As educators, we know that setting students on a path in STEM starts with more than just early exposure; it’s about building the right mindset and skills from the beginning. A recent study in the American Journal of Education emphasizes this, challenging the traditional STEM “pipeline” model. The research reveals that underserved students benefit most from STEM experiences that foster resilience, a growth mindset, and a positive STEM identity, rather than focusing solely on early academic metrics.
We are, of course, committed to this approach. I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with @Jimmy_Lin as we’ve studied VEX GO and VEX 123 show that our hands-on robotics and coding experiences build foundational skills and confidence in students from the ground up. VEX GO empowers students to embrace challenges, develop problem-solving abilities, and foster creativity, while VEX 123 offer young learners an engaging introduction to coding that strengthens their STEM identity and technical confidence. What about older students? One of my favorite papers we have recently published shows that students felt that coding with VEXcode VR was “real coding,” thus helping to foster an identify as someone that can engage with and create computer science.
For those of you interested in digging deeper, these studies—and all our research—can be found at research.vex.com. Let’s keep pushing to start STEM the right way, ensuring every student can see themselves in these fields.
