STEM + SED
The connection between STEM and SED.
The integration of STEM and SED has many practical purposes, including increasing youth interest, motivation, and attitudes towards STEM education and careers. Decreased interest during the crucial adolescent years can diminish persistence in STEM (Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003; Potvin & Hasni, 2014), but evidence suggests this can be remedied with attention to engagement in productive STEM learning experiences (Simpkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006; Tai et al., 2006), especially those that foster quality relationships with peers and adults, and show youth the relevance of STEM “...to their daily lives and future careers, which can deepen their intellectual, social, emotional engagement with STEM” (p. 15, NRC, 2015).
Why STEM in Out-of-school Time Settings?
The importance of educational opportunities occurring outside of the formal school day has increased dramatically in the U.S. over the last decade due to shifting priorities and policies (Afterschool Alliance, 2015). These extended education contexts—which are referred to in the U.S. as out-of-school time (OST) programs—include extracurricular activities at all-day schools, afterschool activities, youth clubs, museum and library programs, and so on. OST STEM learning experiences are attended voluntarily and allow hands-on engagement with a variety of STEM activities in a fun way that sparks curiosity and excitement (Afterschool Alliance, 2015).
Providing quality opportunities to explore STEM content outside of formal school settings removes the academic pressure and fear of failure that can contribute to STEM disengagement, even among bright and motivated students (Potvin & Hasni, 2014a). It also supports positive youth development—including fostering quality relationships with peers and adults among other social skills—by offering a safe place for children to learn and play when their primary caregivers are at work or otherwise unavailable (Noam & Triggs, 2019). Growing evidence suggests that participation in high-quality, STEM-focused OST programs can positively change youth attitudes related to STEM engagement, identity, career interest, and career knowledge (Allen et al., 2019; Chittum, Jones, Akalin, & Schram, 2017; Dabney et al., 2012; Sahin, Ayar, & Adiguzel, 2013; Wulf et al., 2010; Young, Ortiz, & Young, 2017).
By strengthening the personal connection with STEM, OST can strengthen their identity in STEM (Dou et al., 2019), commitment to STEM (Tai et al., 2006), and recognition in STEM (DiSalvo et al., 2011; Varelas, Settlage, & Mensah, 2015). For example, in a recent NSF-funded study of self-report data from 15,847 college students at 27 colleges across 20 states (based on STEM and non-STEM majors completing a national survey entitled “Outreach Programs and Science Career Intentions” (OPSCI), Dou and colleagues (2019) found that STEM identity mediated OST learning experiences and STEM career intentions, such that students with the highest STEM identity ratings were 21.7 times more likely to choose a STEM career than students with the lowest STEM identity ratings (NSF Award # 1161052). This is consistent with a growing body of evidence finding that participation in high-quality, STEM-focused OST programs, especially those aligned with the three criteria outlined by the NRC (2015, above), can positively change youth attitudes related to STEM engagement, identity, career interest, and career knowledge (Allen et al., 2019; Chittum et al., 2017; Dou et al., 2019; Jones, Akalin, & Schram, 2017; Sahin, Ayar, & Adiguzel, 2013; Wulf et al., 2010; Young, Ortiz, & Young, 2017).
Social-emotional development (SED) and Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) go hand in hand. Previous research has shown that STEM provides ample opportunity to facilitate social, emotional, and academic development among youth (Noam & Shah, 2014). ISRY’s research examines the relationship between STEM and the social-emotional competencies highlighted by the Clover model.
STEM and SED in Out-of-school K-12 Settings
Researchers and practitioners from the fields of STEM+SED have been working to define, measure, and improve the skills key to students’ academic, career, and life success (such as teamwork, decision-making, and self-regulation). The literature describes SED-oriented programming and STEM-oriented programming co-occurring in out-of-school (OST) settings (Noam & Shah, 2014; Garner, Gabitova, Gupta, & Wood, 2018), and conceptualization frameworks and practice models exist for both STEM ( NGSS State Leads, 2013; National Research Council, 2011, 2015; Shah, Wylie, Gitomer, & Noam, 2018) and SED (CASEL, n.d; Jones et al., 2016, 2017, 2019; Malti & Noam, 2016; McKown, 2017; Noam & Triggs, 2018). There is growing evidence that the integration of STEM and SED can enhance the quality of learning for both domains (Afterschool Alliance, 2017; Lyon, Jafri, & St. Louis, 2012; Wright, 2011).
A Systematic Review of STEM and Social-Emotional Development in Out-of-School Time
To support youth in a STEM-driven future, we must understand the social and emotional dimensions of learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to help all young people develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed (Allen & Noam, 2023). Out-of-school time (OST) programs are increasingly integrating methods to support social-emotional development (SED) in STEM learning, such as facilitating collaborative activities that challenge youth to problem-solve and persevere through failure. However, until now, there has not been a comprehensive examination of how skills at the intersection of STEM and SED are conceptualized, put into practice, and studied for effectiveness.
ISRY conducted a systematic review with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Our review provides evidence to support the field’s understanding of STEM and SED in OST programs. We systematically searched, assessed, and synthesized two decades of research, evaluation, and practice literature focused on skills important to STEM and SED among youth ages 5 to 18 in OST settings (e.g., afterschool clubs, summer programs).
Please view the Executive Summary and Survey Methods documentation to learn more.
The STEM-SED Conference of 2020
Mapping the Connections between STEM and Social-Emotional Development in Out-of-School Time Programs: A Virtual Conference
In this virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), The PEAR Institute convened practitioners and researchers who can imagine the power of an integrated vision of STEM and social-emotional development (SED). An important aim of this conference was to catalyze OST programs toward the intentional and explicit integration of STEM and SED in a high-quality manner.
Conference activities included:
(1) mapping the practice landscape of STEM-SED integration in OST to understand the interest in, capacity of, and demand for such programming; (2) documenting exemplars that illustrate explicit and intentional program integration; (3) exploring existing and potential researcher-practitioner partnerships to understand methods, data, and data systems used to capture efficacy and effectiveness of integrated STEM-SED programming; and, (4) drafting a research agenda that focuses on the quality of implementation and impact of integrated STEM-SED programming.
This conference was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant #1940155. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the meeting organizers and attendees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.