Resources: Dr Gail Jones

The lack of students who choose to major in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields is a growing concern in the United States and across the world. Because an individual’s attitudes and understandings of STEM are likely shaped by “an individual’s direct, personal experiences, needs, expectations, and culture” it is important to address the issue from a systems perspective. Family Influence: Family culture plays a vital role in developing STEM interests. Parents have been shown to be important in encouraging the STEM interests of youth. Parents who discuss the value and importance of STEM tend to have children with a higher level of self-efficacy and STEM outcome expectancies. Youths’ interest in STEM careers is related to their families’ science capital and science habitus. However, most programs aimed at increasing youth interest and career aspirations focus on the youth and little is known about programs that seek to approach the problem from a systems perspective. Of particular importance is increasing the tools parents have to support the STEM interests and career aspirations of their children.

Despite policy changes and targeted outreach, issues of underrepresentation persist for women and minorities in science fields. Previous research has explored extrinsic motivational factors for underrepresented groups in both formal educational settings. However, little research has investigated intrinsic motivation within informal educational experiences like active participation in free choice learning activities like a science-based hobby. Interviews were conducted with 17 astronomy hobbyists who self-identified as under-represented individuals (race, ethnicity and gender). Respondents’ hobby experiences and motivational aspects emerged from analysis of the descriptive accounts provided by the interviews. Findings suggested there was a positive relationship between the degree of hobby participation and number of challenges presented in various phases of hobby growth. Additionally, disparities in sampled minorities’ access to authentic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) experiences served as a factor influencing their hobby motivation and subsequent development. Other factors that influenced minority engagement included differential participation in hobby clubs, lack of access to mentors, and the delay of active hobby participation until adulthood. Findings suggest science hobbies as an avenue to motivate underrepresented groups in science interests. This information may prove useful in guiding next steps regarding policy and research in the under-representation of women and minorities in STEM hobbies and STEM careers alike.

Virtual presence describes a users’ perception of a virtual reality (VR) environment (VRE), specifically, of their involvement (sense of control within a virtual environment with minimal distractions) and immersion (multi-input sensory engagement providing apparent realism of objects and interactions). In education, virtual presence is a significant construct as highly immersive VREs have been linked to users reporting memorable and exciting teaching experiences. Prior research has described that adults and children report different levels of presence when subjected to identical VREs, suggesting cognition may play some role in users’ perceptions of presence. According to Piaget, concrete operational development is a watershed moment when adolescents develop the ability to understand abstract concepts and make assessments what is and is not reality. This period in cognitive development may influence children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of presence. This is an exploratory study of seventy-five 6th-grade and seventy-six 9th-grade students who participated in an instructional module about cardiac anatomy and physiology using a 3-D, haptic-enabled, VR technology. When surveyed on their perceptions of virtual presence, there were no reported differences between grade levels. When assessed using a Piagetian inventory of cognitive development, the analyses indicated that the sixth-grade students’ understanding of spatial rotation and angular geometry was positively correlated with the reported perceived control and negatively correlated with distraction. This study suggests that the spatial acuity of younger learners plays an important role when using VR technologies for science learning. This research raises questions about the relevance of users’ cognitive development when using emergent VR technologies in the K–12 science classroom.

In order to encourage more of the nation’s young people to pursue careers in science, it pays to help them dress the part. That is the key finding of a study our researchers conducted to determine what kind of effect a simple article of clothing – in this case white lab coats – have on students’ confidence in their ability to do science.

Combined three-dimensional, haptic-enabled, virtual reality (3D HE VR) systems allow students to actively engage and explore various science concepts by leveraging user-friendly and immersive interfaces. Successful implementation of these learning tools in science classrooms hinges upon teachers' perceptions of the technology's potential as a viable pedagogical tool. Prior studies using the Technology Acceptance (TA) Model (TAM) suggest pre-service teachers have greater TA compared to in-service teachers. This study sought to explore how 3D HE VR designed to diminish Ease of Use (EOU) issues, influenced TA (through reported preferences) between pre-service and in-service science teachers. Five pre-service and five in-service teachers reported Perceived Utility (PU) and EOU upon using a 3D HE VR system (zSpace®) to learn science concepts. Quantitative data were collected from pre- and post-test content assessments. Qualitative data were collected and transcribed from field notes and interviews. Both teacher groups evidenced learning gains and reported EOU using zSpace®. However, preference for the technology compared to traditional methods varied between teacher groups. Sampled pre-service teachers held a significant preference for hands-on activities for instruction whereas in-service teachers reported greater TA, citing its potential to increase student interest in science and opportunity for personalized learning. This research suggests that when perceived EOU is mitigated, PU may more readily mediate TA among in-service teachers as they can envision the use of 3D HE VR technology use in teaching practices. Further exploration is needed to leverage in-service teachers' classroom experience to implement novel forms of technology into their science instruction.