Collaborative Research: NSF INCLUDES: South East Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in STEM (SEAPD-STEM)

奥本大学、阿拉巴马州立大学、塔斯基吉大学和范德比尔特大学将领导这项设计和开发启动试点，以组建东南STEM残疾人联盟（SEAPD-STEM），最终在美国东南部和华盛顿特区建立一个由21所大学和学院以及其他社区学院和高中组成的网络。该项目是为了响应工程和科学领域中代表性不足的发现者学习者（NSF INCLUDES）项目征集（NSF 16-544）而创建的。INCLUDES项目是一项综合性的国家倡议，旨在加强美国在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）发现和创新方面的领导地位，重点关注NSF在这些领域的多样性、包容性和扩大参与的承诺。INCLUDES设计和开发启动试点项目代表了解决STEM领域日益扩大的参与挑战的大胆、创新的方式。美国所有STEM人才的充分参与，对于科学和工程的进步、国家安全、健康和繁荣至关重要。我们国家正在推进知识和实践，以解决在我们国家的高中、学院和大学中招募、更好地教育、留住和毕业STEM中等和高等教育残疾学生（SWDs）的STEM教育实践。然而，从历史上看，社工在STEM的中学和高等教育水平上表现不佳。这个项目，NSF INCLUDES: SEAPD-STEM，有潜力显著推进一组组织的合作方法，以提高STEM学科中swd的成功。该项目建立在现有的阿拉巴马州STEM残疾学生联盟（AASD-STEM）的基础上，这是一个由nsf资助的模型，并包括一个计划，以形成一个更大的区域联盟，专注于从高中到博士后培训和进入教师职位的整个学术途径的STEM swd培训。该合作有五个目标：(1)提高完成STEM学科副学士、本科和研究生学位并进入STEM工作岗位的社工的质量和数量；(2)提高STEM领域博士后研究员和初级教师的质量和数量；(3)提高残疾学生在中学科学和数学课程中的学习成绩；(4)加强专上院校之间的沟通和合作，以处理STEM学科的社会福利生教育问题；以及(5)评估项目活动，了解哪些项目能够支持STEM学科的社会福利生入学和留用，然后通过工作坊、会议演讲、网络研讨会和同行评审的出版物进行广泛传播。小组建议在试验项目中进行以下项目活动：(1)在13所合作院校实施桥梁模式，包括阿拉巴马州立大学、奥本大学、奥本大学蒙哥马利分校、加劳德特大学、杰克逊州立大学、中田纳西州立大学、南联合州立社区学院、特洛伊大学、塔斯基吉大学、阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校、田纳西大学、西乔治亚大学和路易斯安那州泽维尔大学；(3)在每个参与州，包括肯尼索州立大学、图加卢学院、亨斯维尔阿拉巴马大学、范德比尔特大学和路易斯安那州泽维尔大学，实施NSF INCLUDES联盟规划研讨会；(4)在21所高校机构中，按种族、民族和性别收集STEM SWDs的入学、保留和毕业基线数据；(5)为每个参与机构确定开展外展活动的高中和学区；(6)增加至少一所社区学院与SEAPD-STEM学院或大学合作；(7)与包括国家和地方实验室、非营利组织、联邦机构、行业、基金会和州政府在内的其他合作伙伴合作，为参与SEAPD-STEM的学生提供额外的资金和/或实习机会。项目团队将实施一项计划，以扩大方法规模，并建立机构联盟，以最大限度地提高现在和未来的潜在项目成果。

Auburn University, Alabama State University, Tuskegee University and Vanderbilt University will lead this Design and Development Launch Pilot to form the SouthEast Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in STEM (SEAPD-STEM), eventually creating a network of 21 universities and colleges, as well as additional community colleges and high schools, in the southeastern U.S. and Washington, DC. This project was created in response to the Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES) program solicitation (NSF 16-544). The INCLUDES program is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations focused on NSF's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and broadening participation in these fields. The INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots represent bold, innovative ways for solving a broadening participation challenge in STEM. The full participation of all of America's STEM talent is critical to the advancement of science and engineering for national security, health and prosperity. Our nation is advancing knowledge and practices to address the STEM education practices for recruiting, better educating, retaining and graduating STEM secondary and postsecondary students with disabilities (SWDs) at our nation's high schools, colleges and universities. However SWDs historically underperform in STEM at the secondary and postsecondary levels. This project, NSF INCLUDES: SEAPD-STEM, has the potential to significantly advance a collaborative approach by a group of organizations to improve the success of SWDs in STEM disciplines.The project builds on the existing Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM (AASD-STEM), a NSF-funded model, and includes a plan to form a larger regional alliance focused on training STEM SWDs across the academic pathway from high school through postdoctoral training and entry into faculty positions. The collaboration addresses five goals: (1) To increase the quality and quantity of SWDs completing associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering the STEM workforce, (2) To increase the quality and quantity of post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty with disabilities in STEM fields, (3) To improve academic performance of students with disabilities in secondary level science and mathematics courses, (4) To enhance communication and collaboration among post-secondary institutions in addressing the education of SWDs in STEM disciplines, and (5) To assess project activities to understand what works to support the matriculation and retention of STEM SWDs in science followed by broad dissemination through workshops, conference presentations, webinars, and peer-reviewed publications. The team proposes the following project activities in the pilot: (1) Implementing a Bridge Model at 13 partner institutions, including Alabama State University, Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, Gallaudet University, Jackson State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Southern Union State Community College, Troy University, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama Birmingham, the University of Tennessee, the University of West Georgia and Xavier University of Louisiana (2) Implementing SEAPD-STEM training workshops, (3) Implementing NSF INCLUDES Alliances planning workshops in each participating state, at Kennesaw State University, Tougaloo College, the University of Alabama in Hunstville, Vanderbilt University and Xavier University of Louisiana, (4) Gathering enrollment, retention, and graduation baseline data for STEM SWDs by race, ethnicity, and gender at 21 colleges and universities institutions, (5) Identifying high schools and school districts for each of the participating institutions for outreach activities, (6) Adding at least one community college to partner with SEAPD-STEM college or university, (7) Engaging additional partners including national and local labs, non-profits, federal agencies, industry, foundations, and state governments for additional funding and/or internships for participating SEAPD-STEM students. The project team will implement a plan to scale approaches and develop an alliance of institutions to maximize potential project outcomes now and in the future.