Changing Campus Climate for Science Scholars' Success

改变校园氛围以促进科学学者的成功

• 批准号: 2221508
• 负责人: Jennifer Prichard
• 金额: $ 149.98万
• 依托单位: University of St. Thomas
• 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: 2023-01-01 至 2028-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221508&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Changing; Campus; Climate; Science; Scholars

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 the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic liberal arts university in Minnesota. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 23 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, and computer science. Academically talented, low-income undergraduate students will receive four-year scholarships. This Track 2 project builds on lessons learned from St. Thomas’s previously funded NSF Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion program (STEP) and other programming focused on improving student success. This project will advance understanding of how institutions can build equitable support systems and a strong sense of community to increase low-income STEM students’ degree completion, as well as the importance of transforming university practices and campus climate in advancing students’ academic success. Four key activities will underpin the project's execution. First is to establish enhanced on-campus scientific student job opportunities and streamlined access to campus support services. Second is developing a science-themed Living Learning Community. Third is to create a new one-credit culturally responsive Foundations of Science Success course and a partnership with the Minnesota Academy of Science to enhance student networking. Fourth, and finally, is to hire a social work wellness intern who will support STEM scholars, including by incorporating psycho-education into a new one-credit First Year Experience course. The project will achieve broader impacts for low-income STEM students by establishing pathways into on-campus leadership positions such as peer mentors, lab assistants, and student researchers. By serving in these roles, students will develop a scientific identity and deepen connections to faculty members and peers. By integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professional development for all STEM faculty, St. Thomas will assure strong intercultural competency within STEM pedagogy to support retention and success for all students. The project’s intellectual merit will be achieved by disseminating findings about the retention and academic success benefits of infusing academically rigorous, DEI-infused STEM curricula, as well as academic and social support into STEM disciplines for low-income STEM students.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Four key objectives guide the project. First is to reduce low-income academically talented science students’ financial pressure and unmet need by providing scholarships. Second is to retain scholars in science majors from first to second year at a rate of at least 80%. Third is to graduate at least 80% of scholars with a science degree within four years. Fourth is to have at least 85% of scholars who graduate report having applied to a STEM job or graduate program, and at least 70% to have entered a STEM job or graduate program within four months of graduation. From previously funded NSF projects, St. Thomas has adopted strategies to improve inclusivity in science education with culturally responsive pedagogy, redesigned introductory STEM courses, and strengths-based mentoring in academic advising. From these efforts, the institution has learned that the direct benefits to students from strengthening institutional capacities, training staff, and improving resources have had longer lasting benefits and were more sustainable than efforts to address specific student deficits. The knowledge generated from this project will inform St. Thomas’s policies and practices across all majors. Research questions include: (1) To what extent do Science Scholars interventions support students’ psycho-social needs? (2) How well does a science-themed living learning community support students’ sense of belonging at the university and in their majors? and (3) How well does a career-focused STEM professional development course increase self-efficacy and nurture STEM identity formation? The project’s anticipated outcomes are that low-income science students will demonstrate an increased sense of belonging, a strong STEM identity, and emotional and financial wellness, leading them to graduate with a science degree and pursue STEM careers at high rates. The project team and independent evaluator will conduct a mixed methods evaluation to assess project implementation, provide for ongoing improvements, and to monitor the extent to which goals and objectives are achieved. The evaluation will study the effectiveness of efforts to increase scholars’ success, retention, and graduation by minimizing financial and psychosocial stressors, increasing professional identity as a scientist, and nurturing belonging for low-income STEM students. 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.

该项目将通过支持明尼苏达州圣托马斯大学（University of St. Thomas）一所天主教文理大学的优秀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。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为23名攻读生物学、生物化学、神经科学和计算机科学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。有学术天赋的低收入本科生将获得四年奖学金。这个Track 2项目建立在圣托马斯以前资助的NSF科学、技术、工程和数学人才扩展计划（STEP）和其他专注于提高学生成功的计划的经验教训之上。该项目将促进了解机构如何建立公平的支持系统和强烈的社区意识，以提高低收入STEM学生的学位结业率，以及改变大学实践和校园氛围对促进学生学业成功的重要性。四个关键活动将支持项目的执行。一是增加在校大学生就业机会，简化校园支持服务渠道。二是建设以科学为主题的生活学习社区。第三，创建一个新的一学分的科学成功基础课程，并与明尼苏达科学院合作，加强学生网络。第四，也是最后一点，是雇佣一名社会健康工作实习生，为STEM学者提供支持，包括将心理教育纳入新的一年级一学分体验课程。该项目将为低收入STEM学生建立进入校园领导职位的途径，如同伴导师、实验室助理和学生研究人员，从而对低收入STEM学生产生更广泛的影响。通过担任这些角色，学生将发展科学身份，并加深与教师和同龄人的联系。通过整合所有STEM教师的多样性，公平性和包容性（DEI）专业发展，圣托马斯将确保STEM教学中强大的跨文化能力，以支持所有学生的保留和成功。该项目的智力价值将通过传播有关将学术严谨的dei STEM课程注入STEM学科以及为低收入STEM学生提供学术和社会支持的保留和学业成功益处的研究结果来实现。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。四个关键目标指导该项目。首先是通过提供奖学金来减轻低收入的有学术天赋的理科生的经济压力和未满足的需求。第二，以至少80%的比例保留第一年到第二年的理工科学生。三是至少80%的学者在四年内获得理工科学位。第四，至少85%的毕业生报告申请了STEM工作或研究生项目，至少70%的毕业生在毕业后四个月内进入了STEM工作或研究生项目。从之前资助的NSF项目中，圣托马斯采取了一些策略，通过文化响应教学法提高科学教育的包容性，重新设计STEM入门课程，并在学术咨询中提供基于优势的指导。从这些努力中，该机构了解到，加强机构能力、培训员工和改善资源对学生的直接好处比解决特定学生不足的努力具有更持久的效益，也更具可持续性。从这个项目中产生的知识将为圣托马斯所有专业的政策和实践提供信息。研究问题包括：(1)科学学者干预在多大程度上支持学生的社会心理需求？(2)以科学为主题的生活学习社区在多大程度上支持了学生对学校和专业的归属感？(3)以职业为导向的STEM专业发展课程在提高自我效能感和培养STEM认同形成方面的作用如何？该项目的预期结果是，低收入的理科生将表现出更强的归属感、强烈的STEM身份、情感和经济健康，从而使他们获得科学学位，并以较高的比例从事STEM职业。项目团队和独立评估人员将进行混合方法评估，以评估项目实施情况，提供持续改进，并监控目标和目的实现的程度。该评估将研究通过减少经济和社会心理压力因素、提高科学家的职业身份、培养低收入STEM学生的归属感来提高学者的成功、保留和毕业率的努力的有效性。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。