The Middle School Science Readiness Program

• In Event: 70.055 - Toward Social Justice Through Expansion of STEM Opportunities: The Influence of After-School and Summer Programs

Abstract

Although more than eight million children across the U.S. participate in afterschool programs, little consensus exists as to best practices for this informal learning environment and its unique challenges to student learning (Afterschool Alliance, 2013). Academic afterschool programs, in particular, face the difficult challenge of providing high quality learning experiences while maintaining student interest and engagement and simultaneously minimizing patterns of sporadic attendance (Alspaugh, 1998). The Middle School Science Readiness Program (MSSRP) was designed to meet two major objectives: 1) develop and implement afterschool-specific STEM activities that increase the knowledge, skills and interest of students on the cusp of entering middle school, and 2) evaluating the activities to help inform best practices for future STEM afterschool programs.

The MSSRP consisted of two semesters of a comparison group study in which 5th grade students from an urban school district participated in inquiry-based activities designed to increase their basic science skills, content knowledge and interest in science and engineering. During the fall semester, 234 students in nine schools participated in the activities. A comparison group of 174 of their peers in other afterschool programs at the same nine schools completed pre- and posttests. In the spring semester, 251 students from the same nine schools were in the program, and 208 of their peers served as the comparison group.

In addition to pre-post content tests to assess increases in student knowledge, pre-post program attitude surveys were collected to gauge changes in student interest toward science, as compared to their peers in the comparison group. Finally, qualitative data were collected from teachers who conducted MSSRP activities to evaluate their perceptions of the program’s value and also capture any observations of student improvements or changes that occurred during the course of the program.

Quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that participating students’ content knowledge, interest in STEM subjects, and applicable skills improved, compared to their peers in non-STEM afterschool programs. Further, teacher feedback suggests that the most effective afterschool program activities were those that engaged students actively in collaborative group work, were relevant to real-world problems, and allowed students to troubleshoot their own designs. Teachers indicated that they were most likely to re-use the activities that require very little set up or preparation, fit neatly into an appropriate time frame, and contain clear instructions.

Our findings provide a template for improving existing afterschool programs, and offer lessons learned in terms of balancing student engagement and learning with ease of instruction (Darling-Hammond & Sato, 2006). Demonstration of student improvement even in the face of program attrition and irregular attendance that are ubiquitous in such programs indicates that this design—and the activities used—may help guide future afterschool programs.

Authors

• Alana Newell, Baylor College of Medicine

• Nancy P. Moreno, Baylor College of Medicine