Identifying the Critical Factors and Mindset Characteristics in College STEM Student Development

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A national priority is the production of a highly trained and educated workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To support this national need, it is critical to understand the elements that affect student persistence in STEM fields. The success of undergraduate students in STEM disciplines depends on many factors, including participating in research, being effectively mentored, networking with fellow students, and developing a view of themselves as a scientist or STEM professional. This project will follow students through a four-year research engagement program, termed FYRE, at the University of Oklahoma. The project will develop tools, including surveys and interview questions, that will track student participation and engagement in STEM. By using these tools, the project leaders hope to identify characteristics that are shared by successful students. In particular, the project will focus on students from diverse backgrounds, as they are often underrepresented in STEM fields. The project will also examine learning mindsets in students, which are beliefs that students have about their learning and intelligence. Project leaders will look for correlations between having a growth mindset, or an understanding that effort can lead to achievement, and success in STEM. Understanding what makes a successful STEM student can help increase the number of STEM professionals graduating from American colleges and universities, which addresses an issue of national importance.The goal of this research project is to study a large and diverse population of undergraduate STEM students across a variety of disciplines, to identify universally important characteristics in STEM development. The FYRE program will examine a highly motivated, diverse, and inclusive STEM student cohort to accomplish this goal. The objective of this proposal is to comprehensively and longitudinally study, assess, and identify the factors critical for the STEM development of FYRE students throughout their college careers and beyond their graduation. This study will address questions pertaining to the role and malleability of learning mindsets in cultivating successful college STEM graduates. The program will specifically assess the role of learning mindset (i.e. growth-learning mindset versus fixed-learning mindset), self-efficacy, and imposter phenomenon in college STEM development. These psychological constructs will be assessed and tracked at all stages of the four years of undergraduate program. The proposed research will: 1) establish how changeable learning mindsets are in college students; 2) how effective research experiences are in developing growth mindsets in students; and 3) how important growth mindsets are in students becoming STEM professionals. The expected research outcomes are to identify the factors critical for successful STEM development at the college level, illustrate the STEM student experience across domains, and develop an internally consistent instrument for investigating STEM student experiences to be used in future FYRE implementations at other institutions of higher education. These are important contributions in improving undergraduate STEM education as they would allow for the development of more effective and successful STEM curricula and programming. The lack of STEM professionals has been identified as a major concern for the United States, both now but especially in the future. The outcomes of this proposal will contribute to graduating more highly skilled STEM professionals capable of having a positive societal impact through scientific advancement and innovation for the nation and its people.