Grants and Contracts Details
Description
The proposed ITEST Strategies project, My STEM Story: Scaling STEM Motivation Through
Digital Storytelling and Near Peer Relationships, will develop and test a technology-enabled intervention
embedded in near peer relationships with student- and professionally-generated narrative content as its
focal point. Central to the intervention is a digital storytelling component in which unscripted
conversations between high school students from groups traditionally underrepresented in science career
pathways and undergraduate science near peers are recorded to produce powerful narrative videos that
highlight academic and real-world struggles and successes in science. The hallmark of our proposed
strategy is the premise that the interactions between undergraduate student and high school protégé—
characterized by a high degree of cognitive and social congruence—have the potential not only to directly
benefit those in the near peer relationship, but also to reach and benefit students in high school science
classrooms and other learning settings through video embedded in brief social-psychological
interventions. Informed by an identity-based motivation theoretical framework, the project will address
guiding questions #2 and #3 by iteratively developing and testing this intervention, embedded in a near
peer relationship model, with the goal of promoting students’ possible future selves through digital
storytelling, with subsequent effects on proximal outcomes such as attitudes toward science, interest in
science, and intentions to pursue science educational and career pathways. Of particular interest is
whether this approach can broaden the participation of students from groups underrepresented in STEMrelated
education pathways and career domains.
Digital storytelling (DST) captures a shared experience between two individuals and preserves
the raw emotions and authenticity of their interactions, then presents it in a short 3- to 4-minute video
using accessible and affordable equipment. By avoiding staging or scripting, DST adheres to bedrock
journalistic design principles. Locations are not scouted, and words and actions are never rehearsed. This
simple mandate is what makes the stories ring true for viewers, and why DST is engaging for producers
and viewers alike. My STEM Story will test how creative and reflective opportunities open up science
pathways more effectively than traditional, academic-focused approaches. The project’s hypothesis is that
DST videos that highlight core themes such as overcoming personal struggles and institutional barriers,
learning from mistakes, dispelling misconceptions about scientists and science careers, and the reality of
being a young person of color interested in science, can effectively promote science outcomes at scale.
Intellectual merit. My STEM Story represents an innovative attempt to promote science outcomes
through indirect, nontraditional approaches rooted in the journalism and social psychological literature.
An important assumption underlying the project is that different strategies are likely needed to promote
science outcomes for different groups in different learning environments. Our two-pronged approach will
advance the knowledge base on near peer learning processes and inform the design and implementation of
technology-based interventions. Specifically, the project will yield a greater understanding of whether and
how students benefit in one-on-one near peer relationships with a focus on social-cultural knowledge, and
what promise brief social-psychological interventions hold to promote science outcomes at scale.
Findings from the project will elucidate the mechanisms by which DST can lead to science outcomes in
racial/ethnic minority students, as well as potential moderators that might limit or enhance the effects of
the intervention.
Broader impacts. My STEM Story will inform the creation of new learning ecosystems by leveraging
creative strategies that actively engage students’ science-related interests and aspirations through
technology-rich experiences. The project will expand notions of learning environments by developing and
testing a model that incorporates readily available and accessible technologies and can be flexibly
implemented in formal and informal settings with diverse groups of students. Results from the project
will inform program design for near peer learning as well as guide instructional decisions about the types
of narratives and perspectives included in science curricula to reach students underrepresented in STEM
pathways. The project will develop an online pedagogical toolkit that provides a repository of DST videos
and curricular materials, as well as best practices and design principles for schools and programs that
wish to develop their own set of DST narratives.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 4/2/21 → 8/31/23 |
Funding
- University of Oregon: $93,293.00
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