Living, Learning, and Staying: The Impact of a Women in Engineering Liv- ing and Learning Community
Living, Learning, and Staying: The Impact of a Women in Engineering Liv- ing and Learning Community
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生活、学习和居住：女性在工程生活和学习社区中的影响
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发表时间：
2014
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
C. Amelink
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Samuelson;Elizabeth Litzler;C. Staples;Paige Smith;C. Amelink
许多研究强调生活和学习社区（LLC）是促进学生持久性的一个因素，特别是在STEM项目中。几年来，马里兰州大学-学院公园已经安置了Flexus：玛丽莲·伯曼·波兰博士在工程生活和学习社区的妇女。该LLC仅适用于一年级和二年级的女性，她们正处于学生发展的关键时期。Flexus为这些女性提供了一个空间，让她们感受到支持，探索工程领域的不同选择，并获得普通人群无法获得的技能。此外，Flexus的每个参与者都必须每学期参加一个学分的课程，并完成至少四个服务小时。本文探讨了Flexus如何帮助改善女性在工程专业的经验。2013年，由Alfred P. Sloan基金会资助的工程气候评估项目（PACE）的研究人员与Flexus和非Flexus工程专业的学生进行了焦点小组讨论。研究人员将该机构收集的项目评估数据与PACE团队收集的焦点小组数据相结合，以阐明为攻读工程专业的女性建立包容性环境和留住女性的最佳实践。调查结果表明，为妇女提供机会，共同生活在一个宿舍，并采取类作为Flexus有限责任公司的一部分，有三个主要影响。它创造了强烈的社区意识，提供了增强信心的专业发展，并最终帮助学生留在工程。Flexus参与者的保留率显著高于非参与者（p≤0.05）。有限责任公司的最佳做法，导致了积极的成果进行了讨论，以及从计划实施中吸取的教训。大学校园的规模可能会在学术和社交方面压倒学生，这可能会影响保留。通过创建一个仅限女性的小型工程社区，这些大型校园可以开始感觉更像家。妇女们一起学习学习，社交和相互依赖，Flexus妇女以高于同龄人的速度留在工程学院。
A number of studies highlight living and learning communities (LLCs) as a factor contributing to student persistence, particularly in STEM programs. For several years, the University of Maryland – College Park has housed Flexus: The Dr. Marilyn Berman Pollans Women in Engineering Living and Learning Community. This LLC is solely for first and second year women, who are in vital years of their student development. Flexus provides a space for these women to feel supported, explore different options within engineering, and gain skills that are not taught to the general population. Additionally, every participant in Flexus is required to take a one-credit course each semester and complete a minimum of four service hours. This paper explores how Flexus has helped improve the experiences of women in engineering majors. In 2013, researchers from the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE), which is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, conducted focus groups with Flexus and non-Flexus engineering students. Researchers combined program evaluation data gathered by the institution with the focus group data collected by the PACE team to illuminate best practices for building inclusive environments for and retaining women pursuing engineering majors. Findings indicate that providing women with the opportunity to live together within one residence hall and take classes together as part of the Flexus LLC has three main effects. It creates a strong sense of community, provides confidence-boosting professional development, and ultimately helps students stay in engineering. Flexus participants are retained at significantly higher rates compared to non-participants (p≤0.05). The LLC best practices that have resulted in positive outcomes are discussed as well as lessons learned from program implementation. The size of college campuses can overwhelm students academically and socially, which can affect retention. By creating a small female-only engineering community, these large campuses can begin to feel more like home. Together the women learn to study, socialize, and rely on each other, and Flexus women remain within the School of Engineering at higher rates than their peers.