STEM Scholars Engaging in Local Problems

东部门诺派大学（EMU）STEM学者参与当地问题（SSELP）计划将提供14个奖学金，以学术才华，低收入学生谁将追求就业，服务，或继续教育在高需求的STEM领域区域和全国。该计划将利用当地社区和周围的雪兰多山谷作为丰富的资源，以动手，问题到解决方案为基础的方式激励和教授学生STEM概念。学者将通过嵌入课程并专注于现实世界问题的小型研究项目，早期和持续地接触探究和基于问题的学习。此外，欧洲货币联盟将提供一个新的科学和工程实践课程的第一年的学者。 该实习将通过提供学生和不同职业的STEM专业人员之间的互动，突出STEM职业的多样性，然后对这些经历进行反思性写作。 奖学金，与几个学术干预和支持，包括辅导，指导，职业技能建设，鼓励学术人才，低收入学生追求和坚持在干专业。这些干预措施旨在提高学生作为积极，有贡献的公民的承诺;建立自我效能;让他们参与STEM研究;并帮助他们设想多种STEM职业途径。SSELP计划将1）招募两批7名学术天赋，低收入学生，主修生物学，化学，生物化学，工程学，计算机科学，数学或环境科学; 2）保留93%（13/14）的SSELP学者到第二年; 3）在四年内毕业14名SSELP学者，并安置其中93%的学生（毕业一年内）在工作，服务项目，或与STEM相关的研究生课程;以及4）通过探索以地方为基础的跨学科项目在多大程度上发展STEM学生对其专业的动机，从而产生本科STEM教育知识。 STEM研究的学生动机将使用验证调查之前和之后，他们在本地的，跨学科的，合作项目的参与进行评估。 这些定量数据将通过与SSELP学者的半结构化访谈收集的定性信息来增强。 虽然基于地方的学习的影响已被证明可以提高小学生和中学生的参与度和积极性，但在高等教育环境中，这方面的学术工作存在差距。 因此，SSELP计划也将有助于对学生的效能和动机不断增长的知识。

The Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) STEM Scholars Engaging in Local Problems (SSELP) program will provide 14 scholarships to academically talented, low-income students who will pursue employment, service, or continued education in high-need STEM fields regionally and nationwide. This program will use the local community and the surrounding Shenandoah Valley as a rich resource to inspire and teach students STEM concepts in a hands-on, problem-to-solution based manner. Scholars will receive early and consistent exposure to inquiry- and problem-based learning through mini-research projects that are embedded in their courses and focused on real-world issues. In addition, EMU will offer a new Science and Engineering Practicum course for first year scholars.  This practicum will highlight the variety of STEM careers by providing interactions between students and STEM professionals across different careers followed by reflective writing on those experiences.  Scholarships, with several academic interventions and supports including tutoring, mentoring, career skill-building, encourage academically talented, low-income students to pursue and persist in STEM majors. These interventions are designed to heighten student commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens; build self-efficacy; engage them in their STEM studies; and help them to envision multiple STEM career pathways. The SSELP program will 1) recruit two cohorts of seven academically talented, low-income students majoring in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or environmental science; 2) retain 93% (13/14) of SSELP scholars to Year 2; 3) graduate 14 SSELP scholars in four years and place 93% of them (within one year of graduation) in jobs, service programs, or graduate programs related to STEM; and 4) generate undergraduate STEM education knowledge by exploring the extent to which a place-based interdisciplinary project develops STEM students' level of motivation for their major. Student motivation for STEM studies will be assessed using validated surveys before and after their participation in the local-based, interdisciplinary, collaborative project. These quantitative data will be enhanced by qualitative information gathered from semi-structured interviews with the SSELP scholars. While the impact of place-based learning has been shown to improve engagement and motivation in primary and secondary students, there is a gap in scholarly work on this for higher education settings. Thus, the SSELP program will also contribute to the growing knowledge on student efficacy and motivation.