Older Youth Consortium
Pathways to STEM Engagement and STEM Careers
There is growing consensus in the education community that high-quality out-of-school time programming for older youth (ages 14 and older) is an important tool to meet the need for increased engagement and success in high school, enrollment in college and overall chances to become a productive member of society. However, older youth are often underserved by out-of-school time programs – more acutely if they are from poor and urban communities - because they require programming conditions different from those required for younger children.
The Older Youth Consortium focuses on out-of-school time programming in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for older youth as an integral and fundamental component of the continuum of efforts to promote both STEM engagement (intended as in public engagement with science) and careers choices among young people.
Background
In November 2009 a group of out-of-school time practitioners that work with older youth meet at the Older Youth & Science in Out-of-School Time Conference held in Cambridge, MA. Conference participants engaged in conversations about the need for and the opportunity to support a well-rounded education for older youth, especially those from underserved communities. They proposed and discussed strategies to effectively engage older youth from underserved groups in science learning and skill developing activities. One of the outcomes of the conference was the formation of a working group that would work towards the definition of an action agenda to promote and support STEM programs for older youth in out-of-school time.
Objective
The aim of the Older Youth Consortium is to engage a professional learning group in support of STEM programming in out-of-school time (OST) for youth 14 and older. The objective of the Consortium is to:
1. Promote advocacy and inform policy for STEM OST programming for youth 14 and older both at the local and national level.
2. Inform research projects with a national reach on STEM in OST programming for youth 14 and older.
3. Identify and support the work of a community of practice.
Survey
In Spring 2010 the Older Youth Consortium created and circulated a survey to take a "snapshot" of informal STEM education programs serving high school age youth. The goal of the initiative is to get a better understanding of the support structure, resources, and activities that are available to older youth across the United States. As of Fall 2010, 145 programs have submitted their input through the survey. The survey is still open and organizations serving older youth are encouraged to add their contribution. All participants in the survey will receive an updated summary of the results.
2010 National Conference for Science and Technology in Out-of-School Time
Preliminary results from the survey where presented during a session at the 2010 National Conference for Science and Technology in Out-of-School Time held in Los Angeles. The session focused on STEM learning for youth 14 and older as part of a continuum of efforts to foster STEM engagement and STEM careers choices. We discussed a list of action items to inform policy and research projects and practices for STEM programming for older youth that emerged during a preconference symposium that attracted about 50 practitioners in the field.
Results from the survey and a summary of the symposium discussion outcomes are included in this presentation: Older Youth: Pathways to STEM Engagement and STEM Careers.
To reference information from this presentation, please use the following: “Older Youth: Pathways to STEM Engagement and STEM Careers,” Irene Porro and Jamie Alonzo, 2010 National Conference on Science and Technology in Out of School Time, Los Angeles.
For additional information contact: Irene Porro, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research - iporro@mit.edu; Jamie Alonzo, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History - jamie.alonzo@yale.edu
Resources:
Research about OST programs for Older Youth
Promoting Participation of Older Youth in Out-of-School Time. Programs and Opportunities. Saito R.N. (2009)
http://mn4h.com/distribution/youthdevelopment/00095.pdf
Strategies for Success: A Plan to Align Out-of-School Time Initiatives with High School Reform, TASC & The Urban Assembly (2008)
http://www.tascorp.org/content/document/detail/2231
Back to the Future: Engaging Older Youth, Hall G. and Gruber D., NIOST Fall 2007 Issue Brief
http://www.niost.org/pdf/MSC_brief_Hall_Gruber_b.pdf
Afterschool Innovation in Brief: Focusing on Older Youth. Afterschool Alliance (2009)
http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/documents/Afterschool_In_Brief_09_FINAL.pdf
Science, Gender, and After-School: A Research-Action Agenda (2004).
http://scs.aed.org/publications/science.pdf
Helping Youth Succeed Through Out-Of-School Time Programs. American Youth Policy Forum (2006)
http://www.aypf.org/publications/HelpingYouthOST2006.pdf
Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth. American Youth Policy Forum (2009)
http://www.aypf.org/documents/AYPF_ELOs_w-cvr.pdf
Preparing STEM majors
Degrees of Success: Bachelor’s Degree Completion Rates among Initial STEM Majors, Hurtado, S., Eagan, K, & Chang, M. (2010)
www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/nih/HERI_ResearchBrief_OL_2010_STEM.pdf
Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? Achieve, Inc. (2005)
http://www.achieve.org/node/548
Preparing Minority Scientists and Engineers. Summers M. F. and Hrabowski F. A., Science Vol. 311. no. 5769 (2006)
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5769/1870
ITEST Meeting the Needs of STEM Workforce Development. ITEST Learning Resource Center Information Brief (2010)
Motivation
Engaging Older Youth. Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time. Wallace Foundation (2010).
Moving Beyond the Barriers: Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time Programs. Sherri Lauver, Priscilla M.D. Little, Heather B. Weiss, Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation, Harvard Family Research Project (2004)
http://www.hfrp.org/content/download/1098/48603/file/issuebrief6.pdf
From Participation to Engagement: How Youth Get Turned on in OST Programs. Larson R. and Pearce N., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, (2006)
http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/SRA_Reed.pdf
Positive youth development
Workforce preparation in the context of youth development organizations: Building a case with theory, research, and practice. Cochran, G. & Ferrari, T., Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University, Ohio State University Extension (2008)
http://www.ohio4h.org/workforceprep/documents/Cochran_Ferrari_2008_Workforce_Preparation_RBF.pdf
Adolescent Out-of-School Time Participation: Contextual Predictors and Developmental Differences. Wimer C. and Simpkins S., Harvard Family Research Project (2006)
http://www.hfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/SRA_Wimer.pdf
Policy
Policy and the STEM workforce system. Hira, R., Washington, DC: Commission on Professionals in Science & Technology (2007)
http://www.cpst.org/STEM/STEM9_Report.pdf
Are We Beginning To See The Light? - Public And Parents Buy Into The Need To Ramp Up Math And Science Education But Most Still Think Their Local Schools Are Doing Fine. Johnson J., Rochkind J. and Ott A., Public Agenda (2010)
http://www.publicagenda.org/files/powerpoint/are-we-beginning-to-see-the-light.ppt
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #2: High School After-School: What Is It? What Might It Be? Why Is It Important? The Forum for Youth Investment (2003)
http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/files/OSTPC2.pdf
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #10: Rethinking the High School Experience: What's After-School Got to Do With it? The Forum for Youth Investment (2006)
http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/files/OSTPC10.pdf
Learning In the Wild - Much of what people know about science is learned informally. Education policy-makers should take note. Nature 464, 813-814 (8 April 2010)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7290/full/464813b.html
Science And Public Engagement. Leshner A. I., The Chronicle Review (2006)