The purpose of this research was to develop a hybrid framework to model first year student retention for underrepresented minority (URM) students comprising African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Identifying inputs that best contribute to student retention provides significant information for institutions to learn about…

This paper reports on a qualitative study focusing on engineers' point of view in regard to university mathematics and mathematics education. An individual interview was conducted with three electrical and two mechanical engineers between the ages of 25-40, all engaged in successful careers. The subjects were requested to reflect upon…

Girls in Engineering, Mathematics and Science (GEMS) is a science and math outreach program for middle-school female students. The program was developed to encourage interest in math and science in female students at an early age. Increased scientific familiarity may encourage girls to consider careers in science and mathematics and will also help…

Brainstorming is a creativity technique in which a group of people (or an individual person) spontaneously generates a set of ideas to find the solution to a particular problem. This paper describes an innovative approach called "brainstorming with yo-yos," which was implemented in an outreach to high school event to increase high school…

This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Department of Teacher Education and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership resulted in the development of the STEM Education Quality Framework (SQF), a tool to guide educators in teaching, learning and refining STEM…

The focus of this study was to examine four characteristics for successful and unsuccessful students enrolled in basic mathematics courses at a technical college. The characteristics, considered to be in part effects of human factors in engineering and design, examined the preferred learning styles, computer information systems competency,…

This explanatory sequential mixed methods research study investigated motives and purpose exhibited by professionals transitioning from careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to secondary education. The study also analyzed personal perceptions of teaching preparedness, and explored barriers to successful teaching. STEM career…

This study explores how engineering concepts are represented in secondary science standards across the nation by examining how engineering and technical concepts are infused into these frameworks. Secondary science standards from 49 states plus the District of Columbia were analyzed and ranked based on how many engineering concepts were found.…

This mixed-methods pilot study extends researchers' understandings about elementary teachers' (K-6) perceptions of design, engineering and technology. In the first phase of the study, a reliable and valid survey was given to thirty-five participants in a teacher professional development academy sponsored by the Institute for P-12…

Despite an alarm raised by Seymour and Hewitt (1997) describing science, engineering and mathematics programs as chilly and unwelcoming, students continue to report significant feelings of hostility and a lack of caring when characterizing the professor-student relationship. The negative feelings correlate with poor course performance, lower grade…

Ongoing efforts across the U.S. to encourage K-12 students to consider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers have been motivated by concerns that the STEM pipeline is shrinking because of declining student enrollment and increasing rates of retirement in industry. The Enrichment Experiences in Engineering (E[superscript…

The objective of this exploratory study was to describe patterns in self-regulated learning (SRL) for both high school students and college freshmen while engaged in a design activity. The main research question guiding this study was: How did high school and first-year college students self-regulate their approaches to learning when engaged in an…

As the global economic competition gets tougher, American policymakers and researchers are interested in finding ways to increase the number of students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-related majors in order for the United States to continue its role as an economic powerhouse. A survey study was employed to…

The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program on Hazard Mitigation at the University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) involved area high school STEM teachers in engineering research with faculty and graduate students. The primary objective of the project was to train participating teachers in inquiry based research learning, research…

The Precalculus Mega Section project was developed with the main purpose of improving the overall performance of the student body in Precalculus, an important gatekeeper course that affects student engagement and completion, with typical drop/failure rates of over 50 percent. Strategies such as integration of technology and additional practice…