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

这项工程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。它将通过向20名农村学业优秀的本科生提供奖学金来做到这一点。奖学金获得者将获得长达四年的资助，以攻读数学或生物学士学位。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生活在一起。该项目将把循证实践应用于其他学生支持体验，包括暑期计算夏令营、早期研究体验和家长教育。项目活动预计将广泛惠及该大学的STEM学生和教职员工，从而将该计划的影响扩大到将由该项目直接支持的学者之外。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位完成率。项目目标包括：1)招募20名奖学金获得者，并增加数学和生物专业的整体招生人数；2)调整、实施和维持课程、联合课程和支持服务，以使奖学金获得者的五年毕业率达到90%；3)确保获奖者为进入STEM职业生涯或生物数学研究生院做好准备；以及4)获得有关项目活动有效性的知识。学者们将在第一年的前一年夏天参加为期一周的住宅计算技能夏令营。这一经验将为学者们提供复习代数函数和介绍统计学的机会，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国家科学基金会资助的学习社区和同行指导模式，以支持学生群体在STEM课程中取得成功，特别是数学。在这一改编中，同行学术教练将协助数学复习课程。该项目将支持一名“S-STEM导航员”，他将担任导师，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学生的教育贡献新的知识。该项目由NSF科学、技术、工程和数学项目奖学金资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入、有经济需求的低收入学业天才学生的数量。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学业成功、留住、转移、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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。

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.