Developing STEM Literacy and Career Paths through Inclusive Team Internships

该项目旨在通过提高STEM扫盲来服务于国家利益。为此，该项目将探索STEM和非STEM专业的学生在公司和组织主办的基于项目的暑期实习中的有效性。实习将提供有偿培训，以解决实习东道主确定的可持续性问题。实习计划的重要特点包括密集的团队合作和与强大的STEM榜样(包括同行)的指导关系。为了确保学生最大限度地发挥实习的影响，该项目将围绕STEM扫盲和专业技能提供同步培训。实习计划还将加强现有的企业-学术-社区伙伴关系，并建立新的伙伴关系。实习团队中代表的各种技能和视角将支持使用STEM解决可持续性问题的创造性解决方案。该项目的目标是：1)为STEM和非STEM专业的学生提供更多与STEM相关的实习机会；2)调查实习计划对STEM和非STEM专业学生科学素养和STEM处置的影响；3)开发和改进实习课程，提供有关科学素养和专业技能的教学模块，为未来的复制和传播做好准备。将通过经过验证的工具和项目结束谈话的嵌入式评估、科学素养技能测试、调查和重点小组来检查STEM扫盲技能。这些信息将产生有关实践的知识，帮助不同的学生，包括那些来自STEM中代表性不足的群体的学生，提高他们的科学素养、科学倾向和对职业选择的理解，同时开发一个可复制的模式，供其他组织实施。该项目得到了美国国家科学基金会改善本科生STEM教育计划：教育和人力资源的支持。IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该项目处于参与学生学习轨道中，通过该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。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 aims to serve the national interest by improving STEM literacy. To this end, the project will explore the effectiveness teaming up STEM and non-STEM majors in project-based summer internships hosted by companies and organizations. The internships will offer paid training to work on sustainability issues identified by the internship hosts. Important features of the internship program include intensive teamwork and mentoring relationships with strong STEM role models, including peers. To ensure that students maximize the impact of their internship, the project will provide concurrent training around STEM literacy and professional skills. The internship program will also enhance existing corporate-academic-community partnerships and build new ones. The variety of skills and perspectives represented in the internship teams will support creative solutions that use STEM to address sustainability issues. It is expected that this project will contribute to preparing both a diverse, highly capable STEM workforce and STEM-literate employees.The goals of the project are to: 1) increase access to STEM-related internships for STEM and non-STEM majors; 2) investigate the internship program's impacts on science literacy and STEM-disposition of STEM and non-STEM majors; and 3) develop and improve the internship curriculum to offer instructional modules on science literacy and professional skills, preparing the curriculum for future replication and dissemination. STEM literacy skills will be examined through a validated instrument and embedded assessments of end-of-project talks, tests of scientific literacy skills, surveys, and focus groups. This information will generate knowledge about practices that help diverse students, including those from groups that are underrepresented in STEM, improve their science literacy, science disposition, and understanding of career choices, while developing a replicable model for implementation by other organizations. This project is supported by the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources. The IUSE: EHR program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This project is in the Engaged Student Learning track, through which the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.