Innovative Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics Work Force Development Project

莫尔豪斯学院的创新科学，技术，工程和数学劳动力发展项目将使少数民族男性学生参与积极，包容的学习社区，以提高他们对科学和数学教育和职业的兴趣。该项目的目标是在现实生活中解决问题的情景中从被动学习转向主动学习，以促进初中和高中的学业成功，并为学生上大学做好学术准备。学习模块将让学生接触创新和创造力，提供一个充满活力，引人入胜和现实的动手活动环境，以学习在真实的生活中应用的物理和数学概念。公布该项目的调查结果将为改善少数群体参与科学和数学教育和职业提供一个途径。这可能会对国家教育议程产生重大影响，因为它提供了关于理解这些发现背后的机制的最佳方法的实证研究结果。该计划将纳入一个强大的创业成分，旨在发展这些学生成为未来的科学和数学的商业领袖，他们不仅将参与科学和数学的劳动力，但也将有助于扩大科学和数学的劳动力。该项目将从事长期的黑人男性学生科学，技术，工程，和数学课程，将包括为期四周的暑期课程，实践现场经验，并在学年周六学院。该方案将使中学生升入高中，每年影响42名学生，分别从6年级、7年级和8年级录取14名学生，进行为期3年的学习，包括文化上的支持：1）学术、社会融合和咨询; 2）知识和技能发展; 3）支持和激励，最终影响学生的信心，学术成果和科学，技术，工程和数学的职业选择。该项目的目标是：1）增加科学和数学的身份; 2）提高科学和数学作为一种职业的意识和看法;和3）增加在科学，技术，工程和数学课程和职业中代表性不足的人口的参与。研究计划将集中在研究问题：（1）哪些因素和关键经验有效地促进了科学和数学职业的认识，追求科学或数学职业的动机，并坚持从事这些职业的教育途径？(2)在什么样的角色和方式做父母，导师，照顾者，和其他社区成员激励学生成为意识到，感兴趣，并为科学和数学的职业生涯做好准备？建议的主动学习经验，以提高科学和数学教育的代表性不足的少数民族学生的有效性将使用混合方法的方法进行评估，包括专注于三个相互关联的主观结构，已知预测坚持科学：科学自我效能，科学身份，并打算坚持科学。为了确保项目活动的持续质量，将进行定性和定量分析的外部形成性和总结性评估，以衡量实现计划目标的进展情况。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划资助，该计划支持建立对实践，计划元素，背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于增加学生对科学，技术，工程，信息和通信技术（ICT）该奖项反映了NSF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。

The Morehouse College's Innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Work Force Development Project will engage minority male students in an active, inclusive learning community to enhance their interest in science and mathematics education and careers. The objective of the project is to shift from passive learning to active learning within the context of real-life problem-solving scenarios in order to promote academic success in middle school and high school and prepare students academically to attend a college or university. Learning modules will expose students to innovation and creativity to provide a dynamic, engaging, and realistic environment of hands on activities to learn concepts within physics and mathematics that have applications in real life. The publication of findings from this project will provide an avenue for improving minority participation in science and mathematics education and careers. This could have significant influence on the national educational agenda by providing empirical findings on the best approach to understand the mechanism underlying these findings. The program will incorporate a strong entrepreneurial component designed to develop these students into future science and mathematics business leaders who will not only participate in the science and mathematics workforce, but will also contribute to the expansion of the science and mathematics workforce.The project will engage Black male students in a long-term Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program that will include a four-week Summer Program, Hands-on Field Experience, and Saturday Academy during the academic year. The program will bridge middle school students into high school and impact 42 students/year by admitting 14 students each from 6th, 7th and 8th grades respectively for a 3-year experience that includes culturally sustaining: 1) academic, social integration and advising; 2) knowledge and skill development; and 3) support and motivation which ultimately impacts students' confidence, academic outcome and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics career choices. The goals of the project are: 1) Increase Science and Mathematics identity; 2) Increase the awareness and perception of Science and Mathematics as a career; and 3) Increase broadening participation of underrepresented populations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics programs and careers. The research plan will focus on the research questions: (1) What factors and key experiences effectively promote awareness of Science and Mathematics careers, motivation to pursue a Science or Mathematics career, and persistence in undertaking education pathways to those careers? (2) In what roles and in what ways do parents, mentors, caregivers, and other community members motivate students to become aware of, interested in, and prepared for Science and Mathematics careers? The effectiveness of proposed active-learning experiences to enhance science and mathematics education of underrepresented minority students will be evaluated using a mixed method approach including a focus on three inter-related subjective constructs known to predict persistence in science: scientific self-efficacy, science identity, and intent to persist in science. To ensure ongoing quality of the project activities, external formative and summative evaluations with both qualitative and quantitative analysis will be conducted to gauge progress toward program goals. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.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.