NSF INCLUDES DDLP:Diversifying Access to Urban Universities for Students in STEM Fields

许多城市大学提供大学前STEM课程，旨在扩大STEM的参与度。这些计划旨在增加学生的科学知识和技能，促进STEM参与，提高自我效能，并为未得到充分服务和代表性不足的少数族裔高中学生在本科课程中取得成功做好准备。然而，即使在这些项目中展示了显著的知识收获和成功，学生们往往也无法证实他们的知识收获，从而无法在大学申请中获得有利的考虑。事实上，目前还没有系统的资格认证机制来评估和验证STEM大学预科计划的科学严谨性和能力增长。这项NSF包括设计和开发启动试点旨在通过开发和测试四个STEM大学预科课程的证书和徽章流程来解决这一差距。匹兹堡大学与学院招生官员和项目合作伙伴合作，努力采用协作影响方法来构建和记录支持STEM大学预科课程认证过程所需的协作基础设施。这将促进网络改进社区的发展，支持工作的方方面面，从参与者支持到协作影响，再到参与试点的城市教育大学生态系统的更大网络。在两年的时间里，这项试点将研究一种机制，以加强STEM途径，让处境不利和代表性不足的少数族裔学生进入中学后STEM课程，并最终进入STEM职业生涯。该技术方法以两个社会创新理论为基础，将侧重于四个具体目标：(1)创建一个社区参与框架，以招募服务不足和代表性不足的高中生参加STEM大学预科项目；(2)开发STEM成功矩阵，确定学生在STEM预科项目中获得的学生能力，为学生在STEM大学期间取得成功做准备；(3)使用STEM成功矩阵为大学预科计划提供证书；以及(4)使用STEM成功矩阵，为大学预科项目参与者开发学生徽章系统。匹兹堡大学的四个STEM预科项目将作为开发和测试的背景，由代表更广泛的匹兹堡STEM生态系统的一系列合作伙伴提供支持。预计将有大约300名高中生参加这项试点，涵盖四个大学预科项目。数据将通过参与者调查和访谈收集。形成性和总结性评价将由一名有经验的外部评价人员进行。将使用各种平台和机制开发和传播可共享的指标、工具和流程。如果成功，这项试点可能会带来革命性的变化--通过认证STEM大学预科课程来改变招生考虑，并通过学生徽章增加学生对STEM的兴趣和动力。它还将通过创建从大学预科到本科生录取并最终进入STEM职业生涯的重要途径，改变由服务不足和代表性不足的少数族裔学生组成的STEM生态系统。这一试点可以作为与其他城市教育生态系统建立更广泛联盟的基线，或帮助其他有兴趣建立自己的协作基础设施和网络改进社区模式的人实现类似的结果。

Many urban universities offer precollege STEM programs aimed at broadening participation in STEM. These programs are designed to increase students' scientific content knowledge and skills, promote STEM engagement, increase self-efficacy, and prepare underserved and underrepresented minority high school students for success in undergraduate programs. However, even after demonstrating significant knowledge gains and success in these programs, students are often unable to authenticate their knowledge gains to receive favorable consideration on college applications. In fact, there is currently no systematic credentialing mechanism to assess and validate the scientific rigor of and competency gains within STEM precollege programs for college admissions purposes. This NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilot seeks to address this gap by developing and testing credentialing and badging processes for four STEM precollege programs. Working with College Admissions Officers and project partners, the University of Pittsburgh endeavors to employ a collaborative impact approach to build and document the collaborative infrastructure needed to support STEM precollege program authentication processes. This will seed the development of a networked improvement community that supports all aspects of the work from participant support to the collaborative impact to the greater network of urban education university ecosystems involved in the pilot. Over a two-year period, this pilot will examine a mechanism to strengthen the STEM pathway for disadvantaged and underrepresented minority students to enter postsecondary STEM programs and eventually STEM careers. Building on two social innovation theories, the technical approach will focus on four specific aims: (1) create a community engagement framework to recruit underserved and underrepresented high school students to STEM precollege programs, (2) develop a STEM Success Matrix that identifies student competencies acquired in precollege programs that prepare students for collegiate success in STEM, (3) credential precollege programs using the STEM Success Matrix, and (4) develop a student badging system for precollege program participants using the STEM Success Matrix. Four University of Pittsburgh STEM precollege programs will serve as the context for development and testing with support from a range of partners representing the broader Pittsburgh STEM ecosystem. Approximately 300 high school students are expected to participate in the pilot, across the four precollege programs. Data will be collected via participant surveys and interviews. Formative and summative evaluations will be conducted by an experienced, external evaluator. Shareable metrics, tools, and processes will be developed and disseminated using various platforms and mechanisms. If successful, this pilot could be transformative - changing admissions considerations by credentialing STEM precollege programs and increasing student interest and motivation in STEM through student badging. It would also transform the STEM ecosystem of underserved and underrepresented minority students by creating an important STEM pathway from precollege to undergraduate admissions and ultimately, STEM Careers. This pilot could serve as a baseline for a more expansive alliance with other urban education ecosystems or assisting others interested in establishing their own collaborative infrastructure and networked improvement community model to achieve similar results.