Integrating Meaningful Practices with Access to Computational Thinking: Towards Increasing the Academic and Career Success of STEM Students

将有意义的实践与计算思维相结合：提高 STEM 学生的学术和职业成功

• 批准号: 1930377
• 负责人: Betsy Sanders
• 金额: $ 65万
• 依托单位: Rhodes 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 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1930377&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrating; Meaningful; Practices; Access; Computational

The Integrating Meaningful Practices with Access to Computational Thinking (IMPACT) project at Rhodes College aims to increase the academic and career success of low-income, academically talented students pursuing STEM majors. This project will recruit and award scholarships to STEM-interested low-income students. In addition to the scholarships, IMPACT will foster an environment that promotes academic success, social inclusion, and professional community-building through a suite of program components, including a first-semester course on computational thinking and a first-year writing seminar tailored to effective science writing. Computational thinking and scientific writing skills are unique and broadly applicable skills that are in high demand in the STEM workforce and are also highly transferable and broadly applicable to all STEM fields. Many high school students, particularly those who are from underrepresented communities, do not have access to computer science learning opportunities. IMPACT seeks to bridge this gap and generate new knowledge by determining whether computational thinking skills and training in scientific writing early in the college career will influence STEM motivational beliefs, retention rates, persistence in STEM, and post-graduation job placement success. We expect that the insights gained from the IMPACT program will inform institutions of higher education across the U.S. about the value of implementing STEM writing and computational training in their STEM curricula.The IMPACT project will recruit and provide scholarships to eighteen undergraduate students and promote STEM success through academic coursework and experiences. In addition, the project will build on best practices, including peer mentoring, tutoring support, living in designated residential housing, undergraduate research experiences that incorporate computational thinking, networking events with potential employers, personalized STEM faculty advisors who use computation in their research, and a variety of other activities designed to facilitate cohort-building. The aim is to create a learning community of academically talented students, primarily drawn from the large pool of low-income, underrepresented high school students in the Memphis, Tennessee area. IMPACT Scholars will be targeted for recruitment through multiple creative and engaging outreach events. IMPACT will strengthen the connection between Scholars and regional employers while exposing them to career options and opportunities. IMPACT will also provide a replicable, comprehensive, and supportive network of activities and services aimed at improving academic achievement, self-efficacy, retention, completion, and employment of students who traditionally face significant barriers to academic success.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.

罗兹学院的整合有意义的实践与获得计算思维（IMPACT）项目旨在提高追求STEM专业的低收入，学术天赋学生的学术和职业成功。该项目将招募并向对STEM感兴趣的低收入学生提供奖学金。除了奖学金，IMPACT还将通过一系列计划组件，包括第一学期的计算思维课程和为有效的科学写作量身定制的第一年写作研讨会，营造一个促进学术成功，社会包容和专业社区建设的环境。计算思维和科学写作技能是独特且广泛适用的技能，在STEM劳动力中需求量很大，并且具有高度可转移性，广泛适用于所有STEM领域。许多高中生，特别是那些来自代表性不足的社区的学生，没有机会获得计算机科学的学习机会。IMPACT旨在通过确定大学生涯早期的计算思维技能和科学写作培训是否会影响STEM动机信念、保留率、对STEM的坚持和毕业后就业安置成功来弥合这一差距并产生新知识。我们希望IMPACT项目所获得的见解能够让美国的高等教育机构了解在STEM课程中实施STEM写作和计算培训的价值。IMPACT项目将为18名本科生招募并提供奖学金，并通过学术课程和经验促进STEM的成功。此外，该项目将建立在最佳实践的基础上，包括同行指导，辅导支持，住在指定的住宅区，结合计算思维的本科生研究经验，与潜在雇主的网络活动，在研究中使用计算的个性化STEM教师顾问，以及旨在促进队列建设的各种其他活动。其目的是创建一个学习型社区的学术天才的学生，主要是从低收入，在孟菲斯，田纳西州地区代表性不足的高中学生的大游泳池绘制。IMPACT学者将通过多个创意和参与外展活动进行招聘。IMPACT将加强学者和地区雇主之间的联系，同时让他们获得职业选择和机会。IMPACT还将提供一个可复制的，全面的，支持性的活动和服务网络，旨在提高学术成就，自我效能，保留，完成和就业的学生谁传统上面临重大障碍的学术成功。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。