– The authors identify 14 distinct bridge program goals that can be organized into three categories: academic success goals, psychosocial goals, and department-level goals.
– Academic success goals include: Remediation- Providing Students with Foundational Knowledge in a STEM Domain, Improving Student Content Knowledge in a Discipline, Maximizing Student GPA, Increasing Student Retention, and Increasing Student Graduation Rate from College.
– Psychosocial goals include: Increasing Interest in the Major, Improving Student Sense of Belonging, Increasing Student Sense of Preparedness, Increasing Student Self-Efficacy, Networking with Students, and Networking with Faculty.
– Department-level goals include Recruiting Students to the Major and Enhancing Diversity in the Major
– The authors’ recommendations include: encouraging bridge developers and evaluators to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals, reporting unsuccessful iterations to help develop more successful future programs, reporting more information about the details of implementing bridge programs (including costs and resources, recruitment and selection, size, curriculum development, and follow-up information), and aligning bridge goals with measured outcomes.
2017 - Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs
Ashley, Michael; Cooper, Katelyn M.; Cala, Jacqueline M.; Brownell, Sara E.
Researchers: Katelyn M. CooperMichael AshleySara E. Brownell
University Affiliation: Arizona State University
Email: sara.brownell@asu.edu
Research Question:
To provide a resource for bridge program developers, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature on STEM summer bridge programs. They identified 46 published reports on 30 unique programs that have been published over the past 25 years. In this review, they report the goals of each bridge program and whether the program was successful in meeting these goals.
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Life Sciences Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 16, No. 3, Pp. 1-18
Year: 2017
Findings:
Data Description:
Summer bridge programs are typically developed to facilitate students’ transition into college and improve student academic success.
Data came from a literature search for published reports that describe STEM bridge programs. In addition to the published literature, the authors searched the “gray literature” or non-peer-reviewed literature, primarily in the form of unpublished dissertations and conference proceedings. The search yielded 46 published reports on 30 unique programs.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:Factors Related to STEM Readiness
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts