STEM

This phenomenological study sought to understand the lived experiences of graduate students engaged in STEM-related Academic Service-Learning (AS-L). For the purposes of this study, Academic Service-Learning is a form of experiential learning whereby students complete a service project as a component of a specific course. This study looked at these student AS-L project experiences at the graduate level as a component of STEM-based courses. While the impact of Academic Service-Learning on the undergraduate experience is well documented, there is no research to date on the graduate experience, much less on graduate students in STEM fields. By understanding the lived experiences of graduate students in STEM-based Academic Service-Learning, this study attempts to fill that gap.
The research questions that guided my study were: (1) What types of project-based experiences are graduate students performing in their Academic-Service-Learning designated courses? (2) What are the lived experiences of graduate students who are conducting AS-L projects in the community as a component of a STEM-based AS-L course as perceived by students, faculty, and community partners. (3) What are the lived experiences of the community partners who are hosting the students for their AS-L projects.

Research shows that the United States of America is losing its competitive stance in the area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) relative to other countries. One strategy that could solve this problem would be to diversify the field of STEM to include more women of color. The purpose of this narrative, qualitative research study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women with advanced/terminal degrees who are current STEM professionals in Palm Beach County.
Fourteen Black women participated in this study, which yielded four major findings that included early exposure to education’s value. importance of a strong sense of self/self-identity, challenges, and discrimination.
The hope is that these findings will provide local administrators and elected officials/decision-makers (e.g., the school district, higher education, and government agencies) with information that could advise future practices and policies to close the gap of under-represented Black women in STEM industries.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the feelings and
experiences of state college transfer STEM students regarding transfer from the state
college to the university. The 25 participants in this study were asked to describe their
feelings about the transfer process. Data were gathered from the interviews and from a
review of short journals and documents. It was hoped that the experiences of successful
transfer students would help illustrate the feelings present when these STEM transfer
students enter the university as juniors and compete with native juniors or juniors who
began their collegiate experiences as freshmen at the university.
Each participant had varied experiences and feelings from the experience. There
was no one process that each student traveled through. Findings included: financial
influences on decision-making, inconsistencies in advising causing anxieties, hands on
learning impacts persistence, negative connotations for transfer students, class size impacts difficulty, the importance of university transfer orientation, and areas in need of
improvement. During participant interviews, the issue of finance and budgeting was the
most prevalent topic. Participants found that their state college advisors did not always
understand their intended career paths causing confusion and anxiety. They valued hands
on experiences provided by state college professors who encouraged them to continue
their education. The increased class size at the university was disconcerting to many
study participants. At the state college professors had open-door policies for students
with questions or in need of extra assistance with course materials. Participants felt that
the classification of transfer student had some negative connotations at the university.
Students were reluctant to be singled out as state college transfer students. In addition,
transfer orientation was viewed by older participants as demeaning.
Participants were asked about changes they would make in the transfer process.
The link programs seemed to be under promoted. A database for immigration
information was suggested. Participants also suggested changes to transfer student
orientation. This study was limited to 25 successful transfer students. The results should
not be generalized to a larger population, but instead provide ideas for future policy
discussions and research.

Professional development has been deemed ineffective for several decades. This ineffectiveness could stem from the one-size-fits-all professional development designs, and the inconsistencies and contradictions pointed out in professional development research (which is used to create these designs). Investigating how subject taught (STEM and non-STEM), Title I status of the school (Title I and non-Title I), and grade level of instruction (elementary, middle and high) could influence teachers’ preferences regarding components included in an effective design is a step toward resolving some of these inconsistencies. The research design was an embedded mixed method – an overall causal-comparative design embedded with interviews. Interviews determined teachers’ perceptions of an effective professional development design. The survey investigated preferences for nine components: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, active learning, duration, alignment with goals and policies, follow-up, collaboration, support, and resources (tangible and intangible). In the interviews, teachers communicated a need for differentiation based on grade level of instruction, Tittle I status of the school, and subject taught, with high percentages of agreement with the final questions of the survey. The ordinal logistic regression indicated that subject taught and Title I status of the school did not have a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. Breaking up participants according to grade level of instruction (elementary versus secondary) had a statistically significant effect on teachers’ preferences regarding the components included in an effective professional development design. This indicated that professional development should be differentiated based on elementary and secondary instruction. When the researcher reviewed the components, some showed that the independent variables, Title I status of the school and grade level of instruction had a statistically significant effect. Although the ordinal logistic regression revealed a lack of statistical significance, percent differences indicated that factors such as subject taught, Title I status of the school, and grade level of instruction influenced teachers’ preferences regarding specific components in an effective professional development design. These findings illustrate promise that in a larger study, statistical significance might be present. Thus, professional development should be differentiated based on subject taught, Title I status of the school, and grade level of instruction.