NSF INCLUDES: STEM Core Initiative

全美对STEM行业熟练工人的需求继续快速增长。与此同时，计算机科学和工程等领域的高等教育完成率远远落后于需求。在学术上，微积分是进入高增长、高工资STEM职业生涯的关键障碍，59%的社区大学学生以补习数学水平入学，大大减少了STEM学科的应聘者池。例如，在加利福尼亚州，只有4%的社区大学学生在4年内攻读微积分，因此永远没有机会开始为主导该州经济格局的STEM职业生涯进行培训。这一障碍减少了STEM职业的候选人池，这两个群体的比例不成比例：(1)在补习项目中代表性过高的少数族裔学生；(2)在更高水平的数学课程中代表性不足的女性学生。为了扩大参与和扩大现有STEM人才的渠道，STEM核心倡议(SCI)实施了一种模式，包括加速和因地制宜的数学课程序列，并提供密集的支持性服务，旨在服务于代表性不足的学生。这一基于群体的课程让学生在两个学期(而不是两年或更长时间)内从中级代数转到微积分准备阶段。在过去的三年里，SCI模型的原型已经在四所大学实施，与传统数学课程注册的学生相比，参与者的数学课程成功率提高了20%-30%。这一合作伙伴关系通过增强的STEM核心路径模式复制和扩大SCI的成功，该模式将在加利福尼亚州的13所社区学院和马里兰一个大型且多样化的社区大学校园实施，直接为625多名学生提供服务。此外，作为一项劳动力发展计划，SCI为计算机科学和工程领域的领先国家和地区雇主提供带薪实习机会，并为学生提供高增长、高工资的STEM职业机会。针对补习生的一年微积分准备和实习路径是11所合作学院的一种新方法，并利用集体影响方法来协调行业和劳动力发展合作伙伴。合作伙伴关系提供围绕学生的支持，加速和情景学习，并扩大高质量的基于工作的学习体验，包括实习。处于有利地位的雇主合作伙伴(如NASA和联邦能源实验室)通过帮助社区大学进行课程背景分析、提供职业指导和主办基于项目的实习，为国家战略的制定做出贡献。为了推进研究，SCI采用了一个全面的多方法计划来评估STEM核心干预的有效性，并确定和了解支撑加州和马里兰州14所社区大学成功实施STEM核心的有效实践。评估旨在衡量和了解STEM Core对学生学习、学术和行业参与、学术势头、数学信心和对STEM的承诺的影响，以及对产生最大影响的实施和复制战略的理解。在全国范围内传播这些成果展示了STEM核心项目的成功，并建立了复制该模式的能力。

Demand for skilled workers in STEM industries is continuing to grow rapidly across the United States. At the same time, postsecondary completion rates in fields such as computer science and engineering lag far behind demand. Academically, calculus is the critical barrier to entry to high-growth, high-wage STEM careers for the 59% of community college students who enter at remedial math levels, greatly diminishing the candidate pool for careers in STEM disciplines. In California, for example, only 4% of community college students advance to calculus in 4 years and therefore never have a chance to begin to train for the STEM careers that dominate the state's economic landscape. This barrier diminishes the candidate pool for STEM careers falling disproportionately on two groups: (1) minority students who are overrepresented in remedial programs; and (2) female students who are underrepresented in higher-level math courses. To broaden participation and expand the pipeline of available STEM talent, the STEM Core Initiative (SCI) implements a model that includes an accelerated and contextualized math course sequence with intensive supportive services designed to serve underrepresented students. The cohort-based program moves students from intermediate algebra to calculus-readiness in two semesters (as opposed to two or more years). A prototype of the SCI model has been implemented at four colleges over the last three years and has resulted in a 20-30 percent increase in math course success rates for participants compared to students enrolled in a traditional math course track. The partnership replicates and scales SCI successes through an enhanced STEM Core pathway model to be implemented at 13 California community colleges and one large and diverse Maryland community college campus, directly serving more than 625 students. Further, as a workforce development program, SCI offers paid internships with leading national and regional employers in computer science and engineering and exposes students to high-growth, high-wage STEM career opportunities. The one-year calculus-readiness and internship pathway for remedial students is a new approach in eleven of the partner colleges and utilizes a collective impact approach to align industry and workforce development partners. The partnership offers wrap around student support, accelerated and contextualized learning, and expanded high-quality work-based learning experiences including internships. Well-positioned employer partners (such as NASA and the federal energy labs) contribute to the development of a national strategy by assisting community colleges with course contextualization, providing career orientation, and hosting project-based internships. To advance research, SCI employs a comprehensive multiple methods plan to assess the effectiveness of the STEM Core intervention and identify and understand the effective practices that underpin successful implementation of the STEM Core at 14 community colleges in California and Maryland. The evaluation seeks to measure and understand the impacts of STEM Core on student learning, academic and industry engagement, academic momentum, math confidence, and commitment to STEM as well as an understanding of implementation and replication strategies that yield the greatest impact. National dissemination of the results showcase the successes of STEM Core and build capacity to replicate the model.