Innovative Scholarship Supports for STEM Pre-Professionals: Identity, Research, and Education

该项目将通过支持在耶稣会机构约翰卡罗尔大学有经济需要的高成就、低收入学生的保留和毕业，为国家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。在其6年的持续时间，该项目将资助奖学金高达$15，000每年长达4年，以33-36独特的全日制，一年级学生谁是追求学士学位的生物学，化学，计算机科学，数据科学，数学，物理学，和/或心理学。该项目旨在通过为学生提供具体的机会来建立STEM身份和自我效能感，特别是在他们的大学生涯早期，来提高STEM专业的持久性和成功。除了奖学金资助外，学者还将获得密集的咨询和支持，以显着提高他们成功完成STEM学位的能力，并填补区域劳动力的关键缺口。支持包括参加夏桥计划，生活在STEM生活学习社区（LLC），研究和实习机会，以及旨在增加向STEM劳动力过渡的课程。新兴的生物技术、医疗保健和其他以科学为基础的行业的区域市场推动了对学术人才的需求，该项目将以高比率招募、支持、教育和毕业。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位完成率。为此，项目小组将努力实现三个具体目标。首先是提高第一年学生的GPA，使其至少与非低收入学生相当，并实现至少与机构平均水平相当的持久性和毕业率。第二是建立和适应基于证据的课程和课外活动，以最好地支持学者基于早期的轨道1项目（DUE #1741814）。第三，也是最后一点，是通过增加对影响STEM教师中低收入学生的问题的了解和敏感性来鼓励机构文化转变。对学者的干预和支持将包括为期两周的夏桥计划，用于进入一年级的学者，在STEM生活学习社区生活长达两年;提供三门关于研究，STEM劳动力和STEM创业的课程;研究和实习机会;并在四年内提供结构化的队列建议。该项目将研究旨在支持STEM学生并培养他们的认同感，归属感和自我效能感的多种干预措施的效果，这些都是已知的促进STEM持久性的心理社会因素。该项目还将进一步了解在STEM LLC生活一年与两年对学习习惯，坚持完成学位和归属感的影响。STEM教师将在项目的前三年参加包容性教学法研讨会，以培养文化意识和围绕影响低收入学生问题的制度变革。研究结果将在校园内和相关专业会议上分享，并发表在同行评审的教育期刊上，供更大的STEM教育界使用。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 John Carroll University, a Jesuit institution. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships of up to $15,000 per year for up to 4 years to 33-36 unique full-time, first-year students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, and/or Psychology. This project aims to increase persistence and success in STEM majors by offering students concrete opportunities to build a sense of STEM identity and self-efficacy, particularly early in their college careers. Scholars will receive intensive advising and supports in addition to scholarship funding to significantly enhance their ability to successfully complete STEM degrees and fill critical gaps in the regional workforce. Supports include participation in a Summer Bridge Program, living in a STEM Living-Learning Community (LLC), research and internship opportunities, and coursework designed to augment the transition to the STEM workforce. Emerging regional markets in biotechnology, healthcare, and other science-based industries fuel demand for the academically-talented students this project will recruit, support, educate, and graduate at high rates.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Toward this end the project team will pursue three specific aims. First is to increase the GPAs of first-year scholars to be at least equivalent to non-low-income peers, and achieve persistence and graduation rates at least equivalent to institutional averages. Second is to build on and adapt evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities to best support scholars based on an earlier Track 1 project (DUE #1741814). Third, and finally, is to encourage an institutional culture shift by increasing knowledge and sensitivity about issues affecting low-income students among STEM faculty. Interventions and supports for scholars will include a two-week summer bridge program for entering first-year scholars, living in a STEM Living-Learning Community for up to two years; offering three courses on research, STEM workforce, and STEM Entrepreneurship; research and internship opportunities; and structured cohort advising throughout their four years. This project will examine the effect of multiple interventions aimed at supporting STEM students and fostering their sense of identity, belonging, and self-efficacy, which are psychosocial factors known to promote persistence in STEM. The project also will advance understanding of the effect of one versus two years of living in a STEM LLC on study habits, persistence to degree completion, and sense of belonging. STEM faculty will participate in workshops on inclusive pedagogy in the first three years of the project to cultivate cultural awareness and institutional change surrounding issues affecting low-income students. Results will be shared on-campus and at relevant professional meetings and published in peer-reviewed education journals for the greater STEM education community. 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.