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生和高中生提供了解STEM高等教育和STEM职业的机会，并培养追求STEM高等教育和劳动力机会的兴趣、身份和技能。华盛顿大学3DL伙伴关系是由教育学院和社会工作学院合作的，与华盛顿大学本科生学术事务梦想项目一起，将与社区组织Neighborhood House合作开展这项工作，Neighborhood House自1906年以来一直服务于西雅图和金县的低收入、移民和难民社区。在一个强大的、现有的项目--青年领导力赋权计划(YELS)的基础上，新的YELS STEM计划将在两个队列中进行--一个中学队列和一个高中队列。每组人将体验120小时的编程时间，其中包括通过华盛顿大学梦想项目、制作和修补工作室进行指导，以及接触旨在提高有色人种在STEM劳动力中作用的意识的多元文化STEM课程。形成性评估将每年探索该计划的优点和缺点，以便在实地进行修改和改进。一个总结性评估部分将研究STEM强化对青年对STEM职业和高等教育机会的了解、对STEM学习的兴趣和动机以及对STEM学科认同感的影响。将这一项目嵌入一个具有长期服务社区需求历史的综合性社区组织中，将确保长期的可持续性。拟议的活动使用创新的编程方法，为缺乏服务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，为其他环境中类似计划的努力提供知识。这项研究将涉及116名参加YELS STEM强化计划的年轻人，并将通过邻里之家的公共活动建立对STEM学习和社区内STEM职业的理解。这项研究的结果将有助于制定计划，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.