Broadening the Net: Promoting Success in the Sciences for All Students

为了满足地区和国家对STEM劳动力的需求，德克萨斯州乔治城西南大学的NSF科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）项目将为16名有经济需求的学生提供高质量的科学和数学教育。该机构的计算机科学、数学和物理专业的招生将通过在地区磁铁和大学预科高中的密集招生来增加。该项目将侧重于提供各种社会支持，同时为学生提供在入门到高级课程中整合研究性学习策略的课程。这种基于文献的方法已被证明对总体学习产生了积极影响，并为来自代表性不足的群体和女性的学生赋予了权力。学者们将通过项目活动来发展他们的科学身份，这些项目活动特别关注包容性、探究性和社区建设。学生将参加两次暑期科学过夜活动，与专门的S-STEM教师导师定期会面，参加一门关于科学领域不太知名的职业道路的两学分课程，参加群体建设经验和分组注册。过夜是一种创新的方式，可以将学生介绍给全校范围内的STEM社区，并帮助他们在大学生活中尽早建立联系。此外，所有的项目组成部分都是吸引STEM专业学生的可持续的、可转移的工具。评估计划描述了评估的三个关键领域，包括(a)项目截止日期和基准，(b)个别S-STEM进展和保留可能性的形成性评估，以及(c)整体项目形成性和总结性评估。形成性评估将依赖于学生对学术表现和参与以及记录在期刊上的社会和家庭支持的看法。还将评价个别的支助结构。总结性评估部分将通过年度问卷调查学者对他们的系统学术和指导的看法来完成。PI团队将通过美国高校协会和霍华德休斯医学研究所的会议报告其结果，参与有关STEM教育的全国对话。还将设计一个项目网站。

To address regional and national STEM workforce demands, this NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) project at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas will provide access to quality science and math education for 16 students with demonstrated financial need. Enrollment in the institution's computer science, math and physics majors will be bolstered through intensive recruitment efforts in area magnet and college-preparatory high schools. The project will focus on making a variety of social supports available while at the same time providing students with a curriculum that integrate investigative learning strategies in introductory to upper-level courses. This approach, which is grounded in the literature, has been shown to have positive impacts on learning in general and to be empowering for students from underrepresented groups and women. Scholars will develop their scientific identities through project activities that focus specifically on inclusivity, inquiry, and community-building. Students will participate in two Summer Science Overnights, regular meetings with dedicated S-STEM faculty mentors, a two-credit course on less well-known career tracks in the sciences, cohort-building experiences, and clustered enrollment. The overnights are an innovative way to introduce students to the campus-wide STEM community and should help them create ties early on in their college experience. Further, all of the project components are examples of sustainable, transferrable tools for engaging STEM majors. The Evaluation Plan describes three key areas for assessment including, (a) project deadlines and benchmarks, (b)) formative assessment of individual S-STEM progress and likelihood of retention, and (c) overall project formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment will rely on student perceptions of academic performance and engagement and of social and family support logged in journals. The individual support structures will also be evaluated. Summative assessments will be done in part through an annual questionnaire on scholars' perceptions of their SSTEM academic and mentoring. The PI team will participate in the national conversation on STEM education by reporting its results through meetings of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Howard Hughes medical Institute. A project website will also be designed.