Robert H. Tai

Eyeballs in the Fridge: Sources of early interest in science

This paper examines the experiences reported by scientists and graduate students regarding the experiences that first engaged them in science. The interviews analysed for this paper come from Project Crossover, a mixed‐methods study of the transition from graduate student to PhD scientist in the fields of chemistry and physics. This analysis involved review of 116 interviews collected from graduate students and scientists and focused on the timing, source, and nature of their earliest interest in science. The majority (65%) of participants reported that their interest in science began before middle school. Females were more likely to report that their interest was sparked by school‐related activities, while most males recounted self‐initiated activities. Our findings indicate that current policy efforts (which focus on high school science reform) to increase the numbers of students studying in the science fields, may be misguided.

An Exploratory Study about Inaccuracy and Invalidity in Adolescent Self-Report Surveys

Using Add Health data, the authors provide evidence that some adolescents gave inaccurate and/or invalid responses on a self-administered questionnaire. Further analyses show that these adolescents were much more likely to report extreme levels on psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables. A distinction was made between inaccurate responders (e.g., inaccurate/false responses due to carelessness or confusion) and jokesters (e.g., intentional false responses). The findings show that the jokesters showed considerably more pronounced distorting effects on some psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables than the inaccurate responders did. The authors suggest that although this jokester effect may not seriously bias the results in studies that focus on large groups, for research focusing on some special subgroups (e.g., adoption groups, immigrant groups, disability groups), this effect could pose a serious challenge for the validity of research findings.

Out-of-School Time Science Activities and Their Association with Career Interest in STEM

Spurred by concerns about an inadequately sized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, there has been a growing interest in out-of-school time (OST) science activities as a means to foster STEM career interest. This study examines the association between OST science activities and STEM career interest in university through a logistic regression model and the calculation of prototypical odds ratios. The analysis addresses two main research questions: What is the correlation among different forms of OST activities? And, controlling for student demographic and background variables, what specific forms of OST activities are associated with STEM career interest in university? The study uses data from the ‘Persistence Research in Science and Engineering’ survey (n = 6882), which employs a nationally representative sample of university students enrolled in introductory English courses. Results indicate that students’ participation in OST activities, as well as their middle school interest in science and mathematics and their gender, plays a significant role in university career interest in STEM. Conclusions suggest that making OST clubs and competitions and the inclusion of non-fiction and science fiction within English Language Arts programmes may be beneficial to the development of students in STEM careers. Limitations include the paucity of research examining which students participate in these activities and what specific features or characteristics benefit them.

Specialized Public High Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology and the STEM Pipeline: What Do We Know Now and What Will We Know in 5 Years?

Specialized public high schools of science, mathematics, and technology are commonly viewed as the “crown jewel” of their respective school districts and, many times, of their respective states. These schools are intended to coalesce the most academically talented, science-focused students in each district or state and typically draw excellent teachers as well. As the nation considers policies to address Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education issues, options for additional functions are likely to arise. Currently no existing studies provide a comprehensive analysis of the contribution these schools make over and above regular high schools to the STEM pipeline. This article presents the extant literature on variables that have been shown to predict participation in STEM careers on the part of adolescents in and out of specialized high schools. The literature review is followed by a description of a recently embarked 3-year National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored study designed to answer the following questions: Are specialized STEM high-school graduates more likely to remain in the STEM pipeline than students with similar achievement and interests who attended regular public high schools? Which educational/instructional practices used by specialized STEM high schools are associated with higher STEM pipeline retention rates in college and higher rates of entrance into STEM-related professions?

An exploration of the use of eye‐gaze tracking to study problem‐solving on standardized science assessments

This pilot study investigated the capacity of eye‐gaze tracking to identify differences in problem‐solving behaviours within a group of individuals who possessed varying degrees of knowledge and expertise in three disciplines of science (biology, chemistry and physics). The six participants, all pre‐service science teachers, completed an 18‐item multiple‐choice science assessment while having their eye‐gaze tracked and recorded. Analysis of the data revealed differences in eye‐gaze behaviour across different disciplines and similarities among participants with similar science backgrounds. This manuscript discusses various issues in eye‐gaze tracking data analysis and suggests some analytical techniques for addressing these issues. The findings suggest that eye‐gaze tracking may potentially be a useful approach to furthering our understanding of students’ problem‐solving behaviours.

The help-seeking orientations of Latino and non-Latino urban high school students: a critical-sociological investigation

This study focuses on the help-seeking orientations of low-status Latino adolescents. Help-seeking orientation is defined as a persons proclivity to resolve personal and academic problems through the seeking of social support (i.e., coping by seeking help). This article presents a selected review of the literature on key social antecedents of peoples help-seeking orientation. It also presents an emerging sociological framework for recasting this social psychological phenomenon as an important mediating link between the systematic forces of class, race, and gender and the life chances of low-status youth. The authors report on a cross-sectional study of three measures of adolescent help-seeking orientation, based on a questionnaire survey of one urban high school in the southwestern United States. Measures of social class, gender, age, English-language proficiency, and academic performance were examined for their independent predictive value. The authors also tested for differential effects across three student groups: Spanish-dominant Latinos, English-proficient Latinos, and non-Latinos. Gender and academic performance emerged as the most salient predictors, suggesting that low-achieving males are particularly prone to withdraw from vital sources of support. Latino immigrants with little English proficiency also revealed signs of a negative or conflictive orientation toward help seeking, reporting low degrees of interpersonal openness and a low desire for academic support.

Educational outcomes for students enrolled in MD-PhD programs at medical school matriculation, 1995-2000: a national cohort study.

Purpose To describe educational outcomes for a national cohort of students who enrolled in MD–PhD programs at medical school matriculation (MD–PhD matriculants). Method The authors used multivariate logistic regression to identify factors independently associated with overall MD–PhD program attrition (MD-only graduation or medical school withdrawal/dismissal) compared with MD–PhD program graduation among the 1995–2000 national cohort of MD–PhD matriculants at medical schools with and without Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) support. Results Of 2,582 MD–PhD matriculants, 1,885 (73.0%) were MD–PhD graduates, 597 (23.1%) were MD-only graduates, and 100 (3.9%) withdrew/were dismissed from medical school by July 2011. MD–PhD matriculants at non-MSTP-funded schools (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60–2.41) and who had lower Medical College Admission Test scores (< 31 versus ≥ 36: AOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.20–2.14; 31–33 versus ≥ 36: AOR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.01–1.70) were more likely to leave the MD–PhD program; matriculants who reported greater planned career involvement in research (AOR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.51–0.84) and matriculated more recently (AOR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85–0.96) were less likely to leave the MD–PhD program. Gender, race/ethnicity, and premedical debt were not independently associated with overall MD–PhD program attrition. Conclusions Most MD–PhD matriculants completed the MD–PhD program; most of those who left were MD-only graduates. Findings regarding variables associated with attrition can inform efforts to recruit and support students through successful completion of MD–PhD program requirements.

Weighting for Recognition: Accounting for Advanced Placement and Honors Courses When Calculating High School Grade Point Average:

Honors and advanced placement (AP) courses are commonly viewed as more demanding than standard high school offerings. Schools employ a range of methods to account for such differences when calculating grade point average and the associated rank in class for graduating students. In turn, these statistics have a sizeable impact on college admission and access to financial aid. The authors establish the relationship between the grade earned and type of high school science course taken for 7,613 students by modeling their later performance in an introductory college course. The sample is drawn from more than 100 introductory science courses at 55 randomly chosen college and universities. Accounting for variations in college grading systems, strong evidence is found in favor of the practice of adding bonus points to students’ high school course grades in the sciences, namely, on a 4-point scale, 1 point for AP courses and .5 for honors courses.

Gender Differences in the High School and Affective Experiences of Introductory College Physics Students

The disparity in persistence between males and females studying physics has been a topic of concern to physics educators for decades. Overall, while female students perform as well as or better than male students,1 they continue to lag considerably in terms of persistence. The most significant drop in females studying physics occurs between high school and college.2 Since most female physicists report that they became attracted to physics and decided to study it further while in high school, according to the International Study of Women in Physics,3 it is problematic that high school is also the stage at which females begin to opt out at much higher rates than males. Although half of the students taking one year of physics in high school are female, females are less likely than males to take a second or Advanced Placement (AP) physics course.4 In addition, the percentage of females taking the first physics course in college usually falls between 30% and 40%.1 In other words, although you may see gender pa...

Traditional and Block Scheduling for College Science Preparation: A Comparison of College Science Success of Students Who Report Different High School Scheduling Plans

This study compares frequencies of instructional practices across differing scheduling plans (Traditional and Block plans), and explores the association between high school scheduling plans and college science preparation, using introductory college science grades as the outcome measure. More than 7000 students enrolled in introductory college biology, chemistry, and physics were surveyed. No large difference was found when comparing the use of frequencies of instructional practices across scheduling plans. Regression models investigating associations between scheduling plans and college grades found significant, but small differences in predicted college grades for Traditional, 4:4, and Unique Block students; however, the analysis found two negative interactions on college grades linking alternate Block (AB) with HS science achievement and AB block with peer tutoring. Overall, the results indicate that Block scheduling plans do not appear to provide an advantage to students in terms of college preparation in science.