Integrating the Teaching of Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering Courses to Improve Retention of Engineering Students at Penn State Abington

该项目将通过支持宾夕法尼亚州立大学(PSU)阿宾顿分校(PSU)位于费城附近的高成就、低收入学生的留校和毕业，来促进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。该项目将通过财政援助以及课程和联合课程支持相结合的方式为学生提供支持。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为四个独特的群体提供两年的奖学金，这些人是该大学工程学专业的十二(12)名成绩优异的低收入本科生，以减少他们在常规学术追求之外工作的需要。额外的支持将包括为STEM新生兴趣小组注册特殊分组时间表，并创建综合课程对(数学与物理，物理与工程)，以催化学生从单纯以内容为导向的课程向强调解决问题的课程过渡。加强的咨询、职业咨询和同伴辅导/辅导计划将到位。与此相一致，该项目将与业界合作，为学生提供实习、专业导师、网络和特别演讲项目的机会。该项目将纳入一个与行业合作伙伴、高中辅导员和其他大学建立联系的过程，以传播与项目挑战和成功有关的成果和调查结果，特别是传播到其他机构，包括PSU其他校区，努力支持低收入STEM学生。为了增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的工程学本科生的留校率和STEM学位完成率，该项目将实现几个目标。首先是调整和实施循证课程和共同课程战略，以系统地支持学生的学业和职业成功之路。第二是通过项目评估实施、测试和研究一种创新模式，使高才华的STEM学生从学习内容过渡到将所学材料和原理应用于解决问题的情景，特别是在物理和工程背景下。三是为知识库做贡献，以帮助指导其他大学成功实施类似的项目。第四是将该项目与当地产业相结合，以提高和保持学生的兴趣，并改善职业准备和就业安置，直接支持该地区的需求。来自定性和定量评估方法的见解和结果将产生新的知识，即项目的支持干预措施或干预措施的组合的哪些方面对学生的留住、参与、学业表现和总体成功最有效。调查路线将解决文献中的空白，并向其他寻求通过课程和联合课程干预相结合的方式支持学生的高等教育专业人员提供信息，特别是来自城市地区的学生，这些地区的学生在STEM中的代表性不足。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 Pennsylvania State University (PSU) Abington, located near Philadelphia. The project will support students through a combination of financial assistance and curricular and co-curricular support. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund two-year scholarships to four unique cohorts of twelve (12) high-achieving, low-income undergraduate majors in engineering disciplines at the university to reduce their need to work outside of their regular academic pursuits. Additional support will include enrolling the cohorts in special block scheduling for STEM Freshman Interest Groups and creating pairs of integrated courses (mathematics with physics and physics with engineering) to catalyze transitioning of students from solely content-oriented courses to those emphasizing problem solving. An enhanced advising, career counseling, and peer tutoring/mentoring program will be in place. In line with this, the project will partner with industry to provide the students with opportunities for internships, professional mentors, networking, and a special speaker program. The project will incorporate a networking process with industry partners, high school counselors, and other colleges to disseminate outcomes and findings related to project challenges and successes, in particular to other institutions, including other PSU campuses, working to support low-income STEM students. To increase retention and STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving engineering undergraduates with demonstrated financial need, the project will pursue several goals. First is to adapt and implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular strategies for systematically supporting student academic and career pathways to success. Second is to implement, test, and study through project evaluation an innovative model for preparing highly-talented STEM students to transition from learning content to applying material and principles learned to problem solving scenarios, especially in the contexts of physics and engineering. Third is to contribute to the knowledge base to help guide other colleges to implement similar programs successfully. Fourth is to integrate the project with local industries to enhance and sustain student interest as well as to improve career preparation and job placement, directly supporting needs in the region. Insights and outcomes from qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods will generate new knowledge on which aspects of the project's support interventions, or combination of interventions, are most effective for retention, engagement, academic performance, and overall success of students. The lines of investigation will address gaps in the literature and inform other higher-education professionals seeking to support students with a combination of curricular and co-curricular interventions, especially from urban regions containing a significant population of students who are underrepresented in STEM. 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.