HSI Conference: Transforming STEM Education at Rural Hispanic-Serving Institutions Across the Nation

在改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构(HSI)计划的支持下，本次会议旨在确定农村HSI在发展有效的STEM计划方面面临的独特挑战，该计划的招生人数强劲。它还将促进应对这些挑战的有效解决方案。农村和小城镇的高等教育机构面临着与大城市同行机构不同的挑战。这些挑战包括接入高速互联网、缺乏实际操作的劳动力培训或本科生研究、招聘合格教师的挑战、难以达到新STEM项目的最低入学人数，以及获得联邦资金的问题。为拉美裔服务的机构正在寻找解决方案，以应对他们作为HSI地位所独有的挑战。本次会议将记录现有的和新兴的农村HSI的交叉需求、障碍、成功、机会和优先事项。预期成果包括地理上分散的合作伙伴之间的伙伴关系和合作模式、行业参与框架、对STEM教与学的有效实践的更好理解、对农村社区学生的文化相关性的更好理解、以及提高农村HSI在获得外部资金方面的成功的最佳做法和方法。会议旨在为了解农村HSI的挑战和潜在解决方案奠定基础，这些挑战和解决方案一旦得到解决，将提高这些社区人民的生活质量和经济成功。这次会议将建立在国家科学基金会资助的亚利桑那大学HSI会议：转变拉美裔服务机构的STEM教育-来自西南的地区洞察(国家科学基金会1748526)。为期三天的农村STEM HSI会议将探讨本科生STEM教育的主题，包括：(1)K-12、两年和四年伙伴关系；(2)职业和劳动力准备；(3)创新STEM教学和学习；(4)学生支持战略；(5)文化响应教育；(6)外部资助。结果将通过结合案例内和跨案例分析策略的定性研究，与之前亚利桑那大学HSI会议的结果进行比较。这一比较将增进对农村高等专科学校STEM本科教育具体挑战和机遇的了解和理解。会议将编写一份报告，就如何最好地满足农村高等专科学校STEM学生的需求提供指导。会议成果将通过在区域和国家会议上的发言向政府机构和高等教育组织传播。这项工作的长期影响将是帮助农村HSI将自己定位为增加获得高质量教育机会的机会和发展将影响农村经济繁荣的STEM劳动力的推动者。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育和HSI的能力建设。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this conference aims to identify the unique challenges that rural HSIs face in developing effective STEM programs that have robust student enrollment. It will also promote effective solutions that address these challenges. Institutions of higher education in rural areas and small towns face challenges that are uncommon to peer institutions in larger cities. These challenges include access to high speed Internet, lack of hands-on workforce training or undergraduate research, challenges in recruiting qualified faculty, difficulty in meeting enrollment minimums for new STEM programs, and problems accessing federal funding dollars. Hispanic-Serving Institutions are seeking solutions to challenges that are unique to their status as HSIs. This conference will document the intersecting needs, barriers, successes, opportunities, and priorities of existing and emerging rural HSIs. The expected outcomes include models for partnerships and collaborations among geographically dispersed partners, frameworks for industry engagement, improved understanding of effective practices in STEM teaching and learning, improved understanding of cultural relevance for students in rural communities, and best practices and approaches that improve the success of rural HSIs in obtaining external funding.The conference aims to lay a foundation for understanding challenges and potential solutions for rural HSIs that, when addressed, will increase quality of life and economic success for the people of these communities. The conference will build on the NSF-funded University of Arizona HSI Conference: Transforming STEM Education in Hispanic Serving Institutions - Regional Insights from the Southwest (NSF 1748526). The proposed three-day Rural STEM HSI Conference will examine themes in undergraduate STEM education including: (1) K-12, Two-Year, and Four-Year Partnerships; (2) Career and Workforce Preparation; (3) Innovative STEM Teaching and Learning; (4) Student Support Strategies; (5) Culturally Responsive Education; and (6) External funding. The results will be compared to those from the previous University of Arizona HSI Conference via a qualitative study that integrates within-case and across-case analytic strategies. This comparison will augment knowledge and understanding about the specific challenges and opportunities in STEM undergraduate education at rural HSIs. The conference will generate a report to provide guidance on how to best serve the needs of STEM students at rural HSIs. The conference results will be disseminated to governmental agencies and higher education organizations via presentations at regional and national conferences. The long-term impact of this work will be to help rural HSIs position themselves as drivers to increase access to high-quality educational opportunities and develop the STEM workforce that will impact rural economic prosperity. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.