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

路易斯斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟 (LSAMP) 计划协助大学和学院努力显着增加入学并成功完成科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 学科高质量学位课程的学生数量，以使 STEM 劳动力多元化。特别强调通过创新的、基于证据的招募和保留策略以及相关的教育经验来改变本科 STEM 教育，以支持历史上在 STEM 学科中代表性不足的种族和族裔群体：非裔美国人、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原住民。这些策略有助于培养准备充分的高素质学生，并积极主动地追求研究生教育或 STEM 职业。阿拉巴马州 LSAMP 是一个完全重组的联盟，由 4 年制机构、博士授予机构、社区学院、高中和行业组成。拟议的活动将扩展先前计划的要素，包括：基于绩效的津贴支持、夏季过渡计划、春季研究会议、社区大学到四年制机构计划的过渡、高中生和本科生的夏季研究经验以及对中学生的推广。拟议计划的目标是： 增加获得 STEM 本科学位的少数群体学生人数；增强少数族裔学生的 STEM 教育体验；提高代表性不足的少数族裔学生的保留率和升读学士学位的水平；帮助代表性不足的少数族裔学生从 2 年制院校成功转学到 4 年制 STEM 课程；增加获得高质量本科生研究经验的机会；促进代表性不足的少数族裔学生无缝过渡到 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，促进制度文化的系统性变革，以提高代表性不足的少数族裔学生在 STEM 学科中的保留率，增加从社区大学转入 STEM 学科的少数族裔学生的入学率，以及本科生 STEM 教育体验的持续转变。拟议的活动对于增进对本科生 STEM 教育和研究经验的可持续最佳实践的认识和理解非常重要，并将包括社会科学研究和计划的传播活动。该项目的总体目标是：在本科生 STEM 教育和研究经验中实施和研究创新、循证、可持续的最佳实践，旨在通过增强 STEM 教育体验来提高代表性不足的少数族裔学生的质量和数量。这项研究的核心问题是夏季桥梁课程的内容和长度的变化是否会对自我效能和归属感产生不同的影响？因此，学生追求 STEM 学位和学术进步的意愿。这项研究可以为全国的 LSAMP 项目提供有关如何构建夏季桥梁项目的信息，并有助于建立阶段-环境契合模型以及我们对学校过渡期间自我效能和归属感的理解。这项研究将探讨参与阿拉巴马州 LSAMP 项目如何影响自我效能和归属感，以及它们又如何与攻读 STEM 学位的意图相关。该研究特别关注不同的项目元素，特别是夏季桥梁项目期间的元素如何影响大学过渡期间的这些因素。将审查在以下 STEM 保留最佳实践中花费的时间和时间的影响：研究、专业发展、学术支持、社会融合和指导。研究方法将每年涉及九个机构的所有 LSAMP 参与者（每年 79 名），这将在 5 年研究过程中产生约 395 名学生的数据。学生将在课程的第一年定期完成调查（通常是在线），然后每年一次以跟踪他们的进度。所有学生都将在夏季桥梁课程开始时完成一项评估自我效能、归属感和意图的调查（基线）。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。因素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组合一些测量来创建反映更大有意义的结构的分数。由于学生分布在九个不同的机构，因此分层线性模型是最合适的统计工具。可以开发其他模型来检查第一年活动的时间安排和强度如何影响自我效能、归属感和意图。这些分析将更全面地描述过渡过程。

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.