Youth Development Insight

By Rebecca Meyer We have all probably seen the news stories annually of youth who compete for and even win national science awards for what is groundbreaking research to solve problems like clean water, prevent health concerns, energy, etc. These young people are obviously involved in authentic science endeavors as a part of their youth development—working with communities of science professionals on real world scientific efforts that build our understanding and capabilities to manage real-world challenges. As it turns out, research studies , as well as my own experiences, suggest that science authenticity can play an important role in enhancing how young people perceive the attractiveness and value of STEM learning. Over the course of my STEM teaching career, I have learned that there is a connection between engagement and authenticity. These are two fundamental dimensions we should be paying attention to as we design youth development programs. One project that encapsulates these...

By Rebecca Meyer The world is facing a shortage of professionals to enter into the STEM workforce, but our young people are also racing to catch up to the necessary skills and capabilities they need to fulfill this shortage. Earlier this fall the Minnesota Department of Education reported that students in Minnesota are not performing at expected levels, as test scores for reading and science dipped while math recorded a small increase. But the slight increase in math scores is still overall lower than pre-pandemic results. Minnesota is not alone in this. This trend in test scores is similar across the United States.  While regaining content knowledge and skills are needed, interpersonal skills are also important. 4-H and other non-formal youth organizations have critical roles to play in engaging young people in high quality experiences that both build key content knowledge and skills and help them regain key aptitudes. They are also uniquely positioned to strengthen meaningful in...

By Rebecca Meyer The Minnesota 4-H STEM program recently wrapped up the 2023 Engineering Design Challenge with in-person and virtual showcases . The youth and coaches who engaged in this year’s challenge theme "Take Your Best Shot and Celebrate" in honor of the program’s tenth anniversary demonstrated immense creativity and innovation, along with learning related to their understanding and challenges of simple machines but also of one another. One of my interesting observations among the various activities was some of the differences among the teams. For example, one team I was privileged to engage in deeper conversations with came together from multiple clubs in their county to form the team and had only been working together on the challenge (many for their first time) since May. This team not only had an exceptional machine that ran well when demonstrated, but they also seemed to work really well with each other. When asked what their favorite part of the machine was, one ...