The impact of the STEAM Team Tank Design Challenge on STEM content and career interest, 2022

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis DAl

Identifier: b7931238

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

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The collection consists of dissertations written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate Educational Leadership program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Doctor of Education degree.

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and School of Education, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2022

Creator

D'Alessio, Stephanie (1969- ) (Author, Person)
Mulvaney, Tracy, 1970- (Thesis advisor, Person)
Henning, John E. (Thesis advisor, Person)
Zambak, Vecihi S. (Vecihi Serbay) (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (732-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Patrons must sign a completed Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to obtain access to the collection. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 94 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Exposing students to quality STEM education has a multitude of benefits: critical thinking, collaboration, relationship building, and perseverance are all enhanced by involvement in STEM activities (Ugras, 2018). A well-trained and diverse STEM workforce is also critically important for the United States to remain competitive a global economy. Unfortunately, there are clear gender and racial disparities among Americans employed in STEM-related fields (Funk & Parker, 2018). Greater student engagement in STEM can be fostered by programs which build STEM identity, make content relevant and meaningful, and allow for experiential, “hands-on, minds-on” learning (Allen et al., 2019). This quantitative study evaluated the impact of one such program, the STEAM Tank Design Challenge. Student participants (n= ~100) were given a retrospective self-change survey upon completion. The data was collected by the Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) Institute and analyzed by the researcher to determine the impact of participation on student interest in STEM content and STEM careers. Specific impacts on women and minority students were considered to examine the potential for high-quality STEM programming to help eliminate gender and racial gaps in the field. Such programs, if proven successful, can greatly benefit students and communities. STEM programs may be utilized not only to motivate students to pursue STEM career pathways, but also as a means by which underserved groups can be given exposure and access to greater opportunities, helping to mitigate inequity both in the STEM fields and in society as a whole.

Partial Contents

Dedication & acknowledgements -- List of figures -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Review of literature -- 3. Methods -- 4. Findings -- 5. Discussion -- References.