RII-BEC: Co-Mentoring, Community Building, Career Development, and Content Area Research Experiences to Enhance Systemic Change in STEM

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。国家数据显示，高等教育迫切需要更公平地服务于不同教育背景的学生，特别是来自代表不足群体(URG)的学生和转学学生。这两个人群受到新冠肺炎大流行的影响不成比例。该项目为科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育的系统性变革创建了一个“4C模式”。该模式以学生为共同创建者，突显了学生机构和领导力在变革努力中的重要性。学生将参与的四个“C”是共同指导(非分层指导方法)、社区建设活动、职业发展和内容领域的研究体验。这些都是基于证据的战略，以支持学生进入和通过大学的过渡，并为他们毕业后的过渡做好准备。该项目还包括推进系统性变革的教职员工和机构层面的活动，包括教职员工与学生共同指导，以及定期召开的协同效应委员会，以促进整个大学的知识和人际交流，同时改变权力结构，提升学生的视角。为了影响该区域的研究、教育和经济发展需求，特别是考虑到大流行的影响，有必要把重点放在劳动力和研究生准备工作上。然而，这个项目的影响更广泛。它将作为高等教育机构可以采用的模式，以提高来自URG和转移人口的学生的成功结果。这些学生在他们未来的STEM职业生涯中所产生的工作和知识有可能产生进一步的影响。由于该项目以自我决定理论(SDT)和四框架理论为基础，通过开发和评估一个可操作的理论到实践计划(4C模型)，该项目对教育工作者和研究人员将是有价值的。总体项目目标是增加来自URG和转移人口的学生在STEM研究和职业中的直接参与，并使用保留率、毕业率和职业过渡等指标进行衡量。这三个目标是：1)通过创建和评估新的结构和计划来支持URG和转学学生为研究生生涯做准备，在现有学生支持的基础上再接再厉；2)为教职员工提供专业发展，以更具包容性和专业性地促进重点学生向研究生职业的成功过渡；3)将校园内的单位和人员结合起来，支持目标1和目标2成为可持续的基础设施。该项目的主要战略包括创建和实施“4C”模式奖学金计划，通过奖学金和上面列出的四种类型的活动来支持重点人群的学生，包括共同指导，即学生和教职员工相互指导。此外，教师将参与专业发展，以更好地服务于这些人群，并通过与项目中的学生共同指导经验来体验职业成长。该项目的协同委员会旨在改善STEM部门和校园其他单位之间的合作和精简。研究部分试图从新的角度提高STEM劳动力的多样性水平，方法是扩大SDT的应用，通过确定和加强进入和离开大学的关键过渡点，增加URG的直接参与，并将学生转移到与STEM相关的活动中。SDT的扩展将使高等教育机构对STEM学生成功的方法从被动转变为主动。这项研究将是第一个采用系统变化方法来扩展SDT理论的研究，评估系统变化的四个框架(结构、符号、人和权力)如何与SDT的自主性、能力和关联性相互作用，以增加STEM URG，并转移学生的大学毕业率和成功地过渡到劳动力市场。该项目将为寻求提高STEM学生成功的高等教育机构提供宝贵的新知识，并了解如何成功开发和实施专门针对URG和转学学生的长期、有效的STEM计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).National data show a dire need for higher education to more equitably serve students from diverse educational backgrounds, especially students from underrepresented groups (URG) and transfer students. These two populations were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This project creates a “4C model” for systemic change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The model features students as co-creators, highlighting the importance of student agency and leadership in change efforts. The 4 “Cs” students will participate in are co-mentoring (a non-hierarchical approach to mentoring), community-building activities, career development, and content-area research experiences. These are all evidence-based strategies to support students’ transitions into and through college and to prepare them for post-graduation transitions. The project also includes faculty- and institutional-level activities to advance systemic change, including faculty co-mentoring with students and a Synergies Board convened regularly to facilitate knowledge and interpersonal exchange across the university, while changing power structures to elevate students’ perspectives. The focus on workforce and graduate school preparation is necessary to impact the research, education, and economic development needs of the region, especially in light of the effects of the pandemic. However, the impact of this project is broader. It will serve as a model that institutions of higher education can adopt to increase successful student outcomes among students from URG and transfer populations. The work and knowledge produced by these students in their future STEM careers have the potential to make further impacts. Because it is informed by Self Determination Theory (SDT) and Four Frames Theory, the project will be valuable to educators and researchers by developing and assessing an actionable theory-into-practice program (the 4C model).The overall project goal is to increase direct participation of students from URG and transfer populations in STEM research and professions as measured using metrics such as retention, graduation, and transition to career. The three objectives are to 1) build on existing student supports by creating and assessing new structures and programs for supporting URG and transfer students as they prepare for post-graduate careers, 2) offer faculty and staff professional development to more inclusively and expertly facilitate the successful transition of the focus students to post-graduate careers, and 3) combine units and people across campus in support of objectives 1 & 2 into a sustainable infrastructure. The project’s primary strategies include creating and implementing the “4C” model fellowship program to support students from the focus populations through scholarships and the four types of activities listed above, including co-mentoring where students and faculty co-mentor each other. Additionally, faculty will participate in professional development to better serve these populations and experience professional growth through co-mentoring experiences with students in the program. The project’s Synergies Board aims to improve collaboration and streamlining between STEM departments and other units on campus. The research component seeks to improve levels of diversity in the STEM workforce from a new standpoint by extending the application of SDT to increase the direct participation of URG and transfer students in STEM-related activities through the identification and strengthening of key transition points into and out of college. The extension of SDT will transform higher education institutional approaches to STEM student success from being reactive to proactive. This research will be the first that takes a systemic change approach to extend SDT theory by evaluating how the Four Frames for Systemic Change (structures, symbols, people, and power) interact with SDT’s autonomy, competence, and relatedness to increase STEM URG and transfer students’ college completion and successful transition into the workforce. The project will provide valuable new knowledge for higher education institutions seeking to increase STEM student success and understanding on how to successfully develop and implement long-term, effective STEM programing specifically for URG and transfer 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.