Increasing Institutional Capacity to Engage and Mentor Students in Research after Participation in Course-based Research Experiences

在参加基于课程的研究体验后，提高机构参与和指导学生参与研究的能力

• 批准号: 2336125
• 负责人: Laura Gough
• 金额: $ 74.99万
• 依托单位: Towson University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2336125&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increasing; Institutional; Capacity; Engage; Mentor

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing a model to guide faculty to be more effective and inclusive mentors of undergraduate students and, ultimately, engage more undergraduates in research. This Level 2 IUSE:EDU Engaged Student Learning project will advance professional development for novice undergraduate researchers and experienced undergraduate researchers to further support students becoming scientists. Many studies have shown that undergraduate students, including those from groups historically excluded from science, are more likely to complete a degree in science and pursue a career in STEM if they engage in a research project as college students. At Towson University, more than 30 course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been developed to engage students in research within a lab or field course. This has been particularly important for students who do not have the luxury of dedicating time to research outside of class. Many of these students would like to engage in research following the CURE, but without additional graduate students or staff to help mentor them, faculty are often not able to meet this student demand. In this project, a mentoring ecosystem will be developed wherein post-CURE undergraduate researchers interact with each other and faculty to learn together about STEM research, build their identities as scientists, and prepare for research-related pursuits after graduation. The professional development series created for faculty and students as part of this project will advance understanding of how mentoring undergraduates from many backgrounds can be accomplished effectively at an institution without Ph.D. students or dedicated mentoring staff. Results will be disseminated to other departments, colleges, and universities and will provide an important resource to improve faculty mentoring to benefit students while they are enrolled in college and beyond by providing them with the opportunity to engage in science and scientific careers.This project is focused not just on best practices in mentoring approaches and supporting students but also on how faculty and near peer mentors can be part of a mentoring ecosystem that supports the success of all students in a research group regardless of their identity or background. A Community of Practice approach will be used to engage undergraduate researchers and faculty in separate communities and in a larger group for professional development activities. Creating such a mentoring ecosystem has demonstrated longer-term benefits to students pursuing scientific education and careers versus programs in which faculty are not actively engaged in student professional development. Using surveys and interviews, project participants will be assessed to measure the impact of Community of Practice activities and the mentoring ecosystem on student and faculty identities as scientists, faculty development as mentors, and students’ pursuit of science careers. Project findings will provide formative feedback to further refine professional development and mentoring activities. Effective activities will be disseminated both across and beyond the Towson University context. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.

该项目旨在通过开发一种模型来指导教师成为本科生更有效和更具包容性的导师，并最终让更多的本科生参与研究，从而服务于国家利益。这个 2 级 IUSE:EDU 学生参与学习项目将促进新手本科研究人员和经验丰富的本科研究人员的专业发展，以进一步支持学生成为科学家。许多研究表明，本科生，包括那些历史上被排除在科学之外的群体的学生，如果他们作为大学生参与研究项目，更有可能完成科学学位并从事 STEM 职业。陶森大学开发了 30 多种基于课程的本科生研究体验 (CURE)，以吸引学生在实验室或现场课程中进行研究。这对于没有足够时间在课外进行研究的学生来说尤其重要。其中许多学生希望按照 CURE 进行研究，但如果没有额外的研究生或工作人员来帮助指导他们，教师往往无法满足学生的需求。在该项目中，将开发一个指导生态系统，其中 CURE 后的本科生研究人员可以相互交流，也可以与教师互动，共同学习 STEM 研究，建立科学家的身份，并为毕业后从事研究相关的工作做好准备。作为该项目的一部分，为教师和学生创建的专业发展系列将加深人们对如何在没有博士学位的机构中有效地指导来自多种背景的本科生的理解。学生或专门的指导人员。结果将传播到其他院系、学院和大学，并将提供重要资源来改善教师指导，为学生提供从事科学和科学职业的机会，使他们在大学入学及毕业后受益。该项目不仅关注指导方法和支持学生的最佳实践，还关注教师和近邻导师如何成为支持研究小组中所有学生成功的指导生态系统的一部分 无论他们的身份或背景如何。将采用实践社区方法，让本科生研究人员和教师参与不同社区和更大群体的专业发展活动。与教师不积极参与学生专业发展的项目相比，创建这样的指导生态系统对追求科学教育和职业的学生来说具有更长期的好处。通过调查和访谈，项目参与者将接受评估，以衡量实践社区活动和指导生态系统对学生和教师作为科学家的身份、教师作为导师的发展以及学生对科学职业的追求的影响。项目结果将提供形成性反馈，以进一步完善专业发展和指导活动。有效的活动将在陶森大学内外传播。 NSF IUSE：EDU 计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生 STEM 教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。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。