Research Areas
Our current research focuses on assessing the tools currently in use for evaluating the impact of youth outreach programs as well as examining motivating factors for learners when choosing STEM careers.
Research Areas
Our current research focuses on assessing the tools currently in use for evaluating the impact of youth outreach programs as well as examining motivating factors for learners when choosing STEM careers.
Program Evaluation Tools in STEM Outreach
A small-scale study of self-evaluation methods employed by English-speaking NSERC PromoScience funding recipients discovered a somewhat limited set of program evaluation tools used in Canada. The paper, currently in preparation by Dr. Svetlana Barkanova and Dr. Garrett Richards (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador), aims to include a toolbox of evaluation methods and question bank for STEM program evaluation surveys.
Further work towards the literature and implementation of effective evaluation methods in STEM outreach includes that of Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Jennifer Adams at the University of Calgary, and Deniel Simms, M.Ed. Interdisciplinary Studies in Knowing and Learning in STEM.
Career Choices between Physical Sciences and Engineering
What motivates or disincentives high school and undergraduate students, particularly those from equity-deserving groups, to pursue STEM fields? What about the choice between the Physical Sciences and Engineering? What factors impact these decisions? Does access to role models affect these decisions?
This work will examine individual, societal, institutional and systemic factors at-play at critical junctures in the life of a scholar, when students are deciding on their academic and career paths. How can the education system better advise them to choose the career that is best for each one of them individually?