Scholarship and Mentoring Investment in Low-Income, Academically Talented Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Baccalaureate Degree Seeking Students

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，为宾夕法尼亚州立大学哈里斯堡校区--一所公立的四年制高等教育机构--留住并毕业有经济需求的高成就低收入学生提供支持。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为30名全日制学生提供奖学金，这些学生正在攻读几个领域中的一个学士学位。这些学位包括生物学、土木工程、计算机科学、电气工程、数学科学、机械工程、(普通)科学以及结构设计和建筑。在宾夕法尼亚州立大学哈里斯堡分校的第一年，每组10名学生将获得资助，并将获得四年的奖学金。低收入的第一代学生在进入高等教育机构时面临着几个挑战。一些挑战包括更高的压力，更低的生活满意度，减少的归属感，以及对STEM领域缺乏兴趣。这些因素可能会影响学生继续攻读专业的毅力。本项目旨在考察一系列相互关联的项目组成部分如何培养STEM学者在学术兴趣、积极态度、STEM项目的严谨性和对STEM项目的承诺方面的坚持不懈。此外，该项目将产生关于各机构如何创建一系列综合和跨学科支持结构的知识，以促进STEM学生在整个本科学位求学过程中的坚持性，增加所有现有和潜在的STEM学生的学习机会。该项目支持NSF促进多样化、公平和包容性地参与STEM项目的使命。该项目将包括各种强有力的招聘战略，并通过同行、STEM教师和来自职业领域的代表的跨学科参与，关注留住学生，以培养学生参与社会和学术体验。这个项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位完成率。利用Prenzel的持续兴趣模型，项目目标包括：(I)增加参加宾夕法尼亚州立大学-哈里斯堡STEM本科课程并从其毕业的多样化、低收入、有学业天赋的学生人数；(Ii)为STEM前沿地区的劳动力做出贡献；(Iii)实施课程和支持性活动，以促进学者坚持STEM课程；(Iv)从这些课程和支持性活动中找出有助于学者坚持STEM本科课程并成功毕业的因素；传播STEM组成部分在促进STEM本科课程坚持不懈方面的作用的知识。相互关联的STEM组成部分包括学者支持、以团队为基础的队列和参与活动。结构化的多层次辅导和学者坚持学术研讨会(SPA)的实施是该项目的两个核心组成部分。SPA研讨会旨在缓解低收入学生在参加具有挑战性的STEM课程时所经历的压力和焦虑。项目的另一个组成部分是当地行业的更广泛参与，如提供实习机会和指导学者，以实现这些目标。可交付的样本项目包括行业指导计划、基于团队的微积分模块样本、学者研究或实习产品以及评估结果。预期通过将持久性框架与STEM组成部分结合使用而获得的经验教训将提高其他机构低收入、有学术天赋的学生的留校率和毕业率。调查结果将通过公共资助的四年期机构的区域渠道传播，重点是如何最好地收集和提出广泛采用所需的相关信息。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 Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg Campus, a public, four-year institution of higher education. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 full time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in one of several areas. These include degrees in Biology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, (General) Science, and Structural Design and Construction. Three cohorts of ten students each will receive support during their first year at Penn State- Harrisburg and will receive four years of scholarships. Low-income, first-generation students experience several challenges when attending institutions of higher education. Some challenges include higher levels of stress, lower levels of life satisfaction, decreased sense of belonging, and lack of interest in STEM fields. These factors may influence students' persistence in continuing in their majors. This project aims to examine how a series of interrelated project components foster the STEM scholars’ persistence related to academic interest, positive attitude, the rigor of the STEM program, and commitment to the STEM program. Additionally, the project will generate knowledge about how institutions can create a series of integrated and interdisciplinary supportive structures that promote STEM students’ persistence throughout undergraduate degree seeking, enhancing the learning opportunities for all current and potential STEM students. The project supports NSF’s mission to promote diverse, equitable, and inclusive participation in STEM programs. The project will include various robust recruitment strategies and attention to retention through the interdisciplinary engagement of peers, STEM faculty, and representatives from the career fields to foster students’ engagement in social and academic experiences. This will include a particular focus on seminars that attend to scholars’ socio-emotional needs.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Using Prenzel’s Persistence of Interest model, the project objectives include: (i) increasing the number of diverse, low-income, academically talented students who enroll in and graduate from Penn State-Harrisburg STEM undergraduate programs; (ii) contributing to the workforce in STEM frontier areas; (iii) implementing curricular and supportive activities that promote scholars’ persistence in STEM programs; (iv) identifying factors that, from those curricular and supportive activities, contribute to scholars’ persistence to remain in STEM undergraduate programs and successfully graduate; and disseminating knowledge about the role of the STEM components in promoting persistence in undergraduate STEM programs. The interrelated STEM components include scholar support, team-based cohorts, and engagement activities. The structured Multi-Level mentoring and implementation of Scholars Persisting in Academic (SPA) Seminars are two core components of this project. The SPA Seminars are intended to alleviate the stress and anxiety that low-income students experience when taking challenging courses in STEM. Another projecs component is the broader participation of local industry, such as providing internships and mentoring scholars, to accomplish these goals. Sample project deliverables include an industry mentoring plan, sample team-based Calculus modules, scholar research or internship products, and evaluation results. It is anticipated that the lessons learned from applying the persistence framework with the STEM components will enhance the retention and graduation rates of low-income, academically talented students at other institutions. Findings will be disseminated through regional channels for publicly funded four-year institutions, with a focus on how to best gather and present pertinent information needed for widespread adoption. 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.