Supporting the Academic Journey of STEM Students through Research and Work Experiences in Puerto Rico

通过波多黎各的研究和工作经验支持 STEM 学生的学术之旅

• 批准号: 1953640
• 负责人: Karlo Malave-Llamas
• 金额: $ 137.07万
• 依托单位: Sistema Universitario Ana G. Mendez, Incorporado
• 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: 2020-06-15 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1953640&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Supporting; Academic; Journey; STEM; Students

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this Track 1 project focuses on enhancing undergraduate STEM education, with the goal of increasing the success of low-income students in STEM degree programs. The project proposes to do so by providing students with discovery-based research experiences and career development opportunities. The project team expects that these experiences will increase students’ self-efficacy and, thus, improve their overall academic performance. In addition, the project team expects that students will become more interested in pursuing graduate studies or STEM careers. The project will establish collaborative partnerships and alliances with industries and institutions in Puerto Rico to develop the internships. Participation in these internships is expected to help students develop the skills needed to succeed in STEM careers, thus broadening participation in the STEM workforce. By the end of the project, the University expects to increase the first-year retention rate to 80% in Biology and Biotechnology Bachelor of Science bachelor's degree programs. This project's objectives include providing research experiences and career internships to STEM students with the expected outcomes of clarifying, refining, and reinforcing students' persistence in STEM fields. The specific goals of the project include implementing discovery-based research experiences in first- and second-year biology courses to spark students’ curiosity and develop their scientific identities. After their third year, STEM majors will engage in professional development activities and have access to internships. The effectiveness of project activities will be evaluated through a mixed-methods research design, integrating quantitative and qualitative data to assess and understand the underlying factors affecting students' performance in STEM academic programs. The project ultimately aims to enhance the academic experience of low-income students, particularly Hispanic students, leading to an increase in retention rates in STEM programs. Dissemination of this project's objectives, activities, outcomes, and findings will occur through publications and symposia aimed the academic and scientific communities, industry stakeholders, and the community at large. 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.

在改善本科 STEM 教育：西班牙裔服务机构 (HSI) 计划的支持下，该轨道 1 项目的重点是加强本科 STEM 教育，目标是提高低收入学生在 STEM 学位课程中的成功率。该项目建议通过为学生提供基于发现的研究经验和职业发展机会来实现这一目标。项目团队希望这些经历能够提高学生的自我效能，从而提高他们的整体学业成绩。 此外，项目团队预计学生将对攻读研究生或 STEM 职业更加感兴趣。该项目将与波多黎各的行业和机构建立合作伙伴关系和联盟，以开发实习机会。 参与这些实习预计将帮助学生培养在 STEM 职业生涯中取得成功所需的技能，从而扩大对 STEM 劳动力的参与。 到该项目结束时，该大学预计将生物学和生物技术理学学士学位课程的第一年保留率提高到 80%。 该项目的目标包括为 STEM 学生提供研究经验和职业实习，预期结果是澄清、完善和加强学生对 STEM 领域的坚持。该项目的具体目标包括在一年级和二年级生物学课程中实施基于发现的研究经验，以激发学生的好奇心并发展他们的科学身份。第三年后，STEM 专业的学生将参与专业发展活动并有机会获得实习机会。项目活动的有效性将通过混合方法研究设计进行评估，整合定量和定性数据，以评估和了解影响学生在 STEM 学术项目中表现的潜在因素。该项目的最终目标是增强低收入学生（尤其是西班牙裔学生）的学术体验，从而提高 STEM 项目的保留率。该项目的目标、活动、成果和调查结果将通过面向学术界和科学界、行业利益相关者和整个社区的出版物和研讨会进行传播。 HSI 计划旨在加强本科生 STEM 教育并建设 HSI 的能力。 HSI 计划支持的项目还将产生有关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价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。