A Financial, Academic, and Socio-emotional Support Ecosystem for Talented Low-income Students in Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology

该项目将通过支持波多黎各大学马亚圭斯分校（一所西班牙裔服务机构）中表现出经济需求的优秀低收入家庭学生的保留和毕业，为满足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。该项目为期5年，将为36名攻读生物学、化学和/或心理学学士学位的全日制本科生提供奖学金。两组一年级学生将通过该项目获得长达四年的奖学金。该项目提出了一个由三个部分组成的生态系统：1)财务，2)学术和3)社会情感支持，以提高本科生的保留率和持久性，为国家需求的STEM职业做好准备。它旨在通过将奖学金与有效的课外活动（包括指导、本科研究经历、研究生院准备、参加特定学科会议以及全面的情感支持系统）联系起来，提高学生在STEM领域的坚持度。由于波多黎各大学马亚圭斯分校在STEM领域的学生人数不足，因此该项目有可能扩大STEM学科的参与，并了解指导、研究经验、社会情感支持和其他活动如何支持这一学生群体的保留和毕业。该项目的总体目标是提高STEM领域低收入、高成就本科生的学位完成率。三个具体目标指导项目的执行。首先是提供必要的经济、学术和社会情感支持，以扩大学生的个人和专业能力，以顺利完成学生的学习计划。第二是实施一个经过验证的财务、学术和社会情感支持策略的生态系统，并研究该生态系统对持久性和学生成功的影响。第三，也是最后，是为学生追求研究生教育和/或进入STEM劳动力的意图提供有关有效循证课外活动的实施和可持续性的知识。社会心理、非认知因素，如个人危机、父母工作不稳定和缺乏强大的支持系统，通常被证明会影响学生对STEM的坚持。此外，低收入家庭的学生往往面临额外的挑战，如自然灾害、家庭紧急情况、收入、粮食和住房不安全、对兄弟姐妹的责任、教育中断和有限的社会网络。在这个项目中，为低收入学生提供经济、社会情感和学术支持的综合方法可以有效地解决这一群体面临的多方面问题。该项目将通过一个模型来调查心理社会和压力因素的影响，该模型直接关注于解决这些学生在经济援助之外的社会情感和学术支持需求。队伍建设活动旨在建立学生之间的社区意识和归属感。该项目包括工作坊、学习小组、实地考察和旨在支持学生的社会活动。项目模式的评估将采用纵向观察的方法，定期收集数据，如保留率、学业进展、对课程的满意度、专业兴趣、学生对个人和专业发展可能性、工作机会和成功所需技能的可视化能力。此外，研究人员将通过学生访谈和开放式问题探讨压力应对行为，促进大学生的成长心态和社会归属感。收集到的数据将进行全面的分析和评估。这些发现将为干预措施对该队列的学术、经济和社会情感健康的影响提供有价值的见解。这些知识将完善和改进干预措施，并为旨在支持低收入优秀学生的未来政策和实践提供信息。最终的目标是营造一个培育环境，使这些学生能够在学业上茁壮成长，克服经济障碍，并保持积极的整体福祉。该项目的研究结果具有巨大的潜力，可以惠及其他为低收入、高度脆弱的STEM学生服务的机构，包括为少数族裔服务的机构。这个项目的成果将通过在国家会议和教育界出版物上的介绍提供。为了使该项目的方法能够被更广泛的受众所接受，研究人员将为教师的专业发展提供在线模块。这些模块将涵盖创伤咨询技术，为教师提供必要的工具和知识，以有效地支持学生。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。

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 Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Over its 5-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 36 unique full-time undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and/or Psychology. Two cohorts of first-year students will receive up to four years of scholarship funds through this project. The project proposes an ecosystem of three components: 1) financial, 2) academic, and 3) socio-emotional support for increasing retention and persistence of undergraduate students in preparation for STEM careers of national demand. It aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective co-curricular activities, including mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, graduate school preparation, participation in discipline-specific conferences, and a comprehensive emotional support system. Because the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez has a high population of students who are underrepresented in their pursuit of STEM fields of study, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM disciplines and to learn how mentoring, research experiences, socio-emotional support, and other activities support retention and graduation of this student population.The overall goal of the project is to increase degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields. Three specific aims guide the execution of the project. First is to provide the financial, academic, and socio-emotional support needed to expand personal and professional capabilities necessary to successfully complete the students' programs of study on time. Second is to implement an ecosystem of proven financial, academic, and socio-emotional support strategies, and to study the effect of that ecosystem on persistence and student success. Third, and finally, is to contribute knowledge about the implementation and sustainability of effective evidence-based co-curricular activities on student intent to pursue graduate education and/or enter the STEM workforce. Psychosocial, non-cognitive factors, such as personal crises, parental job instability, and lack of robust support systems, have generally been demonstrated to affect student persistence in STEM. In addition, low-income students often face additional challenges such as natural disasters, family emergencies, income, food and housing insecurity, responsibilities towards siblings, interruptions in education and limited social networks. An integrated approach encompassing financial, socio-emotional, and academic support for low-income students in this project can effectively address the multifaceted issues faced by this population. This project will investigate the effects of psychosocial and stress factors with a model that directly focuses on addressing these students' socio-emotional and academic support needs beyond financial assistance. Cohort building activities will be designed to establish a sense of community and belonging among students. The project includes workshops, study groups, site visits, and social events designed to support students. The evaluation of the project’s model will employ a longitudinal observation approach with regular collection of data such as retention rate, academic progress, satisfaction with the program, professional interests, and students’ ability to visualize the possibilities for personal and professional development, job opportunities, and skills required for success. In addition, researchers will probe stress-coping behavior through student interviews and open-ended questions, and promote growth mindset and social belonging for college students. The collected data will be subjected to comprehensive analysis and evaluation. The findings will provide valuable insights into the impact of the interventions on the cohort's academic, economic, and socio-emotional well-being. This knowledge will refine and improve the interventions and inform future policies and practices aimed at supporting low-income talented students. Ultimately, the goal is to foster a nurturing environment that empowers these students to thrive academically, overcome economic barriers, and maintain positive overall well-being. The project's findings hold significant potential to benefit other institutions that serve low-income, highly vulnerable STEM students, including minority-serving institutions. Results of this project will be made available by presentations at national conferences and publications within the education community. To make the project’s approach accessible to a broader audience, researchers will provide online modules for faculty professional development. These modules will cover trauma-informed advising techniques, equipping faculty members with the necessary tools and knowledge to support students effectively. 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.