gateway for women interested in STEM careers and provide support in justifying research programs and initiatives for women in traditionally male-dominated fields. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

In section two of a 2002 amendment on the Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Improvement Act, congress stated "A workforce that is highly trained in science...is crucial to generating the innovation that drives economic growth..." (Committee on Science, 2002). Given the growth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and the exodus of aging and highly skilled workers from these fields as projected by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), fulfilling this order is likely to be challenging. In 2005, The BLS projected that between 2004 and 2014, employers in the United States would be hiring 2.5 million STEM workers (BLS, 2005). Despite this looming deficit, some STEM fields in the United States are actually graduating fewer bachelor's degree students than 20 years ago (NSF, 2006). In 2004, 64,675 students earned engineering bachelor degrees compared to 76,153 in 1984. Bachelor's degrees in Physical sciences totaled 14,240 in 2004, while they reached 15,831 in 1984. This emphasizes the importance of increasing student interest in science in order to ensure we will be capable of filling the projected openings and maintaining competitive in the global market.

What motivates individuals to embark on graduate careers in physics and chemistry and how could these motivations impact future productivity? This study examines gender differences in such motivations and their ability to predict select future success outcomes (publications and grant funding) for physical scientists. The data were obtained as part of Project Crossover, a national study of physicists and chemists. Overall, motivations for males and females were similar. Regression results indicate that individuals who chose a graduate career in the physical sciences primarily because they enjoyed thinking about science or were encouraged by significant others were more productive in terms of primary/first-author publications and generation of grant funding than those who were motivated by factors such as academic performance or desire to impact society. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

Spurred by concerns about an inadequately sized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, there has been a growing interest in out-of-school time (OST) science activities as a means to foster STEM career interest. This study examines the association between OST science activities and STEM career interest in university through a logistic regression model and the calculation of prototypical odds ratios. The analysis addresses two main research questions: What is the correlation among different forms of OST activities? And, controlling for student demographic and background variables, what specific forms of OST activities are associated with STEM career interest in university? The study uses data from the "Persistence Research in Science and Engineering" survey (n = 6882), which employs a nationally representative sample of university students enrolled in introductory English courses. Results indicate that students' participation in OST activities, as well as their middle school interest in science and mathematics and their gender, plays a significant role in university career interest in STEM. Conclusions suggest that making OST clubs and competitions and the inclusion of non-fiction and science fiction within English Language Arts programmes may be beneficial to the development of students in STEM careers. Limitations include the paucity of research examining which students participate in these activities and what specific features or characteristics benefit them.

Even with the history of debate over the merits of homework, there are significant gaps in the research record regarding its benefit to students. The focus of this study is on the association between time spent on homework and academic performance in science and math by assessing survey and transcript data from two nationally representative samples of high school students collected in 1990 and 2002. Using multiple linear regressions and controlling for students' background, motivation, and prior achievement, we investigated how much variance in science and math course grades and achievement test scores could be explained by time spent on homework in those classes. The results indicate that there is no consistent significant relationship between time spent on homework and grades, but a consistently positive significant relationship between homework and performance on standardized exams. (Contains 7 tables and 3 footnotes.)

In a climate where increasing numbers of students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, the level of preparedness students have for college-level coursework is not far from the minds of all educators, especially high school teachers. Specifically within the biological sciences, introductory biology classes often serve as the gatekeeper or a pre-requisite for subsequent coursework in those fields and pre-professional programmes (eg pre-medicine or pre-veterinarian). Thus, how helpful high school science and mathematics experiences are in preparing students for their introductory biology classes is important and relevant for teachers, science educators and policy makers alike. This quantitative study looked at the association between students' high school science and mathematics experiences with introductory college biology performance. Using a nationally representative sample of US students ("n" = 2667) enrolled in 33 introductory college biology courses, a multi-level statistical model was developed to analyse the association between high school educational experiences and the final course grade in introductory biology courses. Advanced high school science and mathematics coursework, an emphasis on a deep conceptual understanding of biology concepts and a prior knowledge of concepts addressed in well-structured laboratory investigations are all positively associated with students' achievement in introductory college biology. (Contains 1 table.)