Scholarships Combined with Targeted Support Services to Increase Student Success in STEM

美国国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）计划将支持迈阿密戴德学院宅基地校区（MDC-HC）中表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业。该项目旨在为至少60名有学术天赋且有经济需要的STEM学生提供总计300多个学期的奖学金。该项目分为三个阶段。在第一阶段，参与者将完成数学和学生生活技能的配对课程，通过该课程，他们将改善学习习惯、时间管理和其他技能，以增加他们的学术经验，提高他们在数学课程中的表现。在接下来的学期，参与者将进入“一步提升”阶段，在这个阶段，他们将应用在第一阶段获得的技能，并表现出在他们选择的STEM道路上取得成功的强烈动机。教师导师、顾问和讲师将在这一阶段解决支持学生动力和进步的需求。第三阶段，“走出”，将在大学的最后两个学期进行，包括对大学和STEM雇主的实地考察，STEM专业人士的演讲，研究经验，以及转学到四年制大学的帮助。该项目将进行一项研究，以解决以下问题：(1)将有学分的数学课程与学生生活技能课程配对是否会增加数学课程的成功？(2)该机构如何设计干预措施，帮助低收入学生保持足够的动力，在STEM道路上取得成功？(3)低收入家庭的天才学生在STEM职业道路上取得成功的最重要因素是什么，包括社会环境因素（如家庭的个人因素、家庭支持）和学术环境因素（如充分的建议、辅导）？(4)低收入、有学术天赋的STEM学生在接受STEM专项学术支持和职业相关干预后，其心理社会结构（如数学/科学自我效能感、科学认同和领导/团队合作自我效能感）如何随时间变化？该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program will support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the Miami Dade College Homestead Campus (MDC-HC). This project aims to award a total of more than 300 semester-long scholarships to at least 60 academically talented STEM students with financial need. The project has three phases. In the first phase, participants will complete a paired mathematics and Student Life Skills course, through which they will gain improved study habits, time management, and other skills to enhance their academic experience and improve their performance in the math course. The following term, participants enter the One Step Up phase, in which they will apply the skills acquired during the first phase and demonstrate a strong motivation to succeed in their chosen STEM pathway. Faculty mentors, advisors, and instructors will address needs to support student momentum and progression in this phase. The third phase, Stepping Out, will occur during the final two college terms and will include field trips to universities and STEM employers, presentations by STEM professionals, research experiences, and aid with transfer to four-year institutions.The project will conduct a research study to address the following questions: (1) Does the pairing of a credit-bearing mathematics course with a student life skills course increase the success in a mathematics course? (2) How can the institution design interventions that will help low-income students sustain sufficient motivation to succeed in STEM pathways? (3) What factors contribute most to the success of a talented student from a low-income family in a STEM career pathway, including factors in the social environment (e.g., personal factors at home, family support) and the academic environment (e.g., adequate advisement, tutoring)? and (4) How do psychosocial constructs (such as math/science self-efficacy, science identity, and leadership/teamwork self-efficacy) of low-income, academically talented STEM students change over time when they are provided STEM-specific academic supports and career related interventions?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.