Supporting Undergraduate STEM Students through an Integrated Community of Biology and Mathematics Scholars

该项目将有助于满足国家对高技能科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求。为此，它将向20名在学术上有天赋的农村本科生提供奖学金。奖学金获得者将获得最多四年的资助，攻读数学或生物学学士学位。作为该项目的一部分，学者们将有机会在提供协作学习活动的环境中共同生活。该项目将在其他学生支持经验中应用循证实践，包括夏季计算营、早期研究经验和父母教育。预计项目活动将广泛惠及大学的STEM学生和教师，从而将项目的影响扩展到将由项目直接支持的学者之外。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。项目目标包括：1)招收20名学者，增加数学和生物专业的总招生人数；2)调整、实施和维持课程、联合课程和支持服务，以实现90%的学者五年毕业率；3)确保学者为进入STEM职业或生物数学研究生院做好准备；4)产生关于项目活动有效性的知识。学者们将在第一年开始前的夏天参加为期一周的住宿计算技能训练营。这种经历将为学者提供代数函数和统计入门的回顾，从而提高他们在大学数学课程中的成功。该项目将采用以前由美国国家科学基金会资助的学习社区和同伴指导模式，以支持学生群体在STEM课程，特别是数学课程上的成功。在这种调整中，同行学术教练将协助数学背诵课程。该项目将支持一名“S-STEM导航员”，他将作为导师帮助一年级学生适应大学的社会和学业。该项目将为攻读STEM学位的农村、有学术天赋的低收入家庭学生的教育提供新的知识。该项目由美国国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

This project will help meet the national need for highly-skilled scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians. It will do so by giving scholarships to a cohort of twenty rural, academically talented undergraduate students. The Scholars will receive up to four years of support to pursue bachelor’s degrees in mathematics or biology. As part of the project, Scholars will have the opportunity to live together in an environment that provides collaborative learning activities. The project will apply evidence-based practices in other student support experiences, including a summer computation camp, early research experiences, and parental education. The project activities are expected to broadly benefit STEM students and faculty at the University, thereby extending the program's impact beyond the Scholars who will be directly supported by the project.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Project aims include to: 1) recruit twenty Scholars and increased overall enrollment in mathematics and biology majors; 2) Adapt, implement, and sustain curricular, co-curricular, and support services to achieve a 90% five-year graduation rate of Scholars; 3) Ensure that Scholars are prepared for entry into STEM careers or graduate school in biomathematics; and 4) Generate knowledge about the effectiveness of the projects’ activities. Scholars will participate in a one-week residential computational skills camp in the summer before their first year. This experience will provide Scholars with a review of algebraic functions and introductory statistics, thus enhancing their success in college mathematics courses. The project will adapt a learning community and peer mentoring model that was previously funded by the NSF to support the success of student cohorts in STEM courses, particularly mathematics. In this adaptation, peer academic coaches will assist with math recitation sessions. The project will support an "S-STEM Navigator” who will serve as a mentor to help first-year students adjust socially and academically to the University. This project will contribute new knowledge about the education of rural, academically talented, low-income students pursuing STEM degrees. This project is funded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.