5 Ways to Support Military-Connected Students

By: Patricia Moore Shaffer

Principal & CEO

In the U.S. and around the world, nearly one million military-connected kindergarten - grade 12 students are enrolled in public education. These students move every two to three years because they are dependents of active-duty service members. Although these education transitions offer opportunities for learning, they can also present challenges for educational continuity while also impacting students' social and emotional well-being.

Public school staff can play a vital role in supporting military-connected students and their families. Here are 5 ways to support military-connected students that we've observed through our evaluation studies of DoDEA grant projects.

1. Promote an inclusive school climate.

This includes creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all students, regardless of their military affiliation. School staff can do this by:

• Learning about military culture and the unique challenges faced by military-connected students

• Celebrating military holidays and events

• Displaying military symbols and artwork in the school

• Providing opportunities for military-connected students to share their experiences with their peers

• Fostering a sense of community and belonging for all students

2. Identify and provide resources for military-connected students and their families.

School staff can help military-connected students and their families access the resources they need, such as:

• Military family support programs

• Financial assistance

• Mental health services

• Academic support

• Tutoring

• Dedicated webpage with school- and community-based resources for military families

3. Provide goal-focused, evidence-based, short-term group and individual counseling services to address military-connected students' social/emotional needs.

Students may experience a range of social-emotional challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and grief. School counselors can provide support to help students cope with these challenges and develop healthy coping mechanisms.

4. Use data-informed approaches to identify academic needs and support remediation efforts for military-connected students experiencing learning loss/gaps due to transitions. Students may experience academic disruptions due to frequent relocations and deployments. School staff can use data to identify students who are struggling academically and provide them with the support they need to succeed.

5. Advocate for school policies that increase awareness, knowledge, support, and success when working with military-connected students. School staff can play a role in advocating for school policies that support students, such as flexible attendance policies and transition planning for students who are deploying or relocating.

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By implementing these effective practices, school staff can help military-connected students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.

Since 2011, Shaffer Evaluation Group has supported school-based initiatives supporting military-connected students and their families. Please contact us to learn how program evaluation can support your military-connected student initiatives.

Measuring STEM Engagement in K-12 Educational Initiatives

The nationwide drops in state standardized test scores during the pandemic demonstrated one reason why it is important to use multiple measures, but also that it is important to use measures beyond achievement data. In this month’s blog post we will explore a variety of ways K-12 projects can demonstrate engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Course Enrollment

To use course enrollment there will need to be a list of courses established. For STEM engagement, SEG often uses a list of STEM courses that would be considered optional or advanced. Examples of potential indicators using this data might include:

• The number or percentage of students enrolled in at least one advanced/optional STEM course

• The number of seats filled in advanced/optional STEM courses

• The average number of advanced/optional STEM courses with student enrollment

Certification Enrollment

The number of students enrolling in STEM-related certificates can also be an indicator of engagement. These might be STEM-related Career and Technical Education Endorsements or professional certifications. Examples of potential indicators might include:

• The number or percentage of students enrolled in a STEM-related certification program

• The number or percentage of students who have earned a STEM-related certificate

Extracurricular Activities

Engagement in extracurricular STEM activities can be used as a measure. Often when people think of extracurricular activities they think about afterschool clubs and organizations, but this could also be clubs that happen during the school day, family events, and enrichment opportunities. Examples of potential indicators might include:

• The number or percentage of students participating in STEM-related extracurricular activities

Student Survey

Student surveys are frequently used for measuring student outcomes, but not always used to measure engagement. Project directors may consider using pulse surveys or exit surveys to measure STEM engagement. Pulse surveys are brief surveys that can be administered with varying frequencies (e.g., monthly, quarterly). Exit feedback forms can be used to measure students’ experiences with an event such as a lab activity, visit from a STEM professional, or field trip. These can be designed to include as few as 2-3 questions to capture engagement at the end of the activity. Examples of potential indicators from surveys and feedback forms might include:

• The percentage of students interested in STEM Careers

• The percentage of students interested in pursuing a STEM degree in the future

• The percentage of students who “agreed” or “strongly agreed” they had fun with an activity

• The percentage of students who “agreed” or “strongly agreed” they enjoy the STEM activities they complete in class

Although STEM examples are used, these types of measures and indicators can be applied to all content areas. During the evaluation planning process, Shaffer Evaluation Group works with clients to design a series of measures that are responsive to your project’s needs and can effectively demonstrate success. If you are interested in partnering with SEG, we would love to talk with you!

Evaluation of NSF LSAMP Awards

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program that provides funding to alliances of colleges and universities to increase the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in these disciplines.

Evaluation is a key component of the NSF LSAMP program. Evaluation helps to ensure that a LSAMP project is meeting its goals and objectives and achieving outcomes for participating students. Evaluation also helps project teams identify areas where strategies and activities can be improved.

There are a number of different ways to evaluate LSAMP projects. One common approach is to use a mixed-methods approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative data. This approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the project while providing rich process findings to inform project implementation. Quantitative data can be used to measure the project's impact on student outcomes, such as academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. Qualitative data can be used to understand the students' experiences in the program, and the factors that influence their success.

Some common outcome measures used to evaluate LSAMP projects include:

• Sense of belonging: This outcome can be measured using surveys or interviews that ask students about their feelings of connection to the STEM community and their sense of belonging at their institution.

• STEM identity: This can be measured using surveys or interviews that ask students about their identification with STEM fields and their commitment to pursuing a STEM career.

• STEM self-efficacy: This can be measured using surveys or interviews that ask students about their confidence in their ability to succeed in STEM courses and careers.

In addition to these student measures, the impact of LSAMP on faculty and the institution can be measured. It is important to note that the best way to evaluate an LSAMP project will vary depending on the specific goals and objectives of the project. However, the measures described above can provide a good starting point for developing an evaluation plan.

In the Shaffer Evaluation Group's evaluation of the Central Florida STEM Alliance LSAMP project, a mixed methods evaluation design collects and analyzes data on project implementation and outcomes. The outcome evaluation utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to identify student, faculty, and institutional impacts from this LSAMP project. Student outcome indicators include graduation rate, transfer rate, STEM self-efficacy and identity, and sense of belonging. The implementation evaluation monitors activity levels of students, faculty, and the participating institutions, using these to determine correlations to short-term student outcomes during the program, such as persistence and retention. The implementation evaluation also collects information to identify barriers or challenges that have impacted implementation, track improvement in service delivery, and assess the overall reach of the services provided. It also identifies actions taken by project staff to ensure the sustainability of strategies/activities beyond the grant funding period.

Evaluation of a LSAMP project can help ensure that it is meeting its goals and objectives and that it is making a positive impact on the lives of underrepresented students in STEM. In your LSAMP grant application, including a robust evaluation plan will improve the competitiveness of your application.

Are you applying for a LSAMP grant? Shaffer Evaluation Group welcomes the opportunity to partner with your institution on this grant opportunity. Once you have a draft grant application in hand, reach out to us for assistance with the evaluation plan.

References

• Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

• Byars-Winston, A. M., Estrada, M., & Bell, C. (2016). Racial and ethnic identity, STEM self-efficacy, and STEM persistence: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist, 51(2), 109-129.