Article 2020

The influence of a freshman iSTEAM academy on student engagement and educational attitudes

SD
Shernoff, David Jordan
 BD
Bressler, Denise M.
 MI
Massaro, Isabella
 SS
Sinha, Suparna
Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice
Journal · Vol. 20 · Issue 7 · pp. 33-54
Abstract

In this study, we attempted to combat the escalating problems of student disengagement and dropout at a partnering high school by piloting and evaluating a teacher professional development program to create a freshman “iSTEAM Academy” designed to radically transform the freshman experience. We found that students participating in the iSTEAM Academy were significantly more engaged, demonstrated more positive attitudes, and had greater aspirations to continue in STEM subjects than those in a more traditionally taught, comparison academy. Implications of the study for future practice included the importance of forums for transdisciplinary collaboration, a supportive administrative, and continued teacher professional development. © 2020, North American Business Press. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Author Keywords

STEAM Student engagement high school Educational attitudes University partnership

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Rutgers University, Morristown, NJ, United States
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States
Funding & Acknowledgements
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
This research, conducted by the Rutgers Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education, was supported by a Community-University Research Partnership Grant for New Brunswick made available by Rutgers University. All opinions, findings, and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rutgers University.
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