1. Date Source References Afterschool Alliance (2013) Defining STEM Outcomes in Afterschool Learning. Available at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/stem_outcomes_2013.pdf Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., and Kelly, D.R. (2007). “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 (6): 1087–1101. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087. Duckworth, A. L., and Eskreis-Winkler, L. (2014). “True Grit - Association for Psychological Science.” Accessed July 22. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/april-13/true- grit.html. Spiegel, A. N., McQuillan, J., Halpin, P., Matuk, C., & Diamond, J. (2013). Engaging Teenagers with Science Through Comics. Research in science education 43(6), 2309-2326. Stets, J. E., and Serpe, R. (2013). “Identity Theory.” In Handbook of Social Psychology, edited by John Delamater and Amanda Ward, 31–60. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer Netherlands. Grit is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson & Dennis, 2007) -Dimensions: “Perseverance of Effort” and “Consistency of Interest” Science identity is a concept developed from Social Identity Theory (Stets & Serpe, 2013) plus prior research on youth (Afterschool Alliance 2003, Spiegel et al 2012) -Dimensions: inquisitiveness, science enjoyment, science self-efficacy, science relevance, science importance and science commitment. Broader Societal Goal: Have more youth with higher grit and science engagement, particularly girls and members of under-represented racial/ethnic groups. Study Specific Goal: Measure and analyze dimensions of grit and science identity, and determine if they are associated. Motivating Question: Are dimensions of Grit associated with Dimensions of Science Identity? Science Identity GRIT SCALE – Consistency of Interest 1. How often do you set a goal but later go for a different one? 2. How often do new projects distract you from earlier one? 3. How often do you lose interest in a project that you were obsessed with? 4. How hard is it to keep focused on projects that take more than a month to do? GRIT SCALE – Perseverance of Effort 1. How often do you finish projects you start? 2. How much do setbacks discourage you? 3. How often do you keep working at a task until it is done? 4. How much of a hard worker are you? Inquisitiveness (Implicit Science Identity?) 1. How much do you like taking things apart to learn more about them? 2. How much do you like learning about new discoveries? 3. How curious are you about the world? 4. How much do you like learning about how the human body works? 5. How much do you like exploring nature? Science Enjoyment ‘I like it’ 1. How much do you like science? 2. How boring are science classes for you? Science Self-Efficacy ‘I’m good at it’ 1. How good are you at science? 2. How well do you usually do in science classes? 3. How hard is science for you? Science Relevance ‘It’s important’ 1. How often do you use science to solve daily problems? 2. How much does science help you make decisions that affect your body? 3. How much, if at all, does science help people? 4. How much, if any, do you think studying science will help you in the future? Science Careers 1. How much, if at all, do you want to become a scientist? 2. What kind of job do you want as an adult? The Role of Grit in Science Identity of Middle School Students Brenda Gamino Torres, Patricia Wonch Hill & Julia McQuillan Bivariate Results Background Grit- Perseverance of Effort and Grit- Consistency of Interest have a moderate correlation (r=.330, p<.001) Perseverance of Effort is significantly associated with all the dependent variables related to science identity.  Strongest associations are with: Science Self-Efficacy Inquisitiveness Consistency of Interest is weakly associated with two dependent variables.  Only significant association (very weak) Science Self-Efficacy Grades in Science In this exploratory analysis, we found that the Grit subscale, ‘Perseverance of Effort’ was positively associated with every aspect of Science Identity. Conversely, there were few associations between Science Identity and the Grit subscale ‘Consistency of effort’. Duckworth and Winkle (2014) discuss identity formation, and posit that this may be developmental. They argue that the value of specializing versus exploring diverse pursuits shifts as we age. Early in life, it may make more sense to choose exploration over specialization. Until we develop a solid understanding of our own interests and abilities, it may make sense to hold off on committing to lifelong goals. Figure1 Correlation Matrix Grit with Science Identity. Descriptives Statistics Conclusion Grit Scale Survey Design: Census of a Title I Middle School N=444