Establishing Roots to Grow STEMs: Affirming STEM identity, building community, and improving graduation rates through a multidisciplinary lower division curriculum

扎根成长 STEM：通过多学科低年级课程确认 STEM 身份、建立社区并提高毕业率

• 批准号: 1953362
• 负责人: Merri Casem
• 金额: $ 144.26万
• 依托单位: CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1953362&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Establishing; Roots; Grow; STEMs; Affirming

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to increase retention and graduation rates of underrepresented STEM majors through a novel multidisciplinary, multi-departmental, lower division curriculum and faculty training plan that includes current and future STEM educators at HSI-serving, four- and two-year institutions. Research shows that interventions that “root” students in a community and “grow” their self-perception as STEM scholars positively impact retention and graduation rates. Working at scale, this project will build interventions into the first-year curriculum for all freshmen natural sciences and mathematics (NSM) majors at a large comprehensive university (estimated impact: 500-600 students per year). All NSM freshmen will enroll in a unique, multidisciplinary course that blends instruction in critical thinking/scientific reasoning with course-based interventions to enhance traits of self-efficacy, identity, and belonging, and a seminar course highlighting undergraduate research opportunities and STEM career exploration; all variables associated with long-term student success. Student transitions to STEM careers will be facilitated through a new collaboration between the NSM departments and the campus office for internship. The capacity of faculty from NSM and local two-year institutions to support underrepresented STEM majors will be enhanced through training in inclusive teaching and reinforced by a training colloquium for STEM educators from partner institutions. This research-based project will involve five NSM departments and will impact all NSM majors. The proposed research will add to the current knowledge base through an investigation of three hypotheses: retention and graduation rates for STEM majors are enhanced by multidisciplinary, course-based experiences that combine academic content with psychosocial and NSM community-building activities; STEM-related internships contribute to retention and graduation goals; and faculty training improves retention by enhancing the STEM learning environment while creating opportunities for STEM education scholarship. Assessment of critical thinking skills and psychosocial traits will be achieved using validated survey instruments. Retention and graduation data will be collected from the campus office of institutional research. Expected outcomes from this project will include validation of a course-based early intervention with documentation of a 2% annual increase in retention of STEM majors; increased awareness of STEM career options, internships, and research opportunities as measured by student engagement with campus resources and alumni employment data; increased participation of faculty from four- and two-year institutions in training in inclusive teaching in STEM; and increased faculty and student education research productivity based on attendance in training workshops and evidence of presentations and publications related to STEM education. Project dissemination will be achieved through publication, presentation at national conferences, and a training colloquium. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs.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.

在“改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构”（HSI计划）的支持下，该项目旨在通过一项新的多学科、多部门、低部门课程和教师培训计划，提高代表性不足的STEM专业学生的保留率和毕业率，该计划包括为HSI服务的四年制和两年制机构的当前和未来STEM教育工作者。研究表明，将学生“扎根”在社区并“培养”他们作为STEM学者的自我认知的干预措施对留校率和毕业率产生了积极影响。在规模上，该项目将在一所大型综合性大学的所有自然科学和数学（NSM）专业大一新生的第一年课程中建立干预措施（估计影响：每年500-600名学生）。所有NSM新生都将参加一门独特的多学科课程，该课程将批判性思维/科学推理的指导与基于课程的干预相结合，以提高自我效能感、身份和归属感，以及一门强调本科生研究机会和STEM职业探索的研讨会课程；所有与学生长期成功相关的变量。通过NSM部门和校园办公室之间的实习新合作，将促进学生向STEM职业的过渡。NSM和本地两年制院校的教师支持代表性不足的STEM专业的能力将通过包容性教学培训得到加强，并通过为合作院校的STEM教育工作者举办培训研讨会得到加强。这个以研究为基础的项目将涉及五个NSM部门，并将影响所有NSM专业。拟议的研究将通过对三个假设的调查来增加现有的知识库：将学术内容与社会心理和NSM社区建设活动相结合的多学科课程体验提高了STEM专业的保留率和毕业率；stem相关的实习有助于保留率和毕业目标的实现；教师培训通过改善STEM学习环境，同时为STEM教育奖学金创造机会，提高了学生的保留率。批判性思维技能和社会心理特征的评估将使用有效的调查工具来实现。保留和毕业资料将从校园机构研究办公室收集。该项目的预期结果将包括：验证基于课程的早期干预措施，并记录STEM专业学生的保留率每年增加2%；通过学生对校园资源和校友就业数据的参与度来衡量，人们对STEM职业选择、实习和研究机会的认识有所提高；增加四年制和两年制院校的教师参与STEM包容性教学培训；通过参加培训研讨会以及与STEM教育相关的演讲和出版物的证据，提高了教师和学生的教育研究生产力。项目的传播将通过出版物、在国家会议上的介绍和培训讨论会来实现。HSI计划旨在加强HSI的本科STEM教育和能力建设。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。