Board 340: Nurturing a Community of Practice Approach Toward Equitable and Inclusive STEM Environments in Schools

As the Catalyzing Inclusive STEM Experiences All Year Round (CISTEME365) concludes its fifth year of implementation, this multifaceted initiative aimed at increasing access to informal, project-based engineering experiences in safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments provides us with a wealth of new lessons and questions that will provide a foundation for future endeavors. This initiative has supported 22 school-based teams of teachers, counselors, and administrators in establishing out-of-school STEM Clubs while employing strategies to create more equitable and inclusive environments for students from groups frequently underrepresented or excluded from STEM-centered activities. This paper focuses on impacts and lessons learned from a mixed-methods research study using multivariate analysis and qualitative analysis of participant interviews and focus groups, observations, and analysis of participant artifacts such as STEM Club activities and action research projects. A few key findings include instructor and student self-efficacy and knowledge of STEM college and career pathways increased, school contexts and shifts in staffing patterns impacted the sustainability of STEM Club implementation, and evidence of broader impacts was observed as teams or individuals shared CISTEME365 lessons and content with colleagues at their schools. Findings shared in the paper and poster presentation will be used to discuss how these lessons learned will be applied to future projects aimed at pre-college engineering education initiatives to broaden participation in engineering majors and careers.