Maximizing Success of Low-Income Students through Personal Relationships and Evidence-Based Instructional Experiences

该项目将通过支持俄亥俄北部大学（ONU）表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。ONU是一所私立大学，主要为来自中西部农村的学生提供服务。该项目为期六年，将为15名攻读土木工程、计算机工程、计算机科学、电气工程或机械工程学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级学生将获得四年的奖学金。此外，学者们将参加队伍建设活动，包括每学期一次午餐和学习研讨会。这些研讨会的主题将包括：学业成功策略、优势视角、心理健康和反思练习。每个学生将与他们所在部门的一位教师导师配对。导师将参与长期的专业发展，以帮助他们更好地支持学者。每位学者都将被鼓励通过实习或研究来补充他们的教育。该项目将为基于证据的干预措施如何影响第一代和农村学生提供宝贵的见解。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。这个项目有三个以学生为中心的目标：1)提高毕业率和就业率，2)增加在工程学院和ONU的归属感，3)提高学生作为工程师的自我效能感。这些目标将通过奖学金和基于证据的干预措施来实现，这些干预措施将通过个人关系和高影响力的教育经历（如本科研究）吸引学生。该项目的一个新颖之处在于它对优势教育的关注，这使学生能够专注于自己的优势并管理自己的弱点。形成性和总结性评估将使用机构数据、调查和访谈来跟踪学生的归属感、认同感、GPA等。评估员还将与教师进行访谈，以评估包容性教学法和基于证据的指导实践的知识和实施情况。评估结果和整个项目将通过在俄亥俄州工程学院院长委员会上的展示，以及在适当的场所寻求出版物，在更广泛的社区中传播。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 Ohio Northern University (ONU). ONU is a private institution primarily serving students from the rural Midwest. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 15 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. First-year students will receive four years of scholarships. Additionally, scholars will participate in cohort-building activities, including one lunch-and-learn workshop each semester. Topics for these workshops will include: academic success strategies, strengths perspective, mental health, and reflection exercises. Each student will be paired with a faculty mentor from their department. Mentors will participate in long-term professional development to help them better support scholars. Every scholar will be encouraged to supplement their education with experiential learning through internships or research. This project will provide valuable insight into how evidence-based interventions impact first-generation and rural students. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This project has three student-centric goals: 1) Increase graduation and job placement rates, 2) Increase the sense of belonging in the College of Engineering and at ONU, and 3) Increase students’ self-efficacy as engineers. These goals will be achieved through scholarships and the implementation of evidence-based interventions that will engage students through personal relationships and high-impact educational experiences, such as undergraduate research. A novel aspect of the project is its attention to strengths-based education, which enables students to focus on their strengths and manage their weaknesses. Formative and summative evaluation will use institutional data, surveys, and interviews to track students' sense of belonging, identity, GPA, etc. The evaluator will also conduct interviews with faculty to assess the knowledge and implementation of inclusive pedagogies and evidence-based mentoring practices. The results of this assessment and the program in general will be disseminated with the broader community through presenting at the Ohio Engineering Deans Council, and by seeking publications in appropriate venues. 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.