Collaborative Research: Strategies Proposal: Creating a STEM Pipeline for Low Income and Immigrant Youth

该项目侧重于以社区为基础的方法，为居住在低收入公共住房中的初中和高中学生提供机会，了解STEM高等教育和STEM职业，并培养兴趣，身份和技能，以追求STEM高等教育和劳动力机会。华盛顿大学3DL伙伴关系是教育学院和社会工作学院之间的合作，与华盛顿大学本科学术事务“梦想项目”一起，将与社区组织“邻里之家”合作，该组织自1906年以来一直为西雅图和金郡的低收入，移民和难民社区提供服务。 在一个强大的，现有的计划，青年赋权与领导力（YELS）的基础上，新的YELS干编程将在两个队列-一个中学队列和一个高中队列。 每个队列将经历120小时的编程时间，其中包括通过华盛顿梦想项目，一个制作和修补工作室的大学指导，并接触到旨在提高有色人种在STEM劳动力中的作用的多元文化STEM课程。 形成性评估将每年探讨该方案的长处和短处，以便在实地加以修改和改进。 总结性评估部分将研究STEM增强对青年人对STEM职业和高等教育机会的了解、追求STEM学习的兴趣和动机以及对STEM学科的认同的影响。将该项目嵌入一个具有长期服务社区需求历史的环绕式社区组织中，将确保长期可持续性。拟议的活动使用创新的编程方法，为服务不足的有色人种青年增加STEM学习的机会。这些方法将通过实践、研究和政策渠道在地方、国家和国际上广泛传播，为其他环境中的类似计划工作提供知识。 这项研究将涉及116名青年在密集的YELS干计划，并将建立干学习和干的职业在社区内通过邻里之家公共活动的理解。 这项研究的结果将有助于制定计划，以增加STEM劳动力的多样性。

This project focuses on a community-based approach to providing middle and high school students living in low-income public housing with opportunities to learn about STEM higher education and STEM careers and to develop interests, identities, and skills to pursue STEM higher education and workforce opportunities. The University of Washington 3DL Partnership, a collaboration between the College of Education and School of Social Work, together with the University of Washington Undergraduate Academic Affairs' Dream Project, will partner on this effort with Neighborhood House, a community organization that has served Seattle and King County's low-income, immigrant and refugee communities since 1906. Building on a robust, existing program, Youth Empowered with Leadership Strength (YELS), new YELS STEM programming will take place in two cohorts - a middle school cohort and a high school cohort. Each cohort will experience 120 hours of programming time, which includes mentoring through the University of Washington Dream Project, a Making and Tinkering Studio, and exposure to a multicultural STEM curriculum designed to increase awareness of the role of people of color in the STEM workforce. A formative assessment will explore the strengths and weaknesses of the program on a yearly basis in order to modify and improve it on the ground. A summative evaluation component will study the effects of STEM enhancements on youths' knowledge of STEM careers and higher education opportunities, interests and motivation to pursue STEM learning, and identification with STEM disciplines. Embedding this project in a wrap-around community organization with a long history of serving community needs will ensure long-term sustainability.The proposed activities use innovative programming methods to increase opportunities in STEM learning for underserved youths of color. These methods will be widely disseminated locally, nationally, and internationally through practice, research and policy channels to provide knowledge for similarly planned efforts in other settings. This study will involve 116 youths in intensive YELS STEM programs and will build understanding of STEM learning and STEM careers within the community through Neighborhood House public events. Findings from this study will help develop programs to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce.