Scholarships Combined with Targeted Support Services to Increase Student Success in STEM

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The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program will support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the Miami Dade College Homestead Campus (MDC-HC). This project aims to award a total of more than 300 semester-long scholarships to at least 60 academically talented STEM students with financial need. The project has three phases. In the first phase, participants will complete a paired mathematics and Student Life Skills course, through which they will gain improved study habits, time management, and other skills to enhance their academic experience and improve their performance in the math course. The following term, participants enter the One Step Up phase, in which they will apply the skills acquired during the first phase and demonstrate a strong motivation to succeed in their chosen STEM pathway. Faculty mentors, advisors, and instructors will address needs to support student momentum and progression in this phase. The third phase, Stepping Out, will occur during the final two college terms and will include field trips to universities and STEM employers, presentations by STEM professionals, research experiences, and aid with transfer to four-year institutions.The project will conduct a research study to address the following questions: (1) Does the pairing of a credit-bearing mathematics course with a student life skills course increase the success in a mathematics course? (2) How can the institution design interventions that will help low-income students sustain sufficient motivation to succeed in STEM pathways? (3) What factors contribute most to the success of a talented student from a low-income family in a STEM career pathway, including factors in the social environment (e.g., personal factors at home, family support) and the academic environment (e.g., adequate advisement, tutoring)? and (4) How do psychosocial constructs (such as math/science self-efficacy, science identity, and leadership/teamwork self-efficacy) of low-income, academically talented STEM students change over time when they are provided STEM-specific academic supports and career related interventions?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.