Seeking a Comprehensive Approach to STEM Learning:

1
Seeking a Comprehensive Approach to STEM
Learning 

• What are the Missing Pieces for Low-Incomeand
  Underrepresented College Students?

2
STEM Pipeline from 9th Grade to Bachelors Degree
in the U.S.
10,000 Students Start the 9th Grade
2,400 of 10,000 Students Earn a Bachelors
Degree 400 BA/BS in STEM Fields
5.900 of 10,000 Students Go to College 800 are
Declared STEM Majors
8,200 of 10,000 Students Earn a High
School Diploma
3
STEM Pipeline from 9th Grade to Bachelors Degree
for Low-Income Students in the U.S.
10,000 Students in the Bottom Income
Quartile Start the 9th Grade  
6,600 of 10,000 Students Earn a High
School Diploma  
3,860 of 10,000 Students Go to College  76 are
Declared STEM Majors 
710 of 10,000 Students Earn a Bachelors
Degree  30 BA/BS in STEM Fields  
4
What is Happening to Low-Income College Students
in STEM?
5
First-Year Experience Low-Income Students
Declared STEM Majors

• Students who have completed four or more years of
  mathematics
• Only 19.8 are low-income
• Students who have completed Calculus
• Only 16.6 are low-income
• Students who took a remedial math course
• Only 22 are low-income

6
First-Year Experience Low-Income Students
Declared STEM Majors

• Approximately 1 sought out academic support
• Approximately 50 of the students reporting to
  have to work more hours or get another job were
  low-income

7
First-Year Experience Low-Income Students
Declared STEM Majors

• Most likely to sometimes or never meet with an
  advisor
• Most likely to sometimes or never talk to faculty
• Do not feel socially integrated in the campus
  community

8
First-Year Outcome First-Year GPA

• Low-Income STEM Majors
• 64 below 3.00
• GPA Range 0.00-1.99
• 27 of the students
• GPA Range 2.00-2.99
• 37 of the students
• GPA Range 3.00-4.00
• 36 of the students

9
What is happening to Low-Income Students in STEM?

• How we define achievement and scholarship in STEM

10
What is happening to Low-Income Students in STEM?

• Students start the first day of college in
  financial debt
• Students start the first day of college in
  academic debt

11
How does academic debt occur?

• Notions of achievement and scholarship in
  mathematics in preparing for college
• Problems manifest itself in the first-year course
  taking and performance
• Problems compounded by financial debt
• Problems compounded by institutional response to
  students

12
Path to Changing the College Experience for
Low-Income Students in STEM

• Paradigm shift on how we define achievement and
  scholarship in STEM
• With Corresponding Research and Coordinating
  Organization

13
Policies, Research and Strategies

• Institutional Change in Higher Education
• Administration
• Academic
• Professional Development
• Student Support

14
Sources and Notes

• (1) Thomas Mortenson, postsecondary.org,
  Bachelors Degree Attainment by Age 24 by Family
  Income Quartiles , 1970 to 2005
• (2) U.S. Department of Education, National Center
  for Education Statistics, 199596 Beginning
  Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, Second
  Follow-up (BPS96/01)
• (3) U.S. Department of Education, National Center
  for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and
  Beyond Longitudinal Study (BB2000/01).
• Notes To establish a comparative and continuous
  cohort, the following cohorts were used the
  95-96 cohort from BPS96/01 the 99-00 cohort
  from BB 2000/01 and the 1996 cohort from
  Bachelors Degree Attainment by Age 24 by Family
  Income Quartiles , 1970 to 2005. Calculated by
  Kailikole, K., The Stoke Institute, 2008.