Innovation Training and Scholarships To Improve Student Retention and Graduation in STEM Fields

创新培训和奖学金可提高 STEM 领域的学生保留率和毕业率

• 批准号: 2030297
• 负责人: Karl Schubert
• 金额: $ 94.13万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-03-01 至 2026-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2030297&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Innovation; Training; Scholarships; Improve; Student

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 the University of Arkansas, a comprehensive research university. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 32 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, physics, math and/or non-medical areas of biology. The Scholars will enter in two cohorts of 16 first-year students and receive up four years of scholarship support. Diversity of backgrounds and varied life experiences are critical to scientific innovation. This project aims to increase the number of low-income STEM graduates with specific training in innovation, which can help increase the economic diversity of STEM innovators. These innovation courses are a novel feature of this project. The courses will engage Scholars with multi-disciplinary teams and industry collaboration, thus helping them develop an understanding of real-world innovation principles and practices. Previously implemented and evidence-based retention and graduation initiatives will be used to improve Scholars’ academic success. This project has the potential to broaden participation in the next generation of innovators in STEM fields and thus have a positive economic impact on Arkansas and the nation. Results from this project will help expand the limited STEM education literature regarding the development of STEM innovators and provide insights on effective academic programs for educating students interested in becoming STEM innovators. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific aims of this project are to: 1) recruit a diverse body of STEM Scholars; 2) improve Scholars’ innovation skills through educational experiences; 3) develop three new innovation courses that include industry collaboration; 4) enhance Scholars’ academic achievement; and 5) increase persistence to graduation using evidence-based strategies to minimize financial, social, and academic barriers. This project will provide innovation training, which is not typically found in current STEM curricula. By assessing the current and evolving environment, courses, and programs, this project will provide insights about factors that improve Scholars’ ability to innovate and will advance the body of knowledge by developing and evaluating education initiatives designed to develop Scholars’ innovation skills. This study could provide insights on effective teaching strategies and training methods for cultivating innovative STEM students. The project evaluation will use a mixed methods approach to examine the extent to which the project is progressing toward its annual benchmarks in terms of awarded scholarships, academic performance, retention, and graduation. Project results will be shared with a) the STEM education community through STEM education conferences and publications; b) policymakers and the general public through reports and briefings; and c) communities and families via reader-friendly infographics, reports, and professional communications. 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.

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员，通过支持高成就，低收入的学生在阿肯色州，一所综合性研究型大学证明经济需要的保留和毕业。在五年的时间里，该项目将为32名攻读数据科学、计算机科学、工程、化学和生物化学、物理、数学和/或生物学非医学领域学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。学者将进入两个队列的16名一年级学生，并获得长达四年的奖学金支持。背景的多样性和不同的生活经历对科学创新至关重要。 该项目旨在增加低收入STEM毕业生的数量，并进行专门的创新培训，这有助于增加STEM创新者的经济多样性。这些创新课程是该项目的一个新特点。 这些课程将使学者与多学科团队和行业合作，从而帮助他们了解现实世界的创新原则和实践。先前实施的循证保留和毕业计划将用于提高学者的学术成就。该项目有可能扩大STEM领域下一代创新者的参与，从而对阿肯色州和全国产生积极的经济影响。该项目的结果将有助于扩大关于STEM创新者发展的有限STEM教育文献，并为有兴趣成为STEM创新者的学生提供有效的学术课程。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。 该项目的具体目标是：1）招募多元化的STEM学者; 2）通过教育经验提高学者的创新技能; 3）开发三个新的创新课程，包括行业合作; 4）提高学者的学术成就;以及5）使用基于证据的策略来增加毕业的坚持性，以最大限度地减少财务，社会和学术障碍。该项目将提供创新培训，这是目前STEM课程中通常没有的。通过评估当前和不断变化的环境，课程和计划，该项目将提供有关提高学者创新能力的因素的见解，并将通过开发和评估旨在发展学者创新技能的教育计划来推进知识体系。本研究可为培养创新型STEM学生提供有效的教学策略和训练方法。项目评估将采用混合方法，以检查项目在获得奖学金、学习成绩、保留和毕业方面向年度基准进展的程度。项目成果将通过STEM教育会议和出版物与STEM教育界分享; B）通过报告和简报与政策制定者和公众分享;以及c）通过读者友好的信息图表，报告和专业交流与社区和家庭分享。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并提供有关低收入学生的学术成功、保留、转学、毕业和学术/职业途径的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

A Successful 2-week Innovation- and Student Success-Focused Bridge Program for First-Year Students

为期两周的成功的一年级学生以创新和学生成功为重点的桥梁课程

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: ASEE Annual Conference proceedings
• 作者: Schubert, K.;Delgado Solorzano, X.;Massey, L.;Gattis, C.;Popp, J.;Cao, C.;Carter, T.;Muralidhara, D.
• 通讯作者: Muralidhara, D.

Introducing Innovation to First-Year STEM Students through an Intercession Course

通过代祷课程向一年级 STEM 学生介绍创新

• DOI: 10.18260/1-2-1153-38332
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: 2021 ASEE Midwest Section Conference Proceedings
• 作者: Schubert, Karl D.;Massey, Leslie B.;Gattis, Carol S.
• 通讯作者: Gattis, Carol S.