The Louisiana Freshwater Sponge Project: Developing an Environmental Science Undergraduate Research Pathway from Degree Entry to Workforce and Graduation

该项目旨在服务于国家利益，解决为两年制大学生提供在转到四年制大学之前在自己的校园参加早期本科生研究活动的迫切需求。在过去十年中，对技术熟练的STEM劳动力的需求仅有所增加，预计在可预见的未来将继续朝着这一方向发展。因此，STEM教育界必须继续开发创新的STEM途径，以增加美国合格STEM毕业生的数量。重要的是，两年制大学处于理想的地位，可以在这一努力中发挥重要作用。在这个项目中，来自附近少数民族高中的学生将被招募参加他们两年的大学STEM经历中的有偿研究机会。该项目将通过已建立的路易斯安那州淡水海绵项目，吸引两年制大学生和教职员工参加校园研究活动和实习。此外，还将利用行业伙伴关系将培训扩展到工作场所。参与者还将获得领导技能，并参加让社区参与科学活动的外联活动。最终，这个项目旨在建立一个可转移的模式，让两年制大学生参与研究经验，从而提高STEM学位的保留率和成就率。本项目的总体目标是开发、实施和评估两年制大学的环境科学研究途径。三个目标将指导实施：1)创建和实施一条研究途径，对多样化的STEM学生群体产生积极影响；2)提供职业培训和科学素养参与活动；3)通过社区、校园和高中外联活动促进环境科学职业和研究。虽然许多有记录的两年制大学生的研究经验仅限于暑期项目，但该项目旨在创造机会，在整个学年提供持续的研究和专业发展培训。这将创造一个平台，以增加留住、劳动力准备和/或转到四年制大学。在该项目的整个生命周期中，24名学生将参与该项目的每一步，另外100多名学生将从个别项目中受益，包括在外部实习、科学素养讲习班和路易斯安那大学海洋联盟研究实验室的培训。这些活动对认知和情感领域的影响将在与外部评估员的持续合作中进行评估。形成性和总结性评价方法将定期向项目团队提供反馈。结果将通过出版物、演示文稿和专业网络传播。NSF关于在两年制高等教育机构推进本科STEM教育的创新和影响的项目描述支持在两年制大学推进STEM教育倡议的项目。该项目描述促进了两年制大学本科STEM教育的创新和循证实践。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 project aims to serve the national interest by addressing the critical need to provide two-year college students with opportunities to participate in early undergraduate research activities on their own campus prior to transferring to a four-year university. The demand for a skilled STEM workforce has only increased over the past decade and is projected to continue in this direction for the foreseeable future. It is therefore essential that the STEM education community continue to develop innovative STEM pathways that increase the number of qualified STEM graduates in the United States. Importantly, two-year colleges are ideally positioned to play a significant role in this effort. In this project, students from nearby minority serving high schools will be recruited to participate in paid research opportunities throughout their two-year college STEM experience. The project will engage two-year college students and faculty in on-campus research activities and internships through the established Louisiana Freshwater Sponge Project. Additionally, industry partnerships will be leveraged to extend training to the workplace. Participants will also gain leadership skills and participate in outreach activities that engage the community in science activities. Ultimately, this project aims to build a transferrable model for engaging two-year college students in research experiences that result in increased retention and success in STEM degrees.The overall goal of this project is to develop, implement, and assess an environmental science research pathway at a two-year college. Three objectives will guide implementation: 1) Create and implement a research pathway to positively impact a diverse STEM student population; 2) Provide career training and scientific literacy engagement activities; and 3) Promote environmental science careers and research through community, campus, and high school outreach activities. While many documented research experiences for two-year college students are limited to summer programs, this project intends to build opportunities that provide continuous research and professional development training throughout the academic year. This will create a platform to increase retention, workforce readiness, and/or transfer to a four-year university. Over the life of the project, twenty-four students will participate in every step of the pathway, while more than 100 additional students will benefit from individual project components including job placement in externships, scientific literacy workshops, and training at the Louisiana University Marine Consortium Research Laboratory. The impact of the activities on both cognitive and affective domains will be assessed in on-going collaboration with an external evaluator. Formative and summative evaluation methods will provide the project team with feedback at regular intervals. The results will be disseminated via publications, presentations, and professional networks. The NSF program description on Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education supports projects that advance STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges. The program description promotes innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.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.