Today’s post was written by GEAR UP Academic Innovation Specialist Jessica Stockham. She explains why family involvement and engagement is important and how GEAR UP is using STEM to bring families together.
What do solar cars, hovercrafts, flashlights, origami microscopes, and mystery ink pen pals have in common? Beyond the connection of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) - GEAR UP Family Design Nights, of course!
In a recent article published in Frontiers of Education entitled “Potential Factors to Enhance Students’ STEM College Learning and Career Exploration”, Hector Rivera and Jui-Teng Li reference the importance of family involvement for students’ STEM learning and the pursuit of college and career pathways into STEM (Rivera & Li, 2020). They found that students’ parental involvement, STEM related activity engagement, academic support from teachers, teacher effective pedagogy, technology-assisted learning, and self-efficacy are critically important when predicting their STEM college learning and career orientation. They concluded that parental involvement leads to more determination and success for the students in STEM related fields. This indicates that if parents get more involved in their children’s STEM learning, their children are more likely to be determined and positive about their postsecondary education and career orientation in STEM fields. Based on this data, the mission is clear: Find more ways for families to engage together in STEM, even during a global pandemic.
This school year, GEAR UP is back at it again and working harder than ever to bring STEM engagement to families in fun and innovative ways. STEM is more than the interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, it is also a focus on Strategies That Engage Minds. Barriers created by a global pandemic such as social-distancing, supply shortages, shipping delays, etc., are still presenting challenges that limit student access to engaging educational opportunities. This cuts right to the heart of GEAR UP’s purpose which centers on educational access for all, therefore, GEAR UP is using creativity and innovation to offer remote events open to all students. At least one night per month, GEAR UP Family Design Nights offer a fun connection for families over STEM. By participating in these informal events students may take more of an interest in learning, investigating, exploring, and engaging more in STEM.
After running several pilot sessions with a few districts in the spring, GEAR UP Family Design Nights launched grant-wide in August 2021. Appalachian GEAR UP partners with NC State’s Science House to provide themed challenges that include a live virtual experience using STEM kits which allow families to explore together in their living rooms, at dining room tables, or wherever they may be. And with the constantly changing guidance around COVID-19 safety measures, flexible implementation has allowed a few of these events to happen concurrently across western North Carolina in person; streaming the live feed on a big screen and allowing communities in a socially distanced, safe environment to interact together in the same space. The goal? Getting students and their families together to engage in the exploration and problem solving of the challenge and to carry the conversations forward beyond the event.
Corinne Smith, who serves as Director of GEAR UP, attended an event and commented on her experience. “It’s so awesome to see all of these students and their families having fun and solving challenges together. They’re logging in and live streaming from all over western NC and engaging in these challenging builds all from the comfort of their own home. It really is an amazing site to see and I’m so grateful for our team who worked hard to overcome the challenges faced by the pandemic!” Smith said.
Four events have taken place thus far and with every event, the interest increases. It only takes attending one event to understand the attraction. Families sit around the dining room table laughing, collaborating, and identifying solutions together. Students sit in their bedrooms with a sibling finding the best solution to make their hovercraft go further. There’s lots of laughter as dads take over the challenge to see how high they can get the rocket to travel. Families of all sizes and make-ups enjoy being coached, encouraged, and challenged by these designs.
The feedback from families has been so encouraging; like this response from a parent following our last event: "Randy loved the STEM night! His dad wasn't home so Randy was able to teach him everything he learned about building a solar car. They also brainstormed other things they could create with supplies around the house and use solar power to move them. He is already looking forward to the next night. Thank you all for preparing kits and doing the zooms. It really does keep the kids involved and interested in learning."
No matter the format that these events are held, one thing is clear: they are a hit, and we have no plans of stopping any time soon. Our hope is by providing these nights, we are not just helping families engage together in STEM to encourage a future architect, veterinarian, or astronaut to be successful, but also providing some joy and hope in this virtual and unpredictable climate. The energy in these nights is magnetic and pulls everyone who is interacting just a little bit closer.
Rivera, H., & Li, J.-T. (2020). Potential factors to enhance students' stem college learning and career orientation. Frontiers in Education, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00025
Solar car built during a recent GEAR UP Family Design Night
Solar car built during a recent GEAR UP Family Design Night
