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天主教文科大学托马斯大学表现出经济需要的高成就、低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。学术上有才华的低收入本科生将获得四年奖学金。这个轨道2项目建立在从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编程经验教训。该项目将进一步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学生的学位完成率，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。四项关键活动将支持该项目的执行。首先是建立加强校内科学学生的就业机会和简化获得校园支持服务。第二，建立以科学为主题的生活学习社区。第三是创建一个新的一个学分的文化响应科学成功的基础课程，并与明尼苏达科学院的合作伙伴关系，以加强学生网络。第四，也是最后一点，是聘请一名社会工作健康实习生，他将支持STEM学者，包括将心理教育纳入新的一个学分的第一年经验课程。该项目将通过建立进入校园领导职位的途径，如同行导师，实验室助理和学生研究人员，为低收入STEM学生实现更广泛的影响。通过担任这些角色，学生将发展科学身份，并加深与教师和同行的联系。通过整合多样性，公平性和包容性（DEI）为所有干教师的专业发展，圣托马斯将确保在干教学强大的跨文化能力，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为低收入STEM学生注入学术严谨、融入DEI的STEM课程以及学术和社会支持的STEM学科的保留和学术成功益处的研究结果来实现。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就且有经济需求的本科生的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学术天才理科学生的经济压力和未满足的需求。第二，从第一年到第二年，科学专业的学者至少保留80%。第三，在四年内至少有80%的学者毕业于科学学位。第四，至少有85%的毕业生报告申请了STEM工作或研究生课程，至少有70%的人在毕业后四个月内进入了STEM工作或研究生课程。从以前资助的NSF项目，圣托马斯采取了战略，以提高科学教育的包容性与文化响应的教学法，重新设计的入门STEM课程，并在学术咨询的优势为基础的辅导。从这些努力中，该机构了解到，加强机构能力，培训工作人员和改善资源对学生的直接好处具有更持久的好处，比解决具体学生赤字的努力更具可持续性。从这个项目产生的知识将通知圣托马斯的政策和做法在所有专业。研究问题包括：（1）科学学者的干预措施在多大程度上支持学生的心理社会需求？(2)一个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大学和专业的归属感？以及（3）以职业为中心的STEM专业发展课程如何提高自我效能并培养STEM身份的形成？该项目的预期成果是，低收入理科学生将表现出更强的归属感，强烈的STEM身份，以及情感和财务健康，导致他们以科学学位毕业，并以高比率追求STEM职业。项目小组和独立评价员将进行混合方法评价，以评估项目执行情况，不断改进，并监测目标和目的的实现程度。评估将研究通过最大限度地减少经济和心理压力，提高科学家的职业认同感，以及培养低收入STEM学生的归属感，来提高学者的成功，保留和毕业的努力的有效性。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并提供有关低收入学生的学术成功、保留、转学、毕业和学术/职业途径的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。