Collaborative Research: Using Communities of Practice to Transform STEM education for Latinx Students at Two-Year Hispanic Serving Institutions

合作研究：利用实践社区改变两年制西班牙裔服务机构的拉丁裔学生的 STEM 教育

• 批准号: 2142516
• 负责人: Milagros Castillo-Montoya
• 金额: $ 26.78万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-01 至 2026-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2142516&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Using; Communities; Practice

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project aims to serve the national interest by improving STEM education for Latinx students at two-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Latinx people are the fastest-growing segment, nearly 30%, of the U.S. population, and yet the demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be difficult to meet unless the nation’s STEM workforce reflects the diversity of the population. While Latinx students have shown to be just as likely as White students to major in STEM, their numbers drop dramatically when it comes to completing STEM degrees, lagging behind other ethnicities. Two-year HSIs wishing to serve their Latinx students are at the forefront of the efforts to close achievement gaps in STEM education and improve Latinx STEM student outcomes. This project will focus strictly on STEM Planning Teams (faculty, staff, administrators, and students) as Communities of Practice (CoPs) at 16 two-year HSIs as a promising element leading to institutional transformation of STEM teaching and learning. The project goal is to study the CoPs influence on STEM teaching and learning to transform the institution and signal intentionality to improve outcomes for Latinx STEM students across 2-yr HSIs. The project scope is to provide 2-yr HSIs with a framework that brings together cross-functional, cross-disciplinary STEM teams to perform college-wide STEM assessments, develop multi-year STEM Plans, and act upon those plans. The framework is a STEM Evidence-based Student Serving (STEM-ESS) self-assessment and planning process that incorporates research outcomes from Subject Matter Experts on Latinx student servingness, equity, and intentionality. STEM teams at participating institutions will be assisted by project leadership and subject matter experts as they self-assess, analyze strengths and gaps, prioritize high impact activities, and develop a strategic STEM plan. In pursuing high impact activities, teams will look to adapt and implement evidence-based solutions and/or develop proposals for federal funding. Regular professional development webinars and workshops are planned for high-impact topics, e.g., undergraduate research at community colleges (CCs), industry connections, and active learning. Individualized and team support will be provided monthly, with more frequent meetings for teams needing additional support. The methodology of this four-year project will validate the STEM-ESS framework using a mixed methods, embedded case study design. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and analyzed at the individual, CoP, and institutional levels to provide evidence for organizational transformation. Triangulated findings and outcomes of the formative and summative evaluation reports will add new knowledge to the STEM teaching and learning field and advance understanding of how cross-disciplinary and cross-functional STEM CoPs serve as institutional change agents to advance institutional capacity-building for STEM educational equity for Latinx students. Findings will also be disseminated to practitioner- and scholar- focused audiences through virtual, conference, and journal outlets, and collaborations with broader networks. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. This project is also supported by the NSF IUSE:HSI program, which seeks to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.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.

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。该项目旨在通过改善两年制拉美裔服务机构(HSI)的拉丁裔学生的STEM教育，为国家利益服务。美国人口普查局估计，拉丁裔人口是美国人口中增长最快的部分，接近30%，但除非美国的STEM劳动力反映出人口的多样性，否则很难满足STEM领域对熟练工人的需求。尽管拉丁裔学生和白人学生一样有可能主修STEM，但在完成STEM学位方面，他们的人数急剧下降，落后于其他种族。希望为拉丁裔学生服务的两年制HSI站在努力缩小STEM教育成就差距和提高拉丁裔STEM学生成绩的最前列。该项目将严格关注STEM规划团队(教职员工、管理人员和学生)作为实践社区(COPS)，在16个两年制HSI中作为一个有希望的元素，导致STEM教与学的制度变革。该项目的目标是研究COPS对STEM教与学的影响，以改变制度和信号意向性，以改善两年制HSI的Latinx STEM学生的结果。该项目的范围是为两年期高学历机构提供一个框架，将跨职能、跨学科的STEM团队聚集在一起，在整个学院范围内进行STEM评估，制定多年期STEM计划，并根据这些计划采取行动。该框架是STEM循证学生服务(STEM-ESS)自我评估和规划过程，纳入了主题专家关于Latinx学生服务性、公平性和意向性的研究成果。参与机构的STEM团队将在项目领导和主题专家的协助下进行自我评估，分析优势和差距，确定影响较大的活动的优先顺序，并制定战略STEM计划。在追求高影响力的活动中，团队将寻求适应和实施基于证据的解决方案和/或为联邦资金制定建议。计划定期举办专业发展网络研讨会和研讨会，针对影响较大的主题，例如社区学院(CCS)的本科生研究、行业联系和主动学习。每月将提供个性化和团队支持，并为需要额外支持的团队举行更频繁的会议。这个为期四年的项目的方法将使用混合方法、嵌入式案例研究设计来验证STEM-ESS框架。将在个人、缔约方会议和机构层面收集和分析定量和定性数据，为组织转型提供证据。形成性和总结性评估报告的三角结果和结果将为STEM教与学领域增加新的知识，并增进对跨学科和跨职能的STEM缔约方会议如何作为机构变革推动者的理解，以促进STEM为拉丁裔学生提供教育公平的机构能力建设。研究结果还将通过虚拟、会议和期刊渠道，以及与更广泛的网络合作，向以实践者和学者为重点的受众传播。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持高等教育机构和学科社区转变和改善STEM教育的努力。该项目也得到了NSF IUSE：HSI项目的支持，该项目旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大对STEM的参与，并建设HSIS的能力。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。