HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: The Freshman Year Innovator Experience (FYIE) - Bridging the URM Gap in STEM

HSI 实施和评估项目：新生创新者体验 (FYIE) - 弥合 URM 在 STEM 方面的差距

• 批准号: 2225247
• 负责人: Noe Vargas Hernandez
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2225247&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: HSI; Implementation; Evaluation; Project; Freshman

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2: IEP aims to help freshman mechanical engineering students with their skills gap, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, to increase their chances for academic success and retention rates. The Freshman Year Innovator Experience will provide students with learning experience to develop critical self-transformation skills to help them face college’s academic challenges. Students will take two courses with parallel projects, in Introduction to Mechanical Engineering MECE 1101 they will work on a technical project: the redesign of a simple electric kitchen appliance while in Learning Frameworks (UNIV 1301) students will work on an academic project: the design of their academic pathways. Through adaptive expertise exercises, students will learn how to transfer engineering solving techniques as self-transformation skills from their technical project to their academic project. The outcomes of this project will include the coordinated curriculum development for both UNIV 1301 and MECE 1101 first-year courses, a summer professional development program for course instructors, and implementation and assessment of the coordinated courses. This work is important since it will equip students with critical skills to face academic challenges such as course planning, decision making, among others. This work will contribute a novel self-transformation approach where students apply technical knowledge to solve academic challenges. The project will broaden the participation of underrepresented student minorities in STEM at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, contributing to a diverse and prepared STEM workforce and encouraging them to pursue advanced degrees.The goals of this project are: 1) increase the number of STEM degrees awarded to Hispanics, 2) broadening participation of females in STEM related fields, and 3) increase the persistence and self-efficacy in STEM fields amid COVID-19. The project hypothesizes that the Freshman Year Innovator Experience effectively contributes to the retention of underrepresented minority freshman mechanical engineering students, particularly female students, effectively contributing to an increase in their persistence and self-efficacy. The theoretical framework combines design innovation, design of academic pathways, and adaptive expertise for student self-transformation, and it will help undergraduate underrepresented minority students to develop valuable skills for academic success. The project will advance understanding of student self-transformation skills for academic success. The specific aims of the project include the development of the coordinated curricula for UNIV 1301 Learning Frameworks and MECE 1101 Introduction to Mechanical Engineering first-year courses, an instructors’ summer training program, implementation, assessment, and institutionalization of the activities. It is expected that participating students will improve their retention rates by 10% and that the implemented activities become institutionalized. This project will provide socioeconomic development opportunities to Rio Grande Valley students, many of whom are first-generation college students and are not yet fully aware of career opportunities in STEM fields. Furthermore, it will provide an evidence-based approach to be implemented at similar institutions across the nation. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.

在改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）的支持下，此途径2：IEP旨在帮助新生机械工程学生解决因COVID-19疫情而加剧的技能差距，以增加他们的学术成功机会和保留率。新生年创新体验将为学生提供学习经验，以发展关键的自我转变技能，帮助他们面对大学的学术挑战。学生将参加两个平行项目的课程，在机械工程介绍MECE 1101中，他们将从事一个技术项目：重新设计一个简单的厨房电器，而在学习框架（UNIV 1301）中，学生将从事一个学术项目：他们的学术途径的设计。通过自适应专业知识练习，学生将学习如何将工程解决技术作为自我转换技能从他们的技术项目转移到他们的学术项目。该项目的成果将包括UNIV 1301和MECE 1101一年级课程的协调课程开发，课程教师的夏季专业发展计划，以及协调课程的实施和评估。这项工作很重要，因为它将使学生掌握关键技能，以面对学术挑战，如课程规划，决策等。这项工作将有助于一种新的自我改造方法，学生应用技术知识来解决学术挑战。该项目将扩大得克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校STEM领域代表性不足的少数族裔学生的参与，为多元化和有准备的STEM劳动力做出贡献，并鼓励他们攻读高级学位。该项目的目标是：1）增加授予西班牙裔的STEM学位数量，2）扩大女性在STEM相关领域的参与，以及3）在COVID-19期间增加STEM领域的持久性和自我效能。该项目假设，大一创新经验有效地有助于保留代表性不足的少数民族新生机械工程专业的学生，特别是女学生，有效地促进了他们的持久性和自我效能的增加。该理论框架结合了设计创新，学术途径的设计和学生自我转型的适应性专业知识，它将帮助本科少数民族学生发展学术成功的宝贵技能。该项目将促进对学生自我转化技能的理解，以取得学术成功。该项目的具体目标包括为UNIV 1301学习框架和MECE 1101机械工程入门第一年课程开发协调课程，教师暑期培训计划，实施，评估和活动制度化。预计参与的学生将提高10%的保留率，并使实施的活动制度化。该项目将为格兰德河流域的学生提供社会经济发展机会，其中许多人是第一代大学生，尚未完全意识到STEM领域的职业机会。此外，它还将提供一种循证方法，供全国类似机构实施。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，并建立HSI的能力。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。该奖项反映了NSF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。