Consequential insights for advancing informal STEM learning and outcomes for students from historically marginalized communities.

Consequential STEM experiences in informal settings can address issues of equity by fully engaging historically marginalized high school students in complex socio-scientific issues. However, inclusive and effective programs are in high demand, and there is little research on what specific aspects, context, and timeframes are most important when scaling these experiences. Using a mixed method approach, this study demonstrates that students make significant gains, in the short and long term, through in-person and remote informal programs ranging between 22-h and 320-h. Progress across STEM learning constructs is attributed to authentic research experiences, students' connections to STEM professionals, direct hands-on participation in projects, and group work. Relative to formal education settings, research-based informal STEM programs can be implemented with minimal resources, can maintain effectiveness while scaling, and work towards addressing the societal challenge of improving STEM learning and outcomes for high school students from historically marginalized communities.

Explorers Virtual Internship: Fostering Rightful Presence and Sense of Belonging in an Online High School Internship Program.

This paper describes the "Explorers Virtual Internship" (EVI), which was designed and presented in the 2020-21 school year by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Despite our initial wariness about creating a virtual internship, the shift helped us make valuable innovations to our programming. EVI paired 11 high school interns with mentors to work on individual research projects. We designed our program to foster a sense of belonging and "rightful presence" in biomedical research among the interns, all of whom came from backgrounds underrepresented in science. In addition to the research experience, we also focused on ethical issues, career awareness, community building, identity/belonging, and leadership/agency. Interns reported increases in their perceptions of the overlap of their identity and those of STEM professionals. They also reported increases in their knowledge of STEM concepts and capacity to demonstrate STEM skills (n=10). Open-ended survey responses indicated that students' uptake of scientific practices and sense of belonging were interrelated with their relationship with their mentors, and that students felt a sense of community with other students despite being in a virtual environment. We also provided programming for mentors, who indicated that learning and thinking about rightful presence and belonging was helpful for their role.