BackgroundInformal learning environments increase students’ interest in STEM (e.g., Mohr‐Schroeder et al. School Sci Math 114: 291–301, 2014) and increase the chances a student will pursue a STEM career (Kitchen et al. Sci Educ 102: 529–547, 2018). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an informal STEM summer learning experience on student participants, to gain in-depth perspectives about how they felt this experience prepared them for their in-school mathematics and science classes as well as how it influenced their perception of STEM learning. Students’ attitudes and perceptions toward STEM are affected by their motivation, experience, and self-efficacy (Brown et al. J STEM Educ Innov Res 17: 27, 2016). The academic and social experiences students’ have are also important. Traditionally, formal learning is taught in a solitary form (Martin Science Education 88: S71–S82, 2004), while, informal learning is brimming with chances to connect and intermingle with peers (Denson et al. J STEM Educ: Innovations and Research 16: 11, 2015).ResultsWe used a naturalistic inquiry, phenomenological approach to examine students’ perceptions of STEM while participating in a summer informal learning experience. Data came from students at the summer informal STEM learning experiences at three diverse institutions across the USA. Data were collected from reflection forms and interviews which were designed to explore students’ “lived experiences” (Van Manen 1990, p. 9) and how those experiences influenced their STEM learning. As we used a situative lens to examine the research question of how participation in an informal learning environment influences students’ perceptions of STEM learning, three prominent themes emerged from the data. The informal learning environment (a) provided context and purpose to formal learning, (b) provided students opportunity and access, and (c) extended STEM content learning and student engagement.ConclusionsBy using authentic STEM workplaces, the STEM summer learning experience fostered a learning environment that extended and deepened STEM content learning while providing opportunity and access to content, settings, and materials that most middle level students otherwise would not have access to. Students also acknowledged the access they received to hands-on activities in authentic STEM settings and the opportunities they received to interact with STEM professionals were important components of the summer informal learning experience.

It is a well-known fact that, in general, many students have a lack of interest and proficiency in mathematics and science. Therefore, it is imperative that we prepare and inspire all students, specifically students of underrepresented populations, to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content. Now in its fourth year, See Blue STEM Camp was created in order to expose middle-level students to a variety of STEM fields and STEM professionals through hands-on project-based learning experiences in order to increase their interest in STEM. This paper describes the structure and the activities of the camp. In this innovative project, we utilized an embedded mixed methods study design to investigate the extent middle level students' attitudes, perceptions, and interest in and toward STEM fields and careers changed after participating in an informal learning environment of a five-day day camp held on the campus of a major university in the mid-south. The results revealed an increase in their motivation and interest in STEM fields; in fact, there was 3% increase from pre to post in interest in STEM careers. The data also revealed that a majority of the participating middle school students found the STEM content sessions "fun" and engaging, specifically citing the hands-on experiences they received.

No abstract

No abstract

Strategic competence is one of the many critical components necessary for students to be successful in mathematics. Broadly, strategic competence is the ability to "formulate mathematical problems, represent them, and solve them" (National Research Council, 2001, p. 124). This involves both the knowledge of strategies including representations that may be used to solve a problem and the ability to effectively and efficiently use strategies while flexibly switching between strategies in response to the demands of a problem situation (National Research Council, 2001). Central to strategic competence are representations. While there are various definitions of a representation (e.g., Goldin, 2003; Kaput, 1987; Pimm, 1995), for this study, a representation is considered to be "a combination of something written on paper, something existing in the form of physical objects and a carefully constructed arrangement of idea in one's mind" (Davis, Young, & McLaughlin, 1982, as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 266). Clearly, many different representational forms (e.g., mental image, written language, oral language, action movements, symbols, manipulatives) exist (Zawojewski & Lesh, 2003). A critical idea about representations, however, is that they are not static end products but rather tools for cognitive activity (Pape & Tchoshanov, 2001). As the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000) noted, a representation refers "both to process and to product. .. to the act of capturing a mathematical concept or relationship in some form and to the form itself" (p. 67). Therefore, when viewed as a tool of cognitive activity for solving mathematical problems, representations can be used for analyzing problems and planning solutions, justifying and explaining actions, predicting consequences, monitoring and evaluating progress, and integrating and communicating results in forms that are useful to others (Pape & Tchoshanov, 2001). Diagrams and Mathematical Word Problem Solving Although all representational systems are important for developing mathematical understanding (Owens & Clements, 1998; Pape & Tchoshanov, 2001; Presmeg, 1986) and various representational systems can be used to solve word problems, the focus of this study is specifically on self-generated diagrams. According to Diezmann and English (2001), a 438558L DQ36310.