Broadening Participation Research: Strategic Application of Science Capital to Increase African-American Students' Motivation, Retention and Persistence in STEM at an HBCU

北卡罗来纳州a&t州立大学的研究人员将研究在多大程度上可以利用学生科学资本的制度知识来增强他们对STEM的动机、坚持和坚持。他们假设，学生的科学资本知识可以作为一种强大的工具，为开发新的教学方法、学习策略和STEM干预措施提供信息，从而促进学业成功。本研究将探讨的科学资本的八个维度包括：科学素养；与科学有关的态度、价值观和性情；关于科学可转移性的知识；科学媒体消费；参与校外科学学习；家庭科学技能、知识和资格；认识从事科学相关工作的人；在日常生活中谈论科学。基本假设是，学生拥有的科学资本的八个定义维度越多，学生就越有可能拥有积极的科学认同，并继续本科后的教育。拟议中的项目是第一个将科学资本作为促进传统黑人学院和大学坚持STEM的工具进行调查的项目。该项目将对学生的动机和经验产生新的见解，教师可以利用这些见解来个性化和本地化科学教学。研究人员将采用混合方法和准实验设计来开发一种可推广的工具来测量学生的科学资本，并利用该工具为课程改革提供信息，以扩大STEM的参与。指导数据收集和分析的研究问题是：(1)以文献和现有措施为指导，开发什么样的评估工具可以充分捕捉学生的科学资本，并对HBCU社区学生带来的独特资产、兴趣和经验敏感？(2)专注于理解、测量、整合和促进学生科学资本的教师发展在多大程度上影响了资产心态的发展，并激发了课程设计和教学交付的变化？(3)对学生科学资本意识的公开关注——针对教师和学生——如何影响学生对STEM的兴趣、参与和坚持？研究人员将开发一项科学资本调查并建立一个评估学生科学资本水平的量表，为教师提供基于资产的思维发展，以促进围绕学生科学资本的新项目开发，并在一门课程中试点科学资本清单的应用，以测试其对学生参与的潜力。通过将数据收集和分析与项目实施活动相结合，研究人员将获得回答研究问题所需的信息，同时与相关群体分享信息和发现。该项目由历史上的黑人学院和大学（HBCU-UP）计划支持，扩大STEM教育研究的参与，重点是创建和调查与STEM教育和劳动力中代表性不足群体参与相关的新的理论驱动模型和创新。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。

Researchers at North Carolina A&T State university will examine the extent to which institutional knowledge of students' science capital can be leveraged to enhance their motivation, persistence, and persistence in STEM. They hypothesize that knowledge of students' science capital can be used as a powerful tool to inform the development of novel teaching approaches, learning strategies, and STEM interventions that will promote academic success. The eight dimensions of science capital that the study will address include science literacy; science-related attitudes, values, and dispositions; knowledge about the transferability of science; science media consumption; participation in out-of-school science learning contexts; family science skills, knowledge and qualifications; knowing people in science-related roles; and talking about science in everyday life. The underlying assumption is that the more of the eight defined dimensions of science capital that a student possesses, the more likely the student will have a positive science identity and will continue post-undergraduate education. The proposed project is the first to investigate science capital as a tool to promote STEM persistence at a Historically Black College and University. The project will produce new insights into student motivations and experiences that faculty can use to personalize and localize science instruction.Researchers will employ a mixed-methods and a quasi-experimental design to develop a generalizable instrument to measure students' science capital and use this instrument to inform curricular changes to broaden participation in STEM. The research questions that will guide data collection and analysis are: (1) Using the literature and existing measures as a guide, what kinds of assessment tools can be developed that sufficiently capture students' science capital and are sensitive to the unique assets, interests, and experiences brought by students in HBCU communities? (2) To what extent does faculty development focused on understanding, measuring, incorporating, and promoting students' science capital influence the development of an asset mindset and motivate changes in curriculum design and instructional delivery? (3) How does an overt focus promoting awareness of students' science capital - directed toward both faculty and students - impact student interest, engagement, and persistence in STEM? The researchers will develop a science capital survey and establish a scale to assess students' science capital level, provide faculty development in asset-based thinking to promote novel program development around student science capital, and pilot the application of science capital inventory in one course to test its potential for student engagement. By coupling data collection and analysis with program implementation activities, researchers will obtain the information needed to answer the research questions and simultaneously share information and findings with relevant groups in context.This project is supported by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU-UP) program, Broadening Participation in STEM Education Research track, that focuses on the creation and investigation of new theory-driven models and innovations relevant to the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM education and the workforce.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.