Enhancing Minnesota's Science Technician Workforce

增强明尼苏达州的科学技术人员队伍

• 批准号: 1902473
• 负责人: Travis Mills
• 金额: $ 43.46万
• 依托单位: Saint Paul College-A community & Technical College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1902473&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Enhancing; Minnesota; Science; Technician; Workforce

This project aims to educate skilled science technicians, thus supporting Minnesota's goal of developing a high-tech industry corridor between the metropolitan areas of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The project will expand and enhance the College's Science Technician Associate of Science (AS) degree program. To increase the placement of Science Technician AS graduates directly into the workforce, the project will: infuse science technician skills into required courses; develop a job and internship center; formalize partnerships to increase access to internship experiences; and develop an industry-relevant capstone research experience for all Science Technician AS students. The project intends to broaden participation in the science technician AS program by adding a biology track and using targeted outreach and dissemination. As a result, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM careers.A major goal of the project is to include capstone projects for all students in the Science Technician AS program. To this end, it has already established agreements from at least six academic or industry partners to provide internships for up to 14 students per semester. The internships include traditional off-campus opportunities as well as on-campus opportunities in which scientific equipment at St. Paul College will be used for research and development needs of industry partners. The project includes a mixed-methods evaluation plan that will be conducted by external experts. Quantitative indicators will include data from ongoing national surveys in which the College currently participates, disaggregated program and course enrollment and completion counts, and the results from surveys designed specifically for the evaluation of this project. Qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with mentors at industry partner firms and faculty members, and through focus groups with current and former students. Students participating in the Science Technician Program will also compile research portfolios that can be assessed for program improvement purposes as well as to evaluate individual student progress. Project results will be disseminated at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to understanding the impact of project-based education and authentic assessment. It is expected that this project will improve the success of students in the science technician program and strengthen connections between the College and businesses and industries in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.

该项目旨在培养熟练的科学技术人员，从而支持明尼苏达州在明尼阿波利斯和圣保罗大都市区之间发展高科技产业走廊的目标。该项目将扩大和加强学院的科学技术员副理（AS）学位课程。 为了增加科学技术员AS毕业生直接进入劳动力市场的机会，该项目将：将科学技术员技能注入必修课程;开发一个就业和实习中心;正式建立伙伴关系，以增加获得实习经验的机会;并为所有科学技术员AS学生开发与行业相关的顶点研究经验。 该项目旨在通过增加生物学轨道和使用有针对性的推广和传播来扩大科学技术人员AS计划的参与。 因此，该项目有可能扩大STEM职业的参与。该项目的一个主要目标是为科学技术员AS项目的所有学生提供顶点项目。 为此，它已经与至少六个学术或行业合作伙伴达成协议，每学期为多达14名学生提供实习机会。 实习包括传统的校外机会以及校内机会，其中圣保罗学院的科学设备将用于行业合作伙伴的研发需求。 该项目包括一个将由外部专家进行的混合方法评价计划。定量指标将包括正在进行的国家调查中，学院目前参与，分列的程序和课程招生和完成计数的数据，并从专门为该项目的评估设计的调查结果。 定性数据将通过与行业合作伙伴公司和教师的导师进行半结构化访谈，并通过与现任和前任学生的焦点小组进行收集。参加科学技术员计划的学生还将编制研究组合，可以评估计划改进的目的，以及评估个别学生的进步。 项目成果将在会议和同行评审期刊上传播，有助于了解基于项目的教育和真实评估的影响。 预计该项目将提高学生在科学技术人员计划中的成功，并加强学院与大明尼阿波利斯-圣保罗地区的企业和行业之间的联系。 该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。