STEM Excellence
A 2014–2020 rural STEM talent development program that expanded access to STEM opportunities for gifted students in underserved communities.
Abstract
STEM Excellence & Leadership is an out-of-school program that takes place in rural school districts throughout the state of Iowa. Teachers discover talented middle-school students with interests in math and science, increase their aspirations, and engage them in advanced, in-depth coursework to prepare them for STEM opportunities at the highest levels.
The program just gives them access to opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. There are less resources in rural areas compared to cities. After-school tutoring and academic camps don’t exist in the same numbers or at all.
Selected Publications
- Assouline, S. G., Mahatmya, D., Ihrig, L., Lynch, S., & Karakis, N., (2023). A theoretically based STEM talent development program that bridges excellence gaps. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1522(1), 109-116. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14978
- Ihrig, L., Assouline, S. G., Mahatmya, D., Lynch, S.G., (2022). Developing Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent in Rural After-School Settings: Rural Educators' Affordances and Barriers. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 45(4), 381-403. https://doi.org/10.1177/01623532221123786
- Lakin, J. M., Stambaugh, T., Ihrig, L. M., Mahatmya, D., & Assouline, S. G., (2021). Nurturing STEM talent in rural settings. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(4), 24-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217211065823
- Assouline, S. G., Mahatmya, D., Ihrig, L., & Lane, E., (2021). High-achieving rural middle-school students' academic self-efficacy and attributions in relationship to gender. High Ability Studies, 32(2), 143-169. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2020.1740582
- Ihrig, L. M., Lane, E., Mahatmya, D., & Assouline, S. G., (2018). STEM excellence and leadership program: Increasing the level of STEM challenge and engagement for high-achieving students in economically disadvantaged rural communities. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 41(1), 24-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353217745158
- Assouline, S. G., Ihrig, L. M., & Mahatmya, D., (2017). Closing the excellence gap: Investigation of an expanded talent search model for student selection into an extracurricular STEM program in rural middle schools. Gifted Child Quarterly, 61(3), 250-261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986217701833
Other Products
- Small Town, Big Talent: Identifying and Supporting Academically Promising Students in Rural Areas. Lynn, R., & Glynn, J. (2019).
- STEM Excellence: A model for equalising opportunities for STEM
- The STEM Excellence and Leadership Program
- How We’re Supporting Academic Talent in Rural Iowa
- Rural Iowa STEM Teachers Learn from a Legend in Gifted Education
- We Love a Good Field Trip
- Bringing Math and Science to Life