“It’s the Moon, Right?”: An Out of School Time, STEM Program Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

This project focused on identifying the program evaluation practices, processes and activities for youth learning with an out-of-school-time (OST) STEM curriculum pilot. South-Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces, Inc (SEEDS) and was founded in 1994 and SEEDS supports underprivileged youth 200-300 students annually across the ages of 6-18 in after-school, seasonal internships, and summer camp programs. The Covid-19 shift to digital engagement uncovered a significant technology literacy gap for the youth and the community and created a sense of urgency for the organization to offer more STEM engagement. The study questions we focused on were: 1. How are community-led programs (SEEDS- DIG) focused on improving access and engagement with STEM topics helpful for the underserved youth population that SEEDS supports? 2. What is the impact of community-led programs like SEEDS on improving access and engagement in STEM for the underserved students that SEEDS support? 3. Will the availability of high-quality STEM curricular resources and technology support enable a community organization (SEEDS) to improve access and engagement with STEM topics for an underserved youth population? 4. Will a DIG intern show deeper interest in STEM after the project? 5. How are community STEM needs met by implementing a community-led program focused on improving access and engagement with STEM topics for the underserved youth population that SEEDS supports? We conducted analysis of organizational data and documentation, completed interviews with staff educators, and observed pilot curriculum activities to document the pilot program. After analysis of the data collected, we found that: 1.The organizational STEM identity is underdeveloped and limits the organization’s ability to meet the STEM needs in the community. 2, Negative self-reported Instructor and Supervisor STEM identity may inadvertently reinforce misplaced stereotypes and perpetuate low expectations for youth participants. 3. With reduced STEM acumen in the instructor, we saw a decrease in the depth of instruction for the students. 4. Program delivery was impacted when instructors lacked STEM knowledge. 5. STEM identity of students showed positive change both as self-reported and observed in post-pilot data collection. Based on existing research and our findings we identified the following recommendations for SEEDS: 1. Design and review a cultural audit survey with the community constituents. 2. Apply open data access and transparency to any research project with SEEDS to engage the community served. 3. Adopt FarmBeats curriculum in their DIG program to increase positive student STEM identity. 4. STEM programs should be taught by those with STEM backgrounds when possible. 5. Partner with the school system to align STEM activities with grade level skills. 6. Provide more exposure to minorities in STEM for their community.