Career Pathways in Computer Science and Mathematics through Scholarships, Learning Communities, and Mentoring

该项目将通过支持贝拉明大学（Bellarmine University）这所独立的天主教文理学院保留和毕业表现出经济需求的优秀低收入学生，从而满足全国对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求。该项目为期五年，将向两组11名攻读计算机科学、计算机工程、数学或数据科学本科学位的学生颁发四年奖学金。该项目有意将重点放在职业准备上，并将让学者参与四个职业路径支柱：(1)增强学习社区；(2)加强教师、同行和校友指导；(3)新的共享课程体验；(4)专门的职业发展计划。学者们将有很多机会加强他们作为科学家和未来STEM专业人士的身份，同时探索STEM职业，与当地的工业和政府合作伙伴组织互动，并为当前的STEM专业人士提供工作影子。该项目将研究本科生研究和实习的有效性，以此作为提高STEM学生成绩的策略。这项研究的结果将为实习是否能提供与那些有充分记录的本科生研究经历类似的积极好处提供见解。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。增加毕业生数量将有助于满足快速变化的STEM劳动力中重要的本地行业需求，并且考虑到该大学学生群体的构成，可能有助于STEM劳动力的多样性。该项目将建立在现有学生学习社区的基础上，并充分证明学习社区在培养学业和个人成功方面的有效性。该项目的设计植根于理论观点，强调社区和归属感、指导、强大的学术和社会联系的重要性，以及扩大获得支持学生成功的资源的机会。本项目将对体验式学习在各体验式学习类型的广度和深度上对STEM专业学生的价值进行系统的比较研究。该项目将解决以下问题：1)学生的成绩在多大程度上与体验式学习的特征相关，包括导师/导师的行为？2)结果是否受到学生群体或学生人口统计（如收入或第一代身份）等因素的影响？在当地技术/分析雇主咨询委员会的支持下，外部评估人员将对项目实现目标的进展进行形成性和总结性评估。该项目的资源、发现和成果将通过向咨询委员会成员作报告、参加地区和国家会议以及在同行评议期刊上发表文章的方式与工业界、政府和高等教育界共享。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Bellarmine University, an independent, Catholic, liberal arts institution. Over its five-year duration, this project will award four-year scholarships to two cohorts of eleven students pursuing undergraduate degrees in computer science, computer engineering, mathematics, or data science. This project has an intentional focus on career preparation and will engage Scholars in four Career Pathway Pillars: (1) an augmented learning community; (2) enhanced faculty, peer, and alumni mentoring; (3) a new shared curriculum experience; and (4) a dedicated career development program. Scholars will have many opportunities to strengthen their identities as scientists and future STEM professionals while they explore STEM careers, interact with local partner organizations in industry and government, and job-shadow current STEM professionals. The project will study the effectiveness of undergraduate research and internships as strategies to improve STEM student outcomes. Results of the study will provide insights into whether internships can provide similar positive benefits as those that are well-documented for undergraduate research experiences.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Increasing the number of graduates will help to address significant local industry needs in the rapidly changing STEM workforce and, given the composition of the University’s student body, is likely to contribute to STEM workforce diversity. The project will build on the foundation of existing student learning communities and the well-documented effectiveness of learning communities in nurturing academic and personal success. The design of the project is rooted in theoretical perspectives that emphasize the importance of community and sense of belonging, mentorship, strong academic and social connections, and expanded access to resources that support student success. The project will conduct systematic research comparing the value of experiential learning for STEM majors in terms of breadth and depth of each experiential learning type. The project will address the following questions: 1) To what extent will student outcomes be related to the characteristics of the experiential learning, including supervisor/mentor behaviors? and 2) Are outcomes impacted by factors such as student cohort or student demographics such as income or first-generation status? An external evaluator will conduct formative and summative assessments of the project’s progress towards goals, supported by a local Tech/Analytics Employer Advisory Board. The project’s resources, findings, and outcomes will be shared with industry, government, and higher education communities through presentations to Advisory Board members, participation in regional and national conferences, and publications in peer-reviewed journals. This project is funded by NSF’s 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.