Enhancing senior high school student engagement and academic performance using an inclusive and scalable...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering Education
• STEM Pedagogy
• Inquiry-Based Learning

Background:

• STEM careers require multidisciplinary knowledge, posing challenges for high school students transitioning to higher education.
• A gap exists between theoretical high school learning and the experiential nature of STEM fields, leading to student disillusionment.
• Addressing this gap is crucial for retaining diverse student populations in STEM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the Discovery learning model on high school students' STEM engagement.
• To assess the model's effectiveness across diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
• To determine if the model enhances critical thinking and persistence in STEM fields.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a term-long, inquiry-focused learning model ('Discovery') in high school biomedical engineering classes.
• Collaboration between STEM graduate students and high school teachers.
• Iterative, problem-based learning activities emphasizing critical thinking.

Main Results:

• Positive impacts on students' STEM interests and engagement were observed through grade and survey data.
• The model showed notable benefits for underperforming student cohorts.
• Repeating cohorts demonstrated sustained or increased engagement with the program.

Conclusions:

• The Discovery model effectively stimulates persistence in STEM learning.
• It provides valuable educational opportunities, particularly for under-engaged students.
• This scalable platform can help capture and retain diverse student talent in STEM.