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

该项目将有助于对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需要，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在波多黎各大学，马亚圭斯，西班牙裔服务机构的经济需要。在5年的时间里，该项目将为36名正在攻读生物学，化学和/或心理学学士学位的全日制本科生提供奖学金。两批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坚持性，为国家需求的STEM职业做准备。它旨在通过将奖学金与有效的课外活动联系起来，包括指导，本科研究经验，研究生院准备，参加特定学科的会议以及全面的情感支持系统，来提高学生在STEM领域的坚持性。由于波多黎各大学，马亚圭斯有一个高人口的学生谁是在他们的追求STEM研究领域的代表性不足，这个项目有可能扩大在STEM学科的参与，并了解如何指导，研究经验，社会情感支持，该项目的总体目标是提高低年级学生的学位完成率，收入高、在STEM领域成绩优异的本科生。三个具体目标指导项目的执行。首先是提供所需的财务，学术和社会情感支持，以扩大必要的个人和专业能力，成功地完成学生的学习计划。第二是实施一个成熟的财务，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，也是最后一点，是贡献知识的实施和有效的循证课外活动的学生意图追求研究生教育和/或进入干劳动力的可持续性。心理社会，非认知因素，如个人危机，父母工作不稳定，以及缺乏强大的支持系统，通常被证明会影响学生在STEM的坚持。此外，低收入家庭的学生往往面临更多的挑战，如自然灾害、家庭紧急情况、收入、粮食和住房无保障、对兄弟姐妹的责任、教育中断和社交网络有限。一个综合的方法，包括财政，社会情感和学术支持低收入家庭的学生在这个项目可以有效地解决这个人口所面临的多方面的问题。该项目将调查心理社会和压力因素的影响，其模型直接侧重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。小组建设活动旨在建立社区意识和归属感的学生。该项目包括研讨会，学习小组，实地考察和旨在支持学生的社会活动。对项目模式的评估将采用纵向观察方法，定期收集数据，如留存率、学业进展、对项目的满意度、专业兴趣以及学生对个人和专业发展、就业机会和成功所需技能的可视化能力。此外，研究人员还将通过学生访谈和开放式问题来探讨压力应对行为，并促进大学生的成长心态和社会归属感。对收集的数据进行综合分析和评价。这些发现将为干预措施对队列的学术，经济和社会情感福祉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，并为未来旨在支持低收入天才学生的政策和做法提供信息。最终，我们的目标是培养一个培育环境，使这些学生能够在学术上茁壮成长，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很大的潜力，可以使其他为低收入、高度脆弱的STEM学生服务的机构受益，包括为少数群体服务的机构。该项目的成果将通过在国家会议上的介绍和教育界的出版物提供。为了使该项目的方法更广泛的受众，研究人员将提供教师专业发展的在线模块。这些模块将涵盖创伤知情咨询技术，配备必要的工具和知识，以有效地支持学生的教师。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，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.