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Teaching and Learning in Online Informal STEM Settings

Carroll, Turhan K.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0527-9544
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651836847177192

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Engineering Education.
Participation in Informal STEM education (ISE) programs is becoming increasingly common among pre-college students. These programs often state improving broadening participation in STEM as part of their mission. ISE programs are known to foster heightened student engagement due to flattened student-teacher hierarchy, free choice, self-directed learning experiences, and hands-on pedagogies. ISE is known to foster STEM career interest among racially underrepresented youth. Further, ISE has been shown to be effective in preparing K12 STEM teachers by fostering STEM teaching identity. The COVID-19 pandemic forced most ISE programs to move their activities to virtual formats. This was a major adjustment for facilitators and participants. The move to virtual platforms forced changes in ISE programming that could have lasting impact on the way that ISEs provide learning experiences for their participants. One of the major benefits of ISE’s transition to online learning was that ISE experiences were made more accessible to students who may not have had access to them before due to proximity or cost. If ISE stakeholders wish to utilize the lessons learned from moving to online learning and direct their investment of resources and time in informal STEM programs toward preparing a well-prepared, racially diverse STEM workforce, it is vital that they understand what is learned in these environments and how it is learned. The goal of this dissertation study was to examine teaching and learning in informal STEM settings. It explored the ways in which the concepts of smartness and intelligence have been used as gatekeepers in engineering education specifically and as exclusionary forces in educational contexts in general. It proposed a model for readers to reflect on their own beliefs about intelligence and smartness and explored research that demonstrates the danger of operating on normative beliefs about intelligence and smartness, which can be exclusionary to non-majority individuals such as women, racially minoritized people, and people of low socioeconomic status. Another objective of this research effort was to explore ways in which learning occurs for facilitators and participants in an online informal STEM context, in order to contextualize how these environments can better prepare underrepresented students to pursue STEM careers. Finally, the dissertation also explores methodological issues associated with current methods of assessing learning in informal contexts, and then presents unobtrusive measures as a viable method for assessing learning in specifically ISE settings. Used in concert with longstanding research methods in ISE, they can alleviate some of the biases that exist, improve the validity of assessment of ISE educational outcomes, and provide reliable measures of learning while preserving the freedom of choice and individualized learning that are a hallmark of ISE. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to advance informal STEM education closer to becoming a viable learning opportunity for underrepresented minority youth by contributing a framework for holistic STEM career preparation.
Ann Christy (Advisor)
James Moore, III (Committee Member)
Noah Finkelstein (Committee Member)
Winston Thompson (Committee Member)
Deborah Grzybowski (Committee Member)
Ann O'Connell (Committee Member)
152 p.
Education
Informal STEM Education; Unobtrusive Measures; STEM Teaching Identity; Online Informal STEM Education; Informal Learning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Carroll, T. K. (2022). Teaching and Learning in Online Informal STEM Settings [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651836847177192

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Carroll, Turhan. Teaching and Learning in Online Informal STEM Settings. 2022. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651836847177192.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Carroll, Turhan. "Teaching and Learning in Online Informal STEM Settings." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651836847177192

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1651836847177192
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.