Evaluating STEM-Based Sustainability Understanding: A Cognitive Mapping Approach

Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers, Christopher A. Craig, Emily Skonicki, Grace Gahlon, Susan Gilbertz and Song Feng
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Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers: RAND Corporation, Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Christopher A. Craig: Arthur J. Bauenerfeind College of Business, Murray State University, Murray, KY 42071, USA
Emily Skonicki: Department of Social Science & Cultural Studies, Montana State University Billings, Billings, MT 59101, USA
Grace Gahlon: RAND Corporation, Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Susan Gilbertz: Department of Social Science & Cultural Studies, Montana State University Billings, Billings, MT 59101, USA
Song Feng: Geosciences Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: Management education holds promise for addressing deficiencies in interuniversity science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as sustainability curricula. Accordingly, we designed, developed, implemented, and longitudinally evaluated interdisciplinary STEM-based curricula in the United States. Students in five sections of business management courses and two sections of STEM courses received a STEM-based sustainability intervention (i.e., an interdisciplinary STEM and sustainability module). To assess student outcomes following the intervention and examine the feasibility of cognitive mapping as a student learning assessment tool, we implemented a pre- and post-course modified cognitive mapping assessment in treatment and comparison courses. To interpret the results, we ran descriptives, correlations, paired sample t tests, and principal component analysis. The t tests suggest that when all coding categories are considered, those participating in curricular interventions listed significantly more sustainability terms. The principal component analysis results demonstrate that treatment courses improved variability explained by 7.23% between pre- and post-tests but declined by 8.22% for comparison courses. Overall, linkages became stronger between parent code categories for treatment courses and weaker for comparison courses. These findings add to existing research related to cognitive mapping and demonstrate the ability of the method to capture changes in student outcomes after exposure to STEM-based sustainability curriculum.

Keywords: STEM-based sustainability; STEM education; sustainability; cognitive mapping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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