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Many researchers believe that career interests and career plans start developing as early as middle school. However, high school students often passively eliminate technical career options with course choices that do not meet the needs of a STEM academic path. Consequently, providing career exploration programs in the last two years of high school is often too late to give students time to adequately prepare for further study in STEM fields, which may potentially result in depleting the ranks of future STEM majors especially in underrepresented populations. Researchers further believe that fostering an early interest in STEM, supporting student success and confidence in STEM, and providing an improved understanding of STEM career paths will encourage students to pursue STEM careers at a time when they can still make academic choices that will enhance their potential for future success. In an effort to increase subject matter knowledge, interest and self-efficacy in STEM, a federally designated Hispanic-serving community college in the San Francisco Bay Area developed the STEM Institute, a three-week program for current high school freshmen and sophomores interested in exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The program introduces STEM through experiential learning using hands-on/real-world projects, classroom/lab instruction, speakers, on-campus field trips and workshops in five STEM fields of study. This paper describes the evolution of the STEM Institute, including challenges encountered and strategies employed to overcome those challenges. It also examines the effect that the program had on student interest and self-efficacy in STEM, employing non-parametric statistical tests to compare repeated measurements of student interest and self-efficacy. Program impact on the subject matter knowledge of student participants is also discussed. The paper further highlights best practices that have been developed at the STEM Institute host college to assist other institutions in developing a similar program to increase subject matter knowledge as well as interest and self-efficacy in STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of California community college students enter college with low levels of preparation for college level work, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). As a result, community college students wishing to pursue careers in Engineering are often under prepared for the foundation courses required as pre-requisites to beginning engineering classes. Due to their low preparation many students withdraw from courses or even change majors before completing transfer-level STEM courses. This paper describes the development and implementation of two programs designed to improve retention and success in these critical prerequisite courses. Programs include supplemental instruction to target pre-requisite physics and math classes and Physics Jam, a pre-semester physics preparation program. Supplemental instruction (SI) is an academic assistance program that creates a safe environment for students to get their questions answered and receive feedback from peers who have been successful in their course. SI leaders act as "prototype" students who model successful classroom behavior and study skills. Because SI is not designed to be a remedial approach it targets high risk courses not high risk students. Therefore, for the first implementation of SI at Cañada College (a two-year school in the San Francisco Bay area) targeted Trigonometry, Pre-calculus, Calculus I, and General Physics I to facilitate retention and success in pre-engineering major STEM courses. All students in the course are encouraged to attend Supplemental Instruction sessions each week. In addition to SI, students entering General Physics I were given the opportunity to participate in "Physics Jam," a four-week physics preparation program that is offered during the summer prior to the fall semester. Physics Jam is modeled after Math Jam (a week-long intensive math preparation program on our campus), which showed improvement in student success and creating a sense of community among program participants. The focus of Physics Jam is to unify the student's math skills with introductory physics problems prior to the semester, thereby improving their success in their upcoming course. Physics Jam students were given a preassessment and then allowed to proceed self-paced through prearranged video content and practice problems with constant access to tutor support and an instructor. This paper will discuss the successes and obstacles that were met implementing these programs in a two-year college setting. We will highlight the unique set of challenges in implementing even well-established programs such as Supplemental Instruction in a two-year college setting as well as those encountered when transitioning a successful Math boot camp model to Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]