Science to Success: supporting STEM achievement in the Bluegrass

该项目将通过支持蓝草社区和技术学院（Bluegrass Community and Technical College）表现出经济需求的优秀低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，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。共有45名攻读环境科学技术、生物技术、工业工程技术、数学、计算机信息技术或计算机工程技术副学士学位的学者和科学家将获得奖学金，并有机会获得一系列服务，为转入学士学位机构或进入高要求的工作做准备。学者们将得到STEM协调员的深入支持，该协调员将监督基于队列的学术体验，安排辅导和重点指导，并提供对校园项目和系统的见解，这将使学者们在学习过程中受益。教师导师将带领学生参与一个共享的实践社区，重点关注科学探究和专业网络。导师还将提供补充指导并分享知识，以便在学者科学家在所选领域推进其职业生涯时更好地做好准备。在为期两年的项目中，学者们将有机会建立网络，进行研究，并加深他们对课程内容的参与，因为他们与肯塔基中部和其他地方的行业和学术专业人士建立了联系。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。低收入家庭的学生占学院人口的一半以上，需要更系统的努力来了解学生的经历和完成学业要求的障碍。为此，该项目还包括一个严格的评估计划，该计划将评估实现目标的进展情况，并产生与可能阻碍低收入学生在社区大学STEM项目中取得成功的因素相关的新知识。主要数据来源包括访谈、调查和学习社区研讨会中的小组反馈会议。通过参与项目活动，教师导师将了解哪些做法在留住低收入学生方面最有效，并将被鼓励与同事分享这些知识，以更好地将创新融入学院的教学方法中。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 Bluegrass Community and Technical College. A total of 45 scholar-scientists pursuing associate’s degrees in environmental science technology, biotechnology, industrial engineering technology, mathematics, computer information technology or computer engineering technology will be receive scholarships and have access to a suite of services in preparation for transfer to baccalaureate institutions or entry into high-demand jobs. Scholars will receive in-depth support from a STEM Coordinator who will oversee cohort-based academic experiences, arrange tutoring and spotlight instruction, and provide insights into campus programs and systems that will benefit scholars as they proceed through their studies. Faculty mentors will engage students in a shared community of practice focused on scientific inquiry and professional networking. Mentors will also provide supplementary instruction and share knowledge to better prepare the scholar-scientists as they advance their careers in their chosen fields. During their two years in the project, cohorts of scholars will be provided opportunities to network, pursue research, and deepen their engagement with course content as they connect with industry and academic professionals in Central Kentucky and elsewhere. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Low-income students comprise more than half of the college’s population, and a more systematic effort is needed to understand student experiences and the barriers to completing academic requirements. To this end, the project also includes a rigorous evaluation plan that will assess progress toward goals and generate new knowledge related to factors that might impede low-income student success in STEM programs at a community college. Major data sources include interviews, surveys, and group feedback sessions within the learning community seminars. Through participation in the project activities, faculty mentors will learn which practices are most effective in retaining low-income students and will be encouraged to share this knowledge with colleagues to better embed innovations in the college’s approach to teaching and learning. 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.