Scholarships and a Project-based Work Studio to Support Undergraduate Student Graduation and Entry into Computer Science, Engineering, and Safety Technology Careers

该项目将通过支持表现出经济需要的成绩优异的低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，满足国家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。具体来说，西弗吉尼亚州亨廷顿马歇尔大学的这个项目将为20名学生提供四年的奖学金和服务，以支持他们获得计算机科学、工程或安全技术等四年制STEM学位。奖学金获得者将分成两组，每组10名学生，完成他们的大学课程。基于项目的工作工作室将为学者们提供实际的动手经验，练习在多学科团队环境中工作，并接触计算机科学、工程和技术方面的现实项目。这项工作也有望加强学者群体之间的联系。由此产生的社区意识，加上专业发展和指导活动，旨在帮助学者们坚持学业，毕业，并成为STEM劳动力的生产性成员。因此，基于项目的工作室方法可以为一般的劳动力发展提供一个模型，并为西弗吉尼亚州阿巴拉契亚地区所需的熟练STEM员工做好准备。该项目有三个目标：(1)通过招募有学术天赋和经济困难的候选人，增加计算机科学、工程和安全技术领域的学生人数，尤其是女性；(2)为毕业生在STEM领域的职业生涯做好准备；(3)对包括基于项目的工作室在内的学习方法的有效性进行研究并传播结果。这种工作室的方法为学生提供了校园，教师指导的工作经验，为当地工业提供工程或技术解决方案。为了成功招募和支持学者，项目团队将与学校、行业、政府和其他组织建立牢固的伙伴关系。经验抽样方法将用于分析定性和定量数据，重点是监测学生对STEM的兴趣和坚持。预计这一分析将确定社会化、性别和学生在发展职业认同时面临的其他问题，从而为职业认同发展过程提供额外的见解。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. Specifically, this project at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, will provide 20 students with four-year scholarships and services to support them as they earn four-year STEM degrees in computer science, engineering, or safety technology. The Scholars will progress through their college curriculum in two cohorts of 10 students. The Project-based Work Studio will provide the Scholars with practical hands-on experience, practice with working in multi-disciplinary team environments, and exposure to real-life projects in computer science, engineering, and technology. This work is also expected to strengthen connections among and between Scholar cohorts. The resulting sense of community, coupled with professional development and mentorship activities, is intended to help the Scholars persist in their studies, graduate, and become productive members of the STEM workforce. Thus, the Project-based Work Studio approach may provide a model for workforce development in general, as well as prepare the skilled STEM employees needed in the Appalachian area of West Virginia.The project has three goals: (1) increase the number of students, particularly women, in computer science, engineering, and safety technology fields by recruiting academically talented and financially challenged candidates; (2) prepare graduates for careers in STEM; and (3) conduct research and disseminate results on the effectiveness of a learning approach that includes Project-based Work Studio. This Studio approach provides students with on-campus, faculty-mentored work experiences to provide engineering or technical solutions to local industries. To support success in recruiting and supporting the Scholars, the project team will build strong partnerships with schools, industry, government and other organizations. Experience Sampling Methods will be used to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data with a focus on monitoring student interest and persistence in STEM. It is anticipated that this analysis will identify socialization, gender, and other issues students face as they develop their professional identity, thus providing additional insights into the professional identity development process. 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.