NSF INCLUDES Alliance: Expanding the First2 STEM Success Network

在科学、技术、工程和数学（简称STEM）领域发展和维持一支多元化的创新劳动力队伍对美国在世界上的竞争力至关重要，但全国调查报告显示，美国目前和未来都缺乏高素质的STEM专业人员。造成这种短缺的一个问题是，超过一半的宣布主修STEM领域的大学生在中学后教育的前两年辍学或改变专业。 这个问题对第一代大学生来说尤为严重。 如果我们能够将STEM学位完成率提高25%，我们将占未来十年所需额外劳动力的75%。 该项目汇集了西弗吉尼亚州的本科生、K-12教育工作者、大学教师和政策制定者，组成了First 2 STEM成功联盟。 该联盟旨在提高大学入学率和本科STEM学生的成功，重点是农村第一代（FG）学生通过他们的前两年大学。在我们共同的愿景，以提高学生干成功的核心是假设学生自己应该是解决方案的共同创造者。 First 2联盟将在网络改进社区（Networked Improvement Communities）、研究实习、同行指导活动和FIRST大使计划中吸引350多名FG本科生。作为第一大使，引导学生探索家庭生活和STEM研究之间的脱节，并对家乡学生和K-12利益相关者，他们的大学机构和他们的州立法者进行宣传，以阐明脱节，并建议政策/实践变化，以更好地支持农村第一代STEM学生的成功。 我们的变革战略是实施经过验证的网络改进社区（Networked Improvement Communities）方法，以研究、改进和复制影响STEM持久性的有前途的计划。具体来说，First 2改进团队将：1）改善准备和过渡到大学; 2）取代根深蒂固的制度性做法，扼杀STEM自我效能的发展与3）连接农村家庭文化和大学STEM文化。 作为一个农村州，西弗吉尼亚州在网络、联盟和长期合作的发展方面落后。 First 2学生成功联盟将执行一项全面的计划，为长期联盟建立组织能力，其中包括一个永久性的中心组织，在这样做的过程中，我们将学习如何有效地合作，并将记录我们所学到的东西。可以传播First 2联盟模式，以帮助其他农村州发展自己的STEM劳动力。 最后，First 2联盟将推进我们对提高第一代学生在STEM领域成功的障碍和解决方案的了解。有许多研究探讨了与中学后保留相关的因素，特别是与STEM减员相关的因素，但很少关注农村学生。 First 2联盟将开展一项严格的教育研究，旨在促进对影响农村学生进入STEM职业道路并坚持这些道路的因素的理解。 从提高科学和研究的角度来看，我们假设我们的工作将适用于提高所有第一代STEM学生的持久性，而不仅仅是农村学生。这个NSF INCLUDES联盟由NSF建立的刺激竞争研究计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。EPSCoR通过加强STEM能力和能力来提高目标管辖区（州、地区、联邦）的研究竞争力。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Developing and maintaining a diverse, innovative workforce in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (known as STEM) is critical to American competitiveness in the world, but national surveys report a current and future shortage of highly qualified STEM professionals in the US. One problem creating this shortage is that more than half of all college students who declare a major in STEM fields drop out or change their majors in the first two years of their post-secondary education. This problem is particularly acute for first generation college students. If we could increase the STEM degree completion rate by just 25%, we would make up 75% of the additional workforce needed over the next decade. This project assembles undergraduate students, K-12 educators, college faculty and policy makers in West Virginia to form the First2 STEM Success Alliance. The Alliance aims to improve the college enrollment rate and success of undergraduate STEM students, with emphasis on rural first generation (FG) students through their first 2 years of college. At the core of our shared vision to improve student STEM success is the assumption that the students themselves should be co-creators of the solutions. The First2 Alliance will engage over 350 undergraduate FG students in the Networked Improvement Communities (NICs), research internships, peer-mentoring activities, and the FIRST Ambassador Program. As FIRST Ambassadors, students are guided to explore the disconnect between home life and STEM study, and conduct outreach to hometown students and K-12 stakeholders, their collegiate institutions, and their state legislators to illuminate the disconnect and suggest policy/practice changes to better support rural first generation STEM student success. Our change strategy is to implement the proven methodologies of Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) to study, improve and replicate promising programs that impact STEM persistence. Specifically, First2 Improvement teams will: 1) improve preparation for and transition to college; 2) replace ingrained institutional practices that stifle the development of STEM self-efficacy with 3) connect rural home culture and college STEM culture. As a rural state, West Virginia lags behind in the development of networks, alliances and long-term collaborations. The First2 Student Success Alliance will execute a comprehensive plan to build organizational capacity for a long-term Alliance, which includes a permanent hub organization and in so doing we will learn how to collaborate effectively and will document what we learn. The First2 Alliance model can be disseminated to assist other rural states in developing their own STEM-capable workforce. Finally, the First2 Alliance will advance our knowledge of barriers to and solutions that increase the success of first generation students in STEM. There are many studies that inquire into the factors that correlate with post-secondary retention in general, and with STEM attrition specifically but few that focus on rural students. The First2 Alliance will conduct a rigorous educational research study aimed at advancing understanding of the factors affecting rural students' entry into and persistence in STEM career pathways. From an improvement science and research perspective, we hypothesize that our work will apply to improving the persistence of all first generation STEM students, not just rural students.This NSF INCLUDES Alliance is co-funded by the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). EPSCoR enhances research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions (states, territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM capacity and capability.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.