Improving STEM Education in a Rural Area

在美国国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）项目的资助下，休斯顿大学维多利亚分校的“改善农村地区的STEM教育”项目将支持15名表现优异、有经济需求的低收入学生。这个为期五年的项目旨在增加数学和计算机科学专业的学生数量，并提高他们的毕业率。由于靠近石化、冶金和电力生产制造商，德克萨斯州维多利亚地区对STEM专业人员的需求很强，以满足行业需求。因此，该项目直接履行了美国国家科学基金会促进科学进步、促进国家繁荣和福利的使命。S-STEM第二轨道项目的目标是增加低收入数学和计算机科学专业学生的入学率、保留率和毕业率，并研究导致他们成功或失败的因素。这个为期五年的计划的具体目标是：(1)增加在数学和计算机科学方面有经济需要的学生的入学率；(2)将这些项目的总入学率提高12%，保留率提高10%；(3)改善大学的学生支持计划，特别是对低收入和少数民族学生的支持；(4)加强大学与地方产业的联系；(5)向其他机构，特别是农村大学提供与学生成功相关的数据。该项目的基本要素是：(1)培训教师导师，并为每位S-STEM学者分配一名导师；(2)建立STEM学习社区；(3)招收学生并支持他们开展早期参与活动；(4)为有风险的学生建立早期预警；(5)与大学和当地行业的就业服务机构建立牢固的工作关系。该项目将探讨这些做法对学生学业成功和保留、学生职业发展和教师专业发展的影响。根据德州劳动力委员会的数据，德州墨西哥湾沿岸地区的就业机会高于全国平均水平。此外，与计算机相关的职业是当地、大休斯顿地区和德克萨斯州增长最快的职业之一。该项目旨在通过增加高需求领域所需的计算和数学技能的毕业生的数量和多样性来帮助满足这一需求。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the "Improving STEM Education in a Rural Area" project at the University of Houston-Victoria will support 15 high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The five-year project aims to increase the number of mathematics and computer science majors and to improve their graduation rates. Because of its proximity to petrochemical, metallurgic, and power production manufacturers, the Victoria, Texas area has a strong demand for STEM professionals to meet industry needs. Consequently, this project directly addresses the NSF mission to promote the progress of science and advance the prosperity and welfare of the nation.The goals of this S-STEM Track 2 project are to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of low-income math and computer science majors, and to study the factors that lead to their success or failure. The specific objectives of this five-year project are to: (1) increase enrollment of students with financial need in mathematics and computer science; (2) increase overall enrollment in these programs by 12% and retention by 10%; (3) improve student support programs at the university, especially for low-income and minority students; (4) strengthen ties between the university and local industries; and (5) provide data related to student success to other institutions, particularly rural colleges. Essential elements of the project are: (1) training faculty mentors and assigning a mentor to each S-STEM scholar; (2) developing a STEM learning community; (3) recruiting students and supporting them with early engagement activities; (4) developing early alerts for at-risk students; and (5) building strong working relationships with career services at the university and local industries. The project will explore the impact of these practices on student academic success and retention, student career development, and faculty professional development. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Gulf Coast Region has greater employment opportunities than the national average. In addition, computing-related occupations are among the fastest-growing in the local area, the greater Houston area, and the state of Texas. This project aims to help meet this need by increasing the number and diversity of graduates who have the computation and mathematical skills needed in high-demand fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.