Research Engagement Across Curricular Tracks

部落学院和大学方案的一个目标是提高为全国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学教学和研究能力。 扩大这些机构的STEM课程设置，扩大了学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性和回报的职业的机会，为可能具有文化意义的领域提供了研究，并鼓励社区和一代人对科学和数学教育的欣赏。 该项目直接与这一目标相一致，而且将告知有关本科研究经验在招募和保留代表性不足的个人进入STEM研究中的重要性和行为的知识体系，并为下一代STEM专业人员做准备。 教师与研究的联系，从而学生与文化和地理相关的研究是留住更有可能攻读高级学位的学生的重要一步。 对于那些直接从部落学院进入STEM劳动力的学生来说，他们在数学，科学和技术方面拥有明确的技能同样重要。该项目的总体目标是对TCUP支持的创新（例如早期接触研究）如何以及为什么有助于部落学院STEM学生的教学和学习的增强进行建模。 该提案建立在过去十年来在首席钝刀学院（CDKC）进行的两个TCUP项目之前进行的研究的基础上，并解决了有关部落大学生保留和完成STEM领域的关键问题。在过去十年的TCUP能力建设在学院的主要发现之一是，谁是在两年制学院参与研究的学生往往保持在教育过程中更长的参与。这些研究项目一直是让学生参与STEM领域的工具，并帮助他们选择STEM领域的学位和劳动力安置。这项工作的第一个目标是增加选择STEM专业并在转入四年制大学后继续学习这些专业的学生人数。这里提出的跨课程轨道的研究参与（REACT）项目包括探索使用研究作为CDKC学生的招聘，保留和成功的工具。第二个目标是增加STEM学生进入STEM劳动力的数量。该学院增加了一个新的应用科学副学士学位课程，以实现这一目标，并将帮助学生专注于他们的技能组合，满足当地STEM雇主的需求。这项工作的第三个目标是增加在部落学院入学时选择STEM专业的学生人数。为了帮助实现这一目标，学院将为地区高中生提供暑期研究经验。学生将与当前的研究和年长的大学年龄科学研究实习生互动，帮助促进从中学到大学STEM课程的过渡。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will inform the body of knowledge about the importance and conduct of undergraduate research experiences in recruiting and retaining underrepresented individuals into STEM studies, and preparing the next generation of STEM professionals. The connection of faculty to research and thereby the students to culturally and geographically relevant research is an important step in retaining students who are more likely to pursue advanced degrees. For those students entering the STEM workforce directly from a tribal college, it is equally important that they have a well-defined skill set in mathematics, science, and technology. The overall goal of this project is to model how and why TCUP supported innovations, such as early exposure to research, have contributed to the enhancements of teaching and learning among STEM students in the tribal college. This proposal builds on prior research conducted in relation to the two TCUP projects conducted at Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC) over the last ten years and addresses key issues concerning tribal college student retention and completion in STEM fields. One of the major findings of the past ten years of TCUP capacity building at the college is that students who are involved with research at the two-year college tend to remain engaged longer in the educational process. The research projects have served as a tool to keep students involved in STEM fields and helped them choose STEM areas for degrees and for workforce placement. The first objective of this work is to increase the number of students choosing STEM majors and continuing in those majors upon transfer to four-year colleges. The Research Engagement Across Curricular Tracks (REACT) project proposed here includes exploring the use of research as a tool for recruitment, retention and success among CDKC students. The second objective is to increase the number of STEM students entering the STEM workforce. The addition of a new Associate of Applied Science degree program to the college addresses this objective and will help students focus their skill sets and fulfill local STEM employer needs. The third objective of this work is to increase number of students choosing STEM majors upon enrollment in the Tribal College. To help accomplish this objective, the college will offer a summer research experience for area high school students. Students will interact with current research and older college age science research interns helping facilitate the transition from secondary school to college STEM programs.