Women continue to be underrepresented in undergraduate STEM majors. Prior studies identify women's sense of belonging, or the extent to which one feels like an accepted member of an academic community, as a key contributor to their decisions to stick with or leave their STEM majors. Women's social connectedness and perceived competence have been…

This article illustrates the potential for hackathons to serve as an innovative educational tool in addressing the underrepresentation of minority communities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Using Merced, California--a region recognised for its agricultural economy, socioeconomic disparities, and diverse…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused nearly ubiquitous emergency remote teaching in both secondary and post-secondary education. While there has been a plethora of work examining how instructors adjusted classes to incorporate active learning during emergency remote teaching, there has only been minimal work examining how such emergency remote teaching…

Background: It is well established in the literature that active learning instruction in introductory STEM courses results in many desired student outcomes. Yet, regular use of high-quality active learning is not the norm in many STEM departments. Using results of a national survey, we identified 16 departments where multiple instructors reported…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project refers to experiments conducted to address problems, make improvements, or discover new things in those fields that can be tested using the scientific method. This paper describes a long-term STEM project in which pre-service science teachers (PSSTs) have a chance to discover new…

Supporting changes in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction requires an understanding of the relationship between STEM instructors' conceptions and practices. In this study, the authors used the Teacher-Centered Systematic Reform (TCSR) model as a framework to understand how instructors' conceptions are…

Instructional reform in STEM aims for the widespread adoption of evidence based instructional practices (EBIPS), practices that implement active learning. Research recognizes that faculty social networks regarding discussion or advice about teaching may matter to such efforts. But teaching is not the only priority for university faculty -- meeting…

This paper explores the effective development and use of interactive simulations as a learning tool, integrating didactic and active approaches with complex laboratory and lecture content in undergraduate biochemistry and immunology courses. University science courses require students to master vast quantities of foundational knowledge that is…

In postsecondary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, equity issues regarding race and gender receive attention. On this attention, it is suggested to view from the sociopolitical perspective--mathematics is political, mathematics education is political, and equity is defined with the critical dimension of identity…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-integrated project-based learning (PBL) is essential in contemporary education as it improves students' advanced cognitive capacities, critical thinking aptitude, scientific literacy, and ecological awareness. This study aims to identify and highlight some research publications that examine…

The intricacy of real-world challenges in project-based geoscience learning is complex to assess with a STEM approach; hence, research into an effective model is necessary to address current issues in education. Understanding the role of STEM in resolving challenging real-world issues requires integrating STEM literacy that is appropriate for…

The problem of the study was to determine if the use of a reflective writing assessment at the beginning, middle, and end of a college semester indicated an industrial technology student's knowledge and skills related to technological and engineering literacy. Experiences gained during project-based learning activities were used as the basis for…

Graduate students in STEM fields undertook a 9-month training program focusing on practice-based development of active teaching methods. As instructors of record in their own senior-level courses, these trainees were observed on their independently designed classroom sessions using the COPUS classroom observation tool. Compared to a large sample…

This edited volume is an invitation to redesign STEM higher education. It shows the way to active learning in diverse scenarios and provides educators, leaders and policymakers with a visionary approach to active learning and hands-on examples of how education can help students navigate complexity and unpredictability--the challenges of…

Purpose: Although active learning methodologies are recognized as an effective means to achieve expected educational demands, in practice, the teaching and learning processes are still widely characterized by traditional pedagogy aspects. As a result, teaching innovations in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education are carried…