An outreach program with hands-on, physiology-based exercises generates questions about STEM career expectations

Abstract

Scientific advocacy and outreach programs are encouraged to increase public understanding of scientific knowledge and generate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. However, evaluation of these events’ effectiveness is difficult and somewhat rare. This study’s purpose was to better understand how effective an established physiology-based outreach program was in generating interest in STEM careers, while simultaneously providing information that can be used to increase the effectiveness of future events. We partnered with a private school located in Omaha, Nebraska, where 64–80 students participated in 3 h of physiology-based activities presented by volunteers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The event included a brief presentation of the eye, sensory, heart, and lung systems, followed by hands-on demonstrations and activities. Each session concluded with 15 min of questions and answers (Q&A), where students were encouraged to engage the volunteers in inquiries about what they just learned, career-related questions, or any topic of their choosing. Each Q&A session was audio recorded and evaluated using thematic analysis to identify patterns in the Q&A data. Two major themes of questions were identified: 1) scientific content (animal circulatory systems and how organs are affected by disease or stimulus); and 2) career-related content, including typical day-to-day activities of a scientist and the volunteers’ satisfaction with a scientific career. We conclude that hands-on physiology-based learning opportunities are effective in generating short-term interest in STEM content and careers. The results of this study will also facilitate informed modification of event content to better suit student’s interests.

Interactive youth science workshops benefit student participants and graduate student mentors

“…The short-duration outreach events are believed to have positive long-term impacts based on the idea that meeting scientist role models, learning about science, and having positive science-related experiences will affect students' persistence in science and possibly influence their choice of science as a career [23,24]. However, thus far, there is a lack of evidence that supports these suggested positive outcomes of short-duration outreach events [25].…”

Retrospective analysis of a STEM outreach event reveals positive influences on student attitudes toward STEM careers but not scientific methodology

“…We placed special emphasis on the steps of the scientific method. Two faculty members from the College of Medicine co-organized the event using a previously established event outline (17). Our survey data was collected postoutreach event, which was not necessarily part of the student's normal curriculum but was instead viewed more as an enrichment activity, lacking structured program objectives.…”

Do Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Experimentation Outreach Programs Affect Attitudes towards Mathematics and Science? A Quasi-Experiment in Primary Education

“…The author presented his own reflections on the fact that these kinds of programs provided effective ways to discover the technology and fundamental principles of laboratory analysis, without empirical evidence. Clarke, Sharma and Schiller [15] presented an outreach program with 3-h hands-on, physiology-based experiences addressed to students in a school in Nebraska (USA). The participants posed questions in the sessions, which were recorded.…”

“…Regarding the factors affecting the STEM outreach program effect, there are no references in the reviewed studies [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] to sex, school context or target participants. Nonetheless, all the referenced outreach programs were focused on pre-university students and had a more intense effect in younger students [16].…”

“…In the reviewed literature on the evaluation of STEM outreach programs [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], if there is any empirical measurement with data collection, the education experiment is not properly designed. Thus, it does not allow for contrasting the participation in the outreach program effect with a group under similar conditions, except for the lack of participation, because they only use a treatment or experimental group.…”