Pathways to STEM Degrees through Integrated Academic Support, Career Enhancement, and Personal Development

通过综合学术支持、职业提升和个人发展获得 STEM 学位的途径

• 批准号: 2221149
• 负责人: Sundeep Rayat
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Ball State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-15 至 2027-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221149&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Pathways; STEM; Degrees; through; Integrated

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 Ball State University. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 16 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology. First year students will receive four-years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student retention and graduation rates by combining scholarships with evidence-based practices targeting students’ academic preparation, career development and personal awareness. With the assistance of faculty and peer mentors, scholars will cultivate effective study habits. Interactive industry seminars by top Indiana employers and career coaches will create pathways for the professional preparation of the scholars. Tailored workshops will promote scholars’ mental health, personal wellness, and self-awareness. The project will facilitate cohort-building through Photovoice (reflection through storytelling using photographs) activities. By producing well-qualified physical and life scientists, this project will expand the STEM labor pool. Scholars will be able to transform their socioeconomic landscape by obtaining high-paying jobs upon degree completion. The project will advance knowledge on the extent to which the interventions for student success affect academic performance, career readiness, personal growth, and mental health.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project will incorporate integrated interventions involving multiple partners across campus that focus on scholars’ academic, personal, professional, and career development. Specifically, this project will employ the following high-impact practices: living learning communities, a Bridge program, First-year Seminar, undergraduate research, faculty/peer mentoring, internships, and interactive industry seminars. A needs-analysis survey conducted in chemistry and biology gateway courses revealed that students struggle with time-management, lack of motivation and focus, lack of effective study skills, test anxiety, mental stress, absence of adequate support systems, and finances. This project addresses student needs and suggestions identified in that survey. Investigating the impact of these measures on scholars’ academic performance, time management, self-confidence, wellness/career readiness, and mental health will provide knowledge on the effectiveness of the proposed interventions. The project will also generate evidence of whether Photovoice aids cohort building. The anticipated outcomes include scholars’ (a) increased retention and graduation rates; (b) development of professional skills and knowledge of workforce expectations; (c) personal/mental awareness and increased sense of belonging. The project will be evaluated by a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to provide formative and summative assessment data. Results of the project will be widely disseminated to university administrators and internal partners, high-school counselors, and corporate partners. They will also be shared with the STEM community via website postings, social media, publications, and conference presentations. 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.

该项目将通过支持受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需求，通过支持鲍尔州立大学的高分，低收入学生的保留和毕业。在五年的持续时间内，该项目将为攻读化学和生物学学士学位的16名独特全日制学生提供奖学金。第一年的学生将获得四年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与针对学生的学术准备，职业发展和个人意识的循证实践相结合来提高学生的保留和毕业率。在教师和同伴导师的协助下，学者将养成有效的学习习惯。印第安纳州顶级雇主和职业教练的互动行业半决赛将为学者的专业准备创造途径。量身定制的研讨会将促进学者的心理健康，个人健康和自我意识。该项目将通过摄影（通过使用照片的讲故事进行反思）活动来促进队列建设。通过生产合格的身体和生活科学家，该项目将扩大STEM劳动库。学者将能够在完成学位后获得高薪工作来改变其社会经济格局。该项目将在学生成功的干预措施影响学业表现，职业准备，个人成长和心理健康方面的程度上提高知识。该项目的总体目标是增加茎学位的完成，以证明经济需求表现出低收入，高成就的本科生。该项目将结合综合干预措施，涉及校园中多个合作伙伴，这些校园专注于学者的学术，个人，专业和职业发展。具体来说，该项目将采用以下高影响力实践：生活学习社区，桥梁计划，一年级研讨会，本科研究，教职员工/同伴的心理，互助和互动行业的媒介。在化学和生物学网关课程中进行的一项需求分析调查表明，学生在时间管理，缺乏动力和注意力，缺乏有效的学习技能，测试动画，精神压力，缺乏足够的支持系统和财务状态方面挣扎。该项目解决了该调查中确定的学生需求和建议。调查这些措施对学者的学习成绩，时间管理，自信，健康/职业准备和心理健康的影响将提供有关拟议干预措施的有效性的知识。该项目还将产生证据表明是否光电助剂艾滋病队列建筑物。预期的结果包括学者（a）保留率和毕业率提高； （b）发展专业技能和劳动力期望知识； （c）个人/心理意识和增加的归属感。该项目将通过定性和定量方法的组合来评估，以提供形成性和总结性评估数据。该项目的结果将被广泛传播给大学管理人员和内部合作伙伴，高中生和公司合作伙伴。它们还将通过网站发布，社交媒体，出版物和会议演讲与STEM社区共享。该项目由NSF在科学，技术，工程和数学计划方面的奖学金提供资金，该计划旨在增加具有在STEM领域获得学位的经济需求的低收入才华横溢的学生的数量。它还旨在改善未来的STEM工人的教育，并为低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，学术/职业途径提供知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准通过评估来获得的支持。