Developing STEM Professionals through Peer Mentoring/Tutoring and Career Coaching

该项目将通过支持宾夕法尼亚州斯克兰顿市玛丽伍德大学（MU）表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。该项目为期六年，将为12名攻读生物学、生物技术、环境科学、数学、计算机科学或信息安全学士学位的全日制本科生提供四年的奖学金。项目内容包括通过高中联系招收低收入和少数族裔学生，通过同侪指导和辅导帮助学生克服成功障碍，教师指导，校友指导，通过共同课程培养群体，以及四年职业发展计划。学者们将从事STEM职业和/或研究生学习，以满足州和国家对更多、更合格的STEM工作者的需求。该项目团队将测试一种新策略，以解决学生不利用辅导服务的普遍问题。该项目还将加强与当地工业的伙伴关系，以支持学者，并加强与高中的伙伴关系，以招收学生。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。其他项目目标包括实施新的同伴导师/导师模式，帮助学生顺利度过充满挑战的前两年；将学者聚集在一个学习社区中，旨在增加队列内部的联系；提高职业意识，为进入STEM劳动力做好准备。目标是(1)12名低收入、有学术天赋的学生入读MU的STEM专业之一；(2)学者受益于学术支持、与同伴合作学习以及与教师和校友的联系；(3)原12名学者中至少有10人（83%）留用一年，9人（75%）留用至毕业（未留用的更换）；(4)学者进入STEM劳动力或STEM研究生项目；(4)论证了同伴导师/导师模型、基于群体的学习和职业意识规划的有效性。该项目将在现有学生支持知识库的基础上进行扩展，评估一种新的同伴导师/导师模式，以满足低收入学生的学术和社会需求，以及一个学习型社区，以增加同伴合作和学者与他们的学术项目、同龄人和大学的联系感。评估问题包括：(1)同伴导师/导师模式在提高一年级和二年级STEM课程成绩和提高学生留校率方面的效果如何？低收入家庭学生获得同侪导师/导师支持的频率有多高？(2)第一年的研讨会和公共课招生在鼓励学者组成同伴学习小组方面的效果如何？通勤学生与同龄人建立有意义的关系的能力有什么影响？项目小组将传播评价结果，以便与外部机构分享结果。在项目结束后，同侪辅导/辅导、教师指导、一年级研讨会和学习社区将继续使MU的其他学生受益。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 Marywood University (MU) in Scranton, PA. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund four years of scholarships to 12 unique, full-time undergraduate students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, biotechnology, environmental science, mathematics, computer science, or information security. Project elements include recruitment of low-income and minority students through high school connections, peer mentoring and tutoring to help students overcome barriers to success, faculty mentoring, alumni mentoring, cohort development through common coursework, and a four-year career development plan. Scholars will pursue STEM careers and/or graduate studies, filling a state and national need for more and better-qualified STEM workers. The project team will test a new strategy for addressing the pervasive issue of students not making use of tutoring services. The project will also strengthen partnerships with local industries for scholar support and with high schools for recruitment. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Additional project goals include implementing a new peer mentor/tutor model to help students succeed through the challenging first two years; bringing the scholars together in a learning community designed to increase connections within the cohort; and improving career awareness and preparation to enter the STEM workforce. The objectives are that (1) 12 low-income, academically talented students enroll in one of MU’s STEM majors; (2) scholars benefit from academic supports, collaborative learning with peers, and connections to faculty and alumni; (3) at least 10 of the original 12 scholars (83%) are retained for one year and nine (75%) are retained until graduation (scholars who are not retained will be replaced); (4) scholars enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate programs; and (4) the effectiveness of the peer mentor/tutor model, cohort-based learning, and career awareness programming is demonstrated. The project will expand upon the current knowledge base for student support by evaluating a new peer mentor/tutor model for meeting low-income students’ academic and social needs and a learning community for increasing peer collaborations and scholar feelings of connection with their academic program, their peers, and the university. Evaluation questions to be examined are (1) How effective is the peer mentor/tutor model in improving grades in first- and second-year STEM courses and increasing retention until junior year? How frequently do low-income students access support by the peer mentor/tutor? (2) How effective are the first-year seminar and common course enrollment in encouraging the scholars to form peer study groups? What is the impact on the ability of commuter students to form meaningful relationships with peers? The project team will disseminate evaluation findings to share results with outside institutions. The peer mentoring/tutoring, faculty mentoring, first-year seminar, and learning communities will continue to benefit other students at MU after the end of the project. 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.