Affiliation:
1. New Jersey City University, USA
Abstract
Technology is all around us and has become ubiquitous in everyday life. Today's Generation Z college students are the first coeds who have never lived without technology. It is incorporated throughout their day and in a plethora of ways in college campuses. Many professional STEM jobs go unfilled annually, especially by diverse individuals. Many underserved, first-generation, African American, Latinx, and female students arrive on campus with disadvantages that create barriers to success. Increasing the number of STEM graduates to fill these jobs requires innovative ways to support and retain these underserved students. STEM Bridge programs across the country use various strategies to engage, retain, and graduate STEM majors. This chapter presents research on the unique use of hybrid gamification as an educational technology strategy, in a Bridge STEM program, to foster a sense of community and self-efficacy to support STEM majors as they persist to a STEM degree.