Theses and Dissertations Collection

This three-article dissertation presents a perspective of persistence in STEAM learning at the elementary level within the context of a third through fifth-grade elementary school in Northern Idaho. Students at this elementary school were offered extra-curricular opportunities to persist in STEAM learning and while participating in a MakerSpace type club, self-determined their activity. All three articles discuss aspects of persistence. The first article specifically discusses macro-persistence, which means returning to a STEAM activity at one’s own discretion and articles two and three deliberates the constructs of both macro and micro-persistence, which means continuing an activity at the moment after the allotted time. While the first article investigates the type of activities third through fifth-grade students choose, the second article takes a closer look at the materials used to teach some computer science lessons, and article three deliberates how teachers might use Minecraft in STEAM education.

Keywords: STEAM education, self-determination theory, computer coding, Minecraft