Alabama LSAMP: Sustainability of Best Practices for STEM Education and Research

路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）计划协助大学和学院努力显著增加学生入学人数并成功完成科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）学科的高质量学位课程，以使STEM劳动力多样化。特别强调通过创新的，基于证据的招聘和保留策略，以及相关的教育经验，以支持历史上在STEM学科中代表性不足的种族和族裔群体，如非洲裔美国人，西班牙裔美国人，美洲印第安人，阿拉斯加原住民，夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民，来改变本科STEM教育。这些策略有利于生产准备充分的学生高素质和积极性追求研究生教育或职业STEM.亚拉巴马LSAMP是一个完全重组的联盟，由4年制院校，博士授予机构，社区学院，高中和行业。拟议的活动，将扩大以前的计划的元素包括：基于性能的津贴支持，夏桥计划，春季研究会议，社区学院桥梁4年制机构计划，高中和本科生的夏季研究经验，并推广到中学生。拟议方案的目标是：增加获得STEM本科学位的代表性不足的少数群体的学生人数;加强代表性不足的少数群体学生的STEM教育经验;增加代表性不足的少数群体学生的保留和进展，以获得学士学位;使代表性不足的少数民族学生从2年制到4年制的STEM课程机构成功转移和入学;增加获得高质量本科研究经验的机会;并促进代表性不足的少数民族学生无缝过渡到STEM研究生课程。拟议计划的预期好处是：有助于扭转美国STEM人才的流失，促进机构文化的系统性变革，以提高STEM学科中代表性不足的少数民族学生的保留率，增加从社区学院转入STEM学科的代表性不足的少数民族学生的入学率，以及本科STEM教育经验的持续转型。拟议的活动对于增进对科学、技术、工程和数学教育中可持续最佳做法的认识和理解以及本科生的研究经验非常重要，其中将包括一项社会科学研究和计划中的传播活动。实施和研究创新的，循证的，本科生STEM教育和研究经验的可持续最佳实践，旨在提高代表性不足的少数民族学生的质量和数量通过增强STEM教育体验。这项研究的核心是一个夏桥计划的内容和长度的可变性是否会对自我效能和归属感产生不同的影响;因此，学生的意图是追求STEM学位和学术进步。这项研究可能会通知LSAMP计划在全国范围内如何构建夏桥计划，并有助于模型的阶段环境适合和我们的自我效能感和归属感的理解在学校过渡。本研究将探讨如何自我效能和归属感是通过参与亚拉巴马LSAMP计划的影响，以及它们如何反过来又与意图追求STEM学位。这项研究特别关注不同的计划元素，特别是那些在夏桥计划如何影响这些因素过渡到大学。时间的影响和花费在以下最佳实践STEM保留的时间量将被检查：研究，专业发展，学术支持，社会融合和指导。研究方法将涉及九所院校每年（每年79人）的所有LSAMP参与者，这将在5年的研究过程中产生约395名学生的数据。学生将完成调查（通常是在线）在程序的第一年，然后每年一次，以跟踪他们的进步间隔。所有学生将完成一项调查，评估自我效能，归属感，并在夏桥计划（基线）的开始意图。在解决主要研究问题之前，将评估每个量表的心理测量质量。因子分析将用于确认或修改量表，使其与预期的心理结构保持一致。因子分析还将用于确定是否可以将一些措施结合起来，以创建反映更大的有意义结构的分数。由于学生被嵌套在九个不同的机构，分层线性模型是最合适的统计工具。可以开发更多的模型来研究第一年活动的时间和强度如何影响自我效能感，归属感和意图。这些分析将使人们更全面地了解过渡进程。

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. These strategies facilitate the production of well-prepared students highly-qualified and motivated to pursue graduate education or careers in STEM.Alabama LSAMP is a completely reconstituted alliance that consists of 4-year institutions, doctoral-granting institutions, community colleges, high schools, and industry. The proposed activities that will expand the elements of the previous program consist of: performance-based stipend support, summer bridge programs, spring research conferences, community college bridge to 4-year institution programs, summer research experiences for high school and undergraduate students, and outreach to middle school students. The objectives of the proposed program are: To increase the number of students from underrepresented minority groups who earn STEM undergraduate degrees; to enhance the STEM educational experience for underrepresented minority students; to increase retention and progression of underrepresented minority students to baccalaureate degrees; to enable successful transfer and matriculation of underrepresented minority students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in STEM programs; to increase access to high quality undergraduate research experiences; and to facilitate seamless transition of underrepresented minority students into STEM graduate programs. The expected benefits of the proposed program are: to contribute to a reversal of the loss of US STEM talent, the promotion of systemic change in institutional culture to enhance the retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM disciplines, increased matriculation of underrepresented minority students that transfer from community colleges into STEM disciplines, and sustained transformation of the undergraduate STEM educational experience. The proposed activities are important to advancing knowledge and understanding of sustainable best practices in STEM education and research experiences for undergraduates and will include a social science study and planned dissemination activities.The overall goal of this project is: To implement and study innovative, evidence-based, sustainable best practices in STEM education and research experiences for undergraduates designed to increase the quality and quantity of underrepresented minority students by enhancing the STEM educational experience. At the heart of this research study is the question of whether variability in the content and length of a summer bridge program differentially impacts self-efficacy and belonging; and consequently, students' intentions to pursue a STEM degree and academic progress. This research may inform LSAMP programs nationally about how to structure summer bridge programs and contribute to models of stage-environment fit and our understanding of self-efficacy and belonging during school transitions. This study will examine how self-efficacy and belonging are affected by participation in the Alabama LSAMP program, and how they in turn are related to intentions to pursue a STEM degree. The study pays special attention to how different program elements, especially how those during the summer bridge program affect these factors over the transition to college. The effect of the timing and the amount of time spent in the following best practices for STEM retention will be examined: research, professional development, academic support, social integration and mentoring. The method for the research study will involve all LSAMP participants across the nine institutions each year (79 per year) which should result in data from approximately 395 students over the course of the 5-year study. Students will complete surveys (typically online) at intervals during the first year of the program and then once a year thereafter to track their progress. All students will complete a survey assessing self-efficacy, belonging, and intentions at the start of the summer bridge program (baseline). Before addressing the primary research questions, the psychometric qualities of each scale will be assessed. Factor analysis will be used to confirm or modify the scales so that they align with the intended psychological constructs. Factor analysis will also be used to determine if some measures can be combined to create scores that reflect larger meaningful constructs. Because students are nested in nine different institutions, hierarchical linear modeling is the most appropriate statistical tool. Additional models can be developed to examine how the timing and intensity of activities throughout the first year impact self-efficacy, belonging and intentions. These analyses will create a fuller picture of the transition process.