Scholarships for Talented Underprivileged STEM Student Success

该项目将通过支持阿拉巴马州农工大学（AAMU）（一所历史上由黑人（HBCU）授予土地和EPSCoR的大学）中表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，为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做出贡献。在为期6年的时间里，该项目将为36名攻读机械工程、计算机科学和建筑管理技术学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，包括指导、本科研究经历、职业咨询、实习、研究生入学准备和参加学科特定会议，提高学生在STEM领域的坚持度。在导师的帮助下，学生将制定个人发展计划，概述他们的职业目标和实现这些目标的步骤。该项目还将支持旨在提高学生保留率和STEM成功的课程改进。由于阿拉巴马a&m大学有大量未被充分代表的学生，该项目有可能扩大少数族裔在STEM领域的参与，并了解指导和个人发展计划如何支持这些学生群体的保留和毕业。为了提高有经济需求的低收入、优秀本科生的STEM学位结业率，该项目将促进在STEM课程中采用基于证据的参与式学习教学法，以提高学生的学习成果、成功率和保留率。将提供以证据为基础的教学法的教师发展讲习班。补充指导（SI）将帮助学生学习最容易发生损耗的入门数学和科学课程。基于他们丰富的经验，该项目的pi和STEM学科的活跃教师将为学生提供指导，并指导他们从入门到成功毕业。该项目还将为学生提供本科研究机会。AAMU职业发展服务将安排各种专业发展活动和职业咨询，为学生毕业后进入研究生院或加入STEM劳动力做好准备。一项研究将调查并记录这些干预措施对学生在STEM课程中的学习成果、保留率、持久性和毕业率的影响。该项目将由咨询委员会指导，并由外部评价人员进行评价。本项目的研究结果将通过网页和针对类似机构的STEM相关专业会议进行传播，包括ASEE、NSF PI研讨会、HBCU-UP和AAAS-ERN会议。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 Alabama A&M University (AAMU), a historically Black (HBCU) land-grant and EPSCoR institution. Over its 6-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 36 unique full time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management Technology. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, including mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, career counseling, internships, graduate school preparation, and participation in discipline-specific conferences. With the help of mentors, the scholars will create Individual Development Plans outlining their career goals and steps toward achieving those goals. The project will also support curriculum improvements aimed at improving student retention and success in STEM. Because Alabama A&M University has a high population of underrepresented students, this project has the potential to broaden participation of minorities in STEM fields and to learn how mentoring and individual development plans support retention and graduation of this student population. To increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need, the project will facilitate the adaptation of evidence-based engaged learning pedagogies in STEM courses to enhance student learning outcomes, success, and retention. Faculty development workshops on evidence-based pedagogies will be provided. Supplemental Instruction (SI) will help the students with gateway mathematics and science courses where most attrition occurs. Based on their extensive experience, the PIs of the project and active faculty members in the STEM disciplines will provide mentoring to the students and guide them from entry to successful graduation. The project will also provide undergraduate research opportunities for the students. The AAMU Career Development Services will arrange various professional development activities and career counseling to prepare students to attend graduate school or join the STEM workforce after graduation. A research study will investigate and document the effect of these interventions on students learning outcomes in STEM courses, as well as on retention, persistence, and graduation rates. The project will be guided by an Advisory Committee and evaluated by an external evaluator. Results obtained from this project will be disseminated through web pages and STEM related professional conferences targeting similar institutes, including ASEE, NSF PI Symposium, HBCU-UP & AAAS-ERN conference. 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.