Promoting Access and Equity in STEM Work-Based Learning

在改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构(HSI计划)的支持下，该项目旨在为那些在IT职业生涯中参与人数较少的本科生增加获得信息技术(IT)职业道路上基于工作的学习机会的机会。拟议的项目活动建立在先前研究的基础上，并扩展了先前的研究，以创建公平的方法和系统，使学生在STEM专业总体上茁壮成长并坚持下去。拟议的项目旨在通过一种协调的、以研究为基础的跨部门方法，扩大以工作为基础的学习机会，提高学生在STEM信息技术领域的参与度、坚持性和完成度。本研究将从三个方面探讨基于工作的学习实施：1)“基于工作的学习准备程度量表”的效度；2)虚拟实习的有效性和公平性；3)早期学生参与基于工作的学习的结果。这三个方面都是基于工作的学习体验的新方面或新兴方面，几乎没有与学生结果相关的研究。将利用社会认知职业理论对40名参与项目工作学习体验的学生进行一小时的访谈，以获取有关学生参与工作学习面临的挑战的信息。评估战略的有效性，包括基于工作的学习预定向、雇主和教师的合作、持续改进学习结果的一致性，以及通过虚拟和基于项目的基于工作的学习提供灵活性，可以支持更有效和更具包容性的以工作为基础的学习计划的开发和实施。通过了解和确定有效的以工作为基础的学习的挑战和机会，其他两年制学院可以借鉴关键的研究结果，整合以工作为基础的学习，以改善STEM中代表不足的群体的机会和参与度，改善所有学生的STEM教育和职业成果，以及加强大学与雇主的合作伙伴关系。广泛传播学生和雇主以工作为基础的学习准备情况评估、以工作为基础的学习队列模式、虚拟以工作为基础的学习单元以及该项目编制的其他材料等产品的广泛传播，有可能在区域和国家范围内改善高等教育机构的技术教育。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大对STEM的参与，并建设HSI变革的能力。考虑到HSI企业的不同性质和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区的变革，并促进基础研究：(I)参与学生的学习，(Ii)关于如何有效地多样化和增加对STEM的参与，以及(Iii)提高业界对如何在HSI整体上建立可持续变化的机构能力的理解。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this project aims to increase access to work-based learning opportunities in Information Technology (IT) career paths for undergraduate students who are from groups underrepresented in their participation in IT careers. The proposed project activities build on and extend prior research to create equitable approaches and systems for students to flourish and persist in STEM majors in general. The proposed project is designed to increase participation, persistence, and completion in the STEM field of Information Technology for minoritized students through a coordinated, research-based, cross-sector approach to expanding access to work-based learning opportunities. The research conducted in this project will investigate three aspects of the work-based learning implementation: 1) validity of the “Work-based Learning Readiness Scale”; 2) efficacy and equity in virtual internships; and 3) outcomes of early student participation in work-based learning. All three are new or emerging aspects of work-based-learning experiences for which there is little research related to student outcomes. One-hour interviews with 40 students participating in project work-based learning experiences will be conducted using social cognitive career theory to elicit information about student challenges to participating in work-based learning. Evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies including work-based learning pre-orientations, employer and faculty collaboration, continuous improvement in alignment of learning outcomes, and offering flexibility through virtual and project-based work-based learning, can support development and implementation of more effective and inclusive work-based learning programs. By understanding and identifying challenges and opportunities for effective work-based learning, other two-year colleges can draw on key findings to integrate work-based learning to improve access and engagement for underrepresented groups in STEM, improve STEM education and career outcomes for all students, as well as strengthen collaborative college-employer partnerships. Broad dissemination of products such as student and employer work-based learning readiness assessments, the work-based learning cohort model, virtual work-based learning modules, and other materials developed by the project have the potential to improve technical education at postsecondary institutions on a regional and national scale. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity for transformational change at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSI enterprise, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research: (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves the field's understanding of how to build institutional capacity for sustainable change at HSIs writ large.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.