Alabama LSAMP: Sustainability of Best Practices for STEM Education and Research

Louis Stokes少数族裔参与联盟(LSAMP)计划帮助大学和学院努力大幅增加科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科的高质量学位课程录取并成功完成的学生数量，以实现STEM劳动力的多样化。特别强调通过创新的、基于证据的招聘和保留战略以及相关的教育经验来转变本科STEM教育，以支持在STEM学科中历来代表性不足的种族和民族：非洲裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美国印第安人、阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷原住民和太平洋原住民。这些战略有助于培养准备充分的学生，他们非常合格，有动力在STEM追求研究生教育或职业生涯。阿拉巴马州LSAMP是一个完全重组的联盟，由四年制机构、博士授予机构、社区大学、高中和行业组成。拟议的活动将扩大先前计划的内容，包括：基于绩效的津贴支持、夏季衔接计划、春季研究会议、社区大学过渡到四年制机构计划、为高中生和本科生提供的暑期研究体验，以及面向中学生的外联活动。拟议方案的目标是：增加来自代表不足的少数族裔群体的学生获得STEM本科学位的人数；增强代表不足的少数族裔学生的STEM教育经验；增加代表不足的少数族裔学生继续攻读学士学位的机会；使代表不足的少数族裔学生能够成功地从两年制院校转到四年制院校；增加获得高质量本科研究经验的机会；并促进代表不足的少数族裔学生无缝过渡到STEM研究生课程。拟议计划的预期好处是：有助于扭转美国STEM人才流失的局面，促进制度文化的系统性变革，以加强STEM学科中代表性不足的少数民族学生的留住，增加从社区学院转到STEM学科的代表性不足的少数民族学生的预科录取，以及本科STEM教育经验的持续转变。拟议的活动对于增进大学生对STEM教育和研究经验的可持续最佳做法的认识和理解非常重要，将包括一项社会科学研究和计划的传播活动。该项目的总体目标是：实施和研究STEM教育和研究经验中创新的、以证据为基础的可持续的最佳做法，旨在通过改善STEM教育经验来提高未被充分代表的少数族裔学生的质量和数量。这项研究的核心问题是，夏季桥牌项目的内容和长度的变化是否会对自我效能感和归属感产生不同的影响，从而影响学生攻读STEM学位和学业进步的意图。这项研究可能会为全国LSAMP项目提供关于如何构建夏季桥牌项目的信息，并有助于建立阶段-环境匹配的模型，以及我们对学校过渡期间自我效能和归属感的理解。这项研究将考察参加阿拉巴马州LSAMP项目对自我效能感和归属感的影响，以及它们又如何与攻读STEM学位的意图相关。这项研究特别关注不同的项目要素，特别是夏季桥牌项目中的项目要素如何在过渡到大学期间影响这些因素。将审查保留STEM的下列最佳做法的时机和时间的影响：研究、专业发展、学术支持、社会融合和指导。研究性研究的方法将涉及九个机构的所有LSAMP参与者(每年79人)，这应该会在5年的研究过程中产生大约395名学生的数据。学生将在项目的第一年每隔一年完成调查(通常是在线调查)，然后每年完成一次，以跟踪他们的进展情况。所有学生将在夏季桥牌课程开始时完成一项评估自我效能感、归属感和意图的调查(基线)。在回答主要的研究问题之前，将对每个量表的心理测量质量进行评估。因素分析将被用来确认或修改量表，使其与预期的心理结构保持一致。因子分析还将被用来确定是否可以结合一些衡量标准来产生反映更大有意义结构的分数。由于学生被嵌套在九个不同的机构，分层线性建模是最合适的统计工具。可以开发更多的模型来检验第一年活动的时间和强度如何影响自我效能、归属感和意图。这些分析将对过渡过程有一个更全面的了解。

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. These strategies facilitate the production of well-prepared students highly-qualified and motivated to pursue graduate education or careers in STEM.Alabama LSAMP is a completely reconstituted alliance that consists of 4-year institutions, doctoral-granting institutions, community colleges, high schools, and industry. The proposed activities that will expand the elements of the previous program consist of: performance-based stipend support, summer bridge programs, spring research conferences, community college bridge to 4-year institution programs, summer research experiences for high school and undergraduate students, and outreach to middle school students. The objectives of the proposed program are: To increase the number of students from underrepresented minority groups who earn STEM undergraduate degrees; to enhance the STEM educational experience for underrepresented minority students; to increase retention and progression of underrepresented minority students to baccalaureate degrees; to enable successful transfer and matriculation of underrepresented minority students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in STEM programs; to increase access to high quality undergraduate research experiences; and to facilitate seamless transition of underrepresented minority students into STEM graduate programs. The expected benefits of the proposed program are: to contribute to a reversal of the loss of US STEM talent, the promotion of systemic change in institutional culture to enhance the retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM disciplines, increased matriculation of underrepresented minority students that transfer from community colleges into STEM disciplines, and sustained transformation of the undergraduate STEM educational experience. The proposed activities are important to advancing knowledge and understanding of sustainable best practices in STEM education and research experiences for undergraduates and will include a social science study and planned dissemination activities.The overall goal of this project is: To implement and study innovative, evidence-based, sustainable best practices in STEM education and research experiences for undergraduates designed to increase the quality and quantity of underrepresented minority students by enhancing the STEM educational experience. At the heart of this research study is the question of whether variability in the content and length of a summer bridge program differentially impacts self-efficacy and belonging; and consequently, students' intentions to pursue a STEM degree and academic progress. This research may inform LSAMP programs nationally about how to structure summer bridge programs and contribute to models of stage-environment fit and our understanding of self-efficacy and belonging during school transitions. This study will examine how self-efficacy and belonging are affected by participation in the Alabama LSAMP program, and how they in turn are related to intentions to pursue a STEM degree. The study pays special attention to how different program elements, especially how those during the summer bridge program affect these factors over the transition to college. The effect of the timing and the amount of time spent in the following best practices for STEM retention will be examined: research, professional development, academic support, social integration and mentoring. The method for the research study will involve all LSAMP participants across the nine institutions each year (79 per year) which should result in data from approximately 395 students over the course of the 5-year study. Students will complete surveys (typically online) at intervals during the first year of the program and then once a year thereafter to track their progress. All students will complete a survey assessing self-efficacy, belonging, and intentions at the start of the summer bridge program (baseline). Before addressing the primary research questions, the psychometric qualities of each scale will be assessed. Factor analysis will be used to confirm or modify the scales so that they align with the intended psychological constructs. Factor analysis will also be used to determine if some measures can be combined to create scores that reflect larger meaningful constructs. Because students are nested in nine different institutions, hierarchical linear modeling is the most appropriate statistical tool. Additional models can be developed to examine how the timing and intensity of activities throughout the first year impact self-efficacy, belonging and intentions. These analyses will create a fuller picture of the transition process.