Poster #71 - After-School STEM Clubs: Exploring Their Potential to Fill Learning Opportunity Gaps

• In Event: 79.052 - MTCC Poster Session 19
  In Poster Session: 79.052-8 - Informal Learning Environments Research Poster Session

Abstract

This quantitative study focuses on two years of survey and assessment data for 253 students at 4 rural, low wealth middle schools who participated in after-school STEM career clubs in the southeastern United States. Students’ performance on post-club content assessments and whether differences were linked to personal and/or contextual factors were analyzed. Independent t-tests and ANOVAs indicated that gender and race/ethnicity were not linked to differences in achievement. When divided into higher (75%) and lower (25%) achievement groups, students in the higher group had significantly higher technology sub-scale results (STEM-CIS) and Epstein’s home-to-school involvement measures, indicating that students’ personal interests, learning experiences during the Club, and contextual supports led to greater learning. STEM Clubs could provide useful student learning opportunities.

Authors

• Margaret R. Blanchard, North Carolina State University

• Kristie Gutierrez, Old Dominion University

• Christopher Allred, North Carolina State University

• Kylie Jayne Swanson Hoyle, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs