RCN: Developing a Multi-Institution Research-Practitioner Network to Enhance the Success of Diverse Students in Computer Science and Engineering From High School to the Workforce

这个研究协调网络(RCN)的首要目标是通过新的合作、研究和推广，扩大对计算机科学和工程领域的参与。进入21世纪，美国的工作性质发生了迅速的变化。如今，科技行业在所有就业岗位中所占的比例越来越大。尽管国家对具有科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)专业知识的劳动力(STEM)的需求很大，但STEM毕业生的供应一直滞后，导致供需之间存在巨大缺口。虽然全国各地都在努力增加STEM学生的供应，但有两个问题阻碍了他们的努力。首先，目前的大多数努力都是在机构和学科孤岛内进行的，几乎没有跨机构或学科的协调，妨碍了集体智慧的综合，阻碍了循证最佳做法在各机构之间的推广。其次，由于体制上的孤岛，在人员流失率较高的情况下，学生在跨院校过渡时的经历没有得到足够的关注。该RCN将通过在马萨诸塞州建立多机构合作伙伴关系，将计算机科学(CS)和工程的讲师、研究STEM途径的社会科学家、教育支持人员以及雇用和开发CS和工程人才的行业合作伙伴联系起来，解决这两个针对计算机科学(CS)和工程的问题。这个由研究人员、教育工作者和商业领袖(REBL)组成的协调网络可能会成为全国其他州的典范。该RCN项目将在马萨诸塞州创建三个相互关联的网络改进社区(NIC)，为研究人员和从业者提供一个合作空间，让他们在三个不同的领域--高中、学院和大学以及劳动力和行业--致力于公平问题。NIC的活动将集中于：(1)综合来自研究、教学、推广和商业的知识，以确定CS中的多个障碍和从高中到劳动力的工程途径，并关注发展转型；(2)传播循证补救措施，以便为教师和行业合作伙伴做出的影响从高中到劳动力流动的决策提供信息；(3)通过将成功的补救措施从一个合作伙伴机构复制到其他合作机构来增加影响；以及(4)在研究人员和实践者之间建立新的配对合作，以解决教育、推广和商业方面的知识差距，因为它们与扩大CS和工程参与有关。重点是马萨诸塞州的网络形成，这项工作将利用该项目建立的马萨诸塞州大学系统、五所学院和跨机构关系，在多个机构制定补救措施，以扩大影响并催化多机构团队未来的赠款，以测试新的干预措施。该网络还将通过实习和服务性学习将大学教育与就业机会联系起来，特别关注代表性不足的学生。该RCN由EHR核心研究计划和NSF Includes共同资助，NSF Includes专注于催化STEM企业协作努力实现包容性变革。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The overarching goal of this Research Coordination Network (RCN) is to broaden participation in computer science and engineering fields through new collaborations, research and outreach. The nature of work in the United States has changed rapidly in the 21st century. A growing proportion of all employment today revolves around science and technology industries. Despite the national demand for a workforce with expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the supply of STEM graduates has lagged, resulting in a substantial gap between demand and supply. While many efforts are underway across the nation to increase the supply of STEM students, they are stymied by two problems. First, most current efforts occur within institutional and disciplinary silos, with little coordination across institutions or disciplines, preventing synthesis of collective wisdom and hindering the replication of evidence-based best practices across institutions. Second, because of institutional silos, insufficient attention is given to student experiences at cross-institutional transitions when attrition is high. This RCN will tackle these two problems targeting computer science (CS) and engineering, by developing a multi-institutional partnership in Massachusetts to connect instructors of CS and engineering, social scientists who study STEM pathways, educational support staff, and industry partners who hire and develop talent in CS and engineering. This coordinated network of Researchers, Educators, and Business Leaders (REBL) may become a model for other states across the nation.This RCN project will create three interconnected Network Improvement Communities (NICs) in Massachusetts that will provide a collaboration space for researchers and practitioners to work on equity in three different areas; high school, colleges and universities, and workforce and industry. NIC activities will focus on: (1) synthesizing knowledge from research, teaching, outreach, and business, to identify multiple barriers in CS and engineering pathways from high school to the workforce, with attention to developmental transitions; (2) communicating evidence-based remedies to inform decisions made by instructors and industry partners that influence the flow of people from high school to the workforce; (3) increasing impact by replicating successful remedies from one partner institution to others; and (4) matchmaking new collaborations between researchers and practitioners to tackle knowledge gaps in education, outreach, and business as they relate to broadening CS and engineering participation. Focused on network formation in Massachusetts, the effort will leverage the UMass system, Five Colleges, and cross-institutional relationships developed by this project to enact remedies at multiple institutions that scale impact and catalyze future grants by multi-institutional teams to test new interventions. The network will also bridge college education with career opportunities through internships and service learning with special attention to underrepresented students. This RCN is co-funded by the EHR Core Research program and by NSF INCLUDES, which focuses on catalyzing the STEM enterprise to collaboratively work towards inclusive change.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.