Developing STEM Professionals through Peer Mentoring/Tutoring and Career Coaching

该项目将通过支持在宾夕法尼亚州斯克兰顿的玛丽伍德大学(MU)留住并毕业高成就的低收入学生，来促进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。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为12名攻读生物、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关系招募低收入和少数族裔学生，帮助学生克服成功障碍的同行指导和辅导，教师指导，校友指导，通过共同课程进行队列发展，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和更合格的STEM工人的需求。该项目团队将测试一种新策略，以解决普遍存在的学生不使用辅导服务的问题。该项目还将加强与当地企业的伙伴关系，以获得学者支持，并加强与高中的伙伴关系，以招募人才。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。其他项目目标包括实施新的同伴导师/导师模式，以帮助学生在具有挑战性的头两年取得成功；将学者聚集在一个旨在增加队列内联系的学习社区；以及提高职业意识和为进入STEM劳动力队伍做准备。目标是：(1)12名低收入、在学业上有天赋的学生进入密歇根大学的STEM专业学习；(2)学者受益于学术支持、与同行的协作学习以及与教职员工和校友的联系；(3)最初的12名学者中至少有10名(83%)被保留一年，9名(75%)被保留到毕业(未被保留的学者将被取代)；(4)学者进入STEM劳动力或STEM研究生项目；以及(4)同行导师/导师模式、以队列为基础的学习和职业意识规划的有效性得到证明。该项目将通过评估一种新的同伴导师/导师模式来满足低收入学生的学业和社会需求，以及一个学习社区，以增加同伴合作和学者与其学术项目、同伴和大学的联系，从而扩展现有的学生支持知识库。将审查的评估问题是：(1)同伴导师/导师模式在提高一年级和二年级STEM课程的成绩并增加到三年级的保留率方面有多有效？低收入学生获得同伴导师/导师支持的频率如何？(2)第一年的研讨会和公共课程招生在鼓励学者组成同伴学习小组方面有多有效？这对通勤学生与同龄人建立有意义的关系的能力有什么影响？项目组将传播评价结果，与外部机构分享结果。同辈辅导/辅导、教师辅导、一年级研讨会和学习社区将在项目结束后继续惠及密歇根大学的其他学生。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 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.