Preparing Academically Talented, Low-Income STEM Students for Our Data-Intensive World

在国家科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金(S-STEM)计划的资助下，该项目将支持明尼苏达州圣奥拉夫学院有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生。在整个五年的资助过程中，该项目将为30名低收入学生提供大约85个年度奖学金。奖学金获得者将是攻读数学或计算机科学学士学位的本科生。除了奖学金外，该项目还将为学者们提供重要的学术和个人支持，提高他们在数据科学和统计方面的技能，并扩大他们的量化能力。因此，预计学者们将在学术和职业方面扩大可能性。S-STEM项目将在大学一年级招收学生，并为他们提供长达三年的支持。除了每年高达7 000美元的奖学金外，该项目的一个关键组成部分是开发一门新课程，以弥合传统的统计学第一课程(以社会科学为基础)和统计建模第一课程之间的差距。这门新课程将向学生介绍统计计算和数据科学的核心原理，让他们访问和分析真实数据，回答他们认为令人信服的问题。该项目还包括补充指导和广泛的辅导。该项目将与圣奥拉夫学院的三人计划协调努力，包括麦克奈尔学者计划。参与的学生还将被招募加入圣奥拉夫跨学科研究中心(DMS-1045015)，该中心在数学科学以外的学科的教员的指导下进行定量分析。一个由来自区域行业的个人组成的咨询委员会将帮助确定学者的实习机会，并将支持他们在毕业后进入数据密集型职业。该项目将评估旨在提高数据密集型STEM领域持久性的教学和学术支持战略的有效性。这些发现将有助于关于如何最好地支持来自低收入家庭的STEM学生取得成功的全国性讨论。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Throughout its five years of funding, this project will provide 30 low-income students with approximately 85 annual scholarships. The Scholars will be undergraduates who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in mathematics or computer science. In addition to scholarships, this project will provide Scholars with critical academic and personal support, will enhance their skills in data science and statistics, and will expand their quantitative competency. As a result, it is expected that the Scholars will have expanded academic and career possibilities. This S-STEM project will recruit students during their first year of college and support them for up to three years. In addition to scholarships of up to $7,000 per year, a key component of the project is development of a new course that bridges the gap between the traditional first course in statistics (which is social sciences-based) and the first course in statistical modeling. This new course will introduce students to statistical computing and the core principles of data science, as they access and analyze real data to answer questions that they find to be personally compelling. The project also features Supplemental Instruction and extensive tutoring. The project will coordinate its efforts with St. Olaf College's TRIO programs, including the McNair Scholars Program. Participating students will also be recruited to join St. Olaf's Center for Interdisciplinary Research (DMS-1045015), which undertakes quantitative analyses guided by faculty from disciplines outside of the mathematical sciences. An advisory board consisting of individuals from area industries will help identify internship opportunities for Scholars and will support their entry into data-intensive careers after graduation. The project will assess the effectiveness of instruction and academic support strategies intended to increase persistence in data-intensive STEM fields. These findings will contribute to the national conversation about how best to support the success of STEM students from low income backgrounds.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.