GSE/RES Retaining Women in STEM: The Contributions of Different Types of Living-Learning Programs

马里兰州大学公园将继续和扩大生活学习计划（NSLLP）纵向的国家研究，以更好地了解生活学习计划在促进STEM专业的女大学生的持久性和成功的作用。相关的研究问题包括调查的具体L/L的环境最强烈相关的持久性和成功的妇女在干，和L/L参与妇女的持久性在大学和干学科的长期影响的检查。生活学习（L/L）计划是在高等教育中最有前途的干预措施之一，旨在促进妇女在干专业的成功。通过指导，支持和协作，L/L计划是基于宿舍的努力，融合课程和课外活动，促进更大的学生融合，成就和retention.Until的生活学习计划（NSLLP）的国家研究的发展，L/L计划的有效性研究主要限于对个别大学校园的单一计划评估。2004年的NSLLP包括来自美国34所大学的近24,000名学生的回答。超过1,650名女性STEM专业学生参加了NSLLP，其中约一半参与了41个不同的L/L项目之一，这些项目为STEM中的女性提供了单一性别（例如，妇女在科学工程计划）或男女同校（例如，科学、技术、社会之家）设置。然而，由于大多数NSLLP受访者是一年级学生，（这是常见的L/L参与者），它是过早的，以评估持久的影响L/L参与的结果，如持久性，学术成就，和学生learning.The建议的研究设计使用混合方法的方法：纵向跟踪调查的妇女谁回答了NSLLP在2004年;根据2004年国家科学、技术和数学学习计划的数据，对三到五个为妇女提供高到中等成绩的科学、技术和数学相关学习/学习选择的校园进行实地考察;扩大与新参与机构的数据收集，以创建科学、技术和数学领域妇女的持续趋势数据。这项研究将通过确定促进STEM学科女性学术成就，持久性和学习成果的特定大学环境因素来推进高等教育研究。 根据以前的研究集中在个人素质（例如，自我效能）的妇女谁坚持干，这项研究将有助于文献阐明如何机构干预也可能促进妇女在干的成功。最重要的是，该研究的结果将基于多机构样本，这可以提供跨校园环境的L/L影响的结果，因此可以推广到不同类型的大学环境并可复制。 研究小组进行了初步的NSLLP研究。拟议活动的更广泛影响：在实践层面上，这项研究将帮助校园官员优先考虑有限的战略资源，以那些有文件证明的STEM妇女的好处。此外，对于那些有兴趣为STEM中的女性开发有效的L/L计划的校园，这项研究的结果可以作为最佳模式和实践的蓝图。最后，从社会的角度来看，这项研究将帮助机构了解如何保留和毕业STEM专业的代表性不足的群体。

University of Maryland College Park will continue and expand the National Study of Living-Learning Programs (NSLLP) longitudinally to understand better the role of living learning programs in facilitating the persistence and success of college women in STEM majors. Related research questions include an investigation of the specific L/L environments most strongly related to persistence and success for women in STEM, and the examination of the long-term impact of L/L participation on women's persistence in college and in STEM disciplines.Living-learning (L/L) programs are one of the most promising interventions in higher education designed to foster success for women in STEM majors. Through mentoring, support, and collaboration, L/L programs are residence hall-based efforts that blend curricular and co-curricular activities that facilitate greater student integration, achievement, and retention.Until the development of the National Study of Living-Learning Programs (NSLLP), research on L/L program effectiveness was largely limited to single-program assessments on individual college campuses. The 2004 NSLLP includes the responses of nearly 24,000 students representing 34 universities across the United States. Over 1,650 female STEM majors participated in the NSLLP, about half of whom were involved with one of 41 different L/L programs that cater to women in STEM in either single-sex (e.g., the Women in Science & Engineering Program) or co-educational (e.g., the Science, Technology, & Society House) settings. However, because the majority of the NSLLP respondents were first-year students (which is common for L/L participants), it is premature to evaluate the enduring effects of L/L participation on outcomes such as persistence, academic achievement, and student learning.The proposed research design uses a mixed methods approach: a longitudinal follow-up survey of the women who responded to the NSLLP in 2004; site visits at three to five campuses that are providing high-to-modestly performing STEM related L/L options for women based on data from the 2004 NSLLP; and an expanded data collection with new participating institutions in order to create ongoing trend data on women in STEM.Intellectual Merits of the Proposed Activity: This study will advance higher education research by identifying the specific college environment factors that facilitate the academic achievement, persistence, and learning outcomes for women in STEM disciplines. In light of prior research focused on personal qualities (e.g., self-efficacy) of women who persist in STEM, this study will contribute to the literature by illuminating how institutional interventions may also facilitate women's success in STEM. Most importantly, the study's findings will be based on a multi-institutional sample, which can provide results of L/L impact across campus contexts that can therefore be generalizable to and replicable at different types of university settings. The research team conducted the initial NSLLP study.Broader Impacts of the Proposed Activity: On a practical level, this study will help campus officials prioritize limited and strategic resources to those programs with documented benefits for women in STEM. In addition, for those campuses interested in developing effective L/L programs for women in STEM, this study's findings can serve as a blueprint for best models and practices. Finally, from a societal standpoint, this research will help institutions understand how to retain and graduate underrepresented groups in STEM majors.