Supporting Biology and Neuroscience Undergraduates with Scholarships and Development of Science Identity, Belonging, and Self-Efficacy

该项目将为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做出贡献，支持肯塔基大学留住并毕业有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生。肯塔基大学是英联邦的旗舰机构，是一所公立赠与土地的大学，为超过3万名学生提供服务。该项目为期六年，旨在为45名攻读生物学或神经科学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级学生将获得四年的奖学金支持。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、研究经验、实习机会、职业发展、研讨会和顶峰经验，提高学生在STEM领域的坚持性。队列活动将包括分级导师制度，该制度将为S-STEM学者提供一名本科生同行导师、一名研究生导师和一名教师导师。课程设置将跨越奖学金期间，从大学为S-STEM学者设计的学术方向的一部分开始，以一次巅峰体验为终点。学者将有机会在第一年和作为高水平学生在教师导师的指导下进行研究。项目包括与就业中心的合作，为完成学士学位后进入职场的学生提供新的实习机会和校友指导。旨在提高科学认同感和自我效能的干预措施将贯穿整个课程。联合课程活动将建立社区，提供团队成员和导师之间的联系机会，并支持学生在更大的科学社区中的归属感。S-STEM项目有潜力通过帮助S-STEM学者为研究生和专业课程或进入劳动力市场做准备，帮助实现肯塔基大学的使命。最终，这项工作可能会为培养所有本科生在STEM专业的成功、鼓励留住和学位提升提供更广泛的方法。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。该项目有三个具体目标：1)为有经济需要的有学术天赋的生物学和神经科学本科生提供奖学金；2)实施循证课程和联合课程规划，以发展STEM技能并加强科学认同感、归属感和自我效能；以及3)产生将传播给更广泛的STEM教育界的知识。包括科学认同感、归属感和自我效能感在内的心理社会因素被认为会影响STEM的持久性。重要的是，高影响力的实践，特别是指导和研究经验，已被证明对学生的自信和参与STEM领域的动机产生了积极影响，特别是对于历史上代表性不足的学生。这个项目将研究一些高影响力的教育实践在促进科学自我效能感、归属感和STEM认同感方面的有效性。该项目将使用定量和定性相结合的方法进行评估，包括调查、日记和访谈，以衡量STEM的认同感、归属感和自我效能。还将跟踪STEM字段中的保留和持久性。这项计划有可能增加有效的课程和支持性学习实践的知识库，并产生关于有效招募和留住STEM学科中有学业天赋的低收入学生的知识。将通过演讲和出版物向校园领导以及更广泛的STEM教育界传播知识。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学业成功、留住、转移、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s flagship institution, is a public land grant university that serves a diverse group of over 30,000 students. Over its six-year duration, this project aims to provide scholarships to 45 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology or Neuroscience. First year students will receive four years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, including mentoring, research experiences, internship opportunities, career development, workshops, and a capstone experience. Cohort activities will include a tiered mentoring system, which will provide S-STEM scholars with an undergraduate peer mentor, a graduate student mentor, and a faculty mentor. Curricular programming will span the scholarship period, beginning with a section of the university’s academic orientation designed for S-STEM scholars and culminating with a capstone experience. Scholars will have the opportunity to conduct research with a faculty mentor both during their first year and as upper-level students. Programming includes a partnership with the Career Center to offer new internship opportunities and alumni mentorship for students entering the workforce after completion of their bachelor’s degree. Interventions aimed to increase science identity and self-efficacy will be embedded throughout the curriculum. Co-curricular activities will build community, offer networking opportunities among cohort members and mentors, and support students’ sense of belonging in the larger scientific community. The S-STEM program has potential to help achieve the mission of the University of Kentucky by preparing S-STEM scholars for graduate and professional programs or to enter the workforce. Ultimately, this work is likely to inform expanded approaches for fostering the success of all students in undergraduate STEM majors, encouraging retention and degree progression. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has three specific aims: 1) provide scholarships for academically talented Biology and Neuroscience undergraduates with financial need, 2) implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular programming to develop STEM skills and strengthen science identity, belonging, and self-efficacy, and 3) generate knowledge that will be disseminated to the broader STEM education community. Psychosocial factors including science identity, belonging, and self-efficacy are known to affect STEM persistence. Importantly, high impact practices, especially mentoring and research experiences, have been shown to positively affect students’ self-beliefs and motivation to engage in STEM domains, particularly for students who have been historically underrepresented. This project will study the effectiveness of a number of high-impact educational practices in promoting science self-efficacy, belonging, and STEM identity. The project will be evaluated using a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures including surveys, journals, and interviews to measure STEM identity, belonging, and self-efficacy. Retention and persistence in STEM fields will also be tracked. This program has potential to increase the knowledge base of effective curricular and supportive learning practices and to generate knowledge about effective recruitment and retention of academically talented low-income students in STEM disciplines. Knowledge will be disseminated to campus leaders as well as the broader STEM education community through presentations and publications. 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.