Creation of a College Math Club for High School Students

This study aimed to investigate the variables that contribute to high school students\u27 desire to join a math club, specifically the FMiM VIP Club, which is an extension of UTRGV\u27s Follow Me into Math research project. The research utilized multiple questionnaire s to examine the combination of factors that contribute to the students\u27 attitudes toward the math club. The participants were high school Algebra 2 students from two different schools, and the study was conducted in two stages. The first stage was conducted in the Spring of 2022, focusing on girls\u27 math identity and their interactions with the FMiM VIP Club, while the second stage was conducted in the Fall 2022 – Spring 2023 and was open to all Algebra 2 students. The study had two main research questions: “What influences high school students to join the FMiM ViP Club?” and “What does the student’s participation in the club indicate about their mathematics identity development?” Each research question had its own sub-questions, and parts of each question were investigated depending on the stage of the study and the school district. The results showed that students had positive attitudes toward the math club, and some of the reasons that influenced them to join included wanting experience for their resume and creating fun social media posts. Positive attitudes toward the math club were associated with higher levels of math achievement, suggesting that such clubs have the potential to encourage students to pursue STEM-related careers