Preparing a Skilled Technical Workforce through Utilization and Assessment of Undergraduate Research

该项目的基础是有证据表明，早期沉浸在有指导的体验式学习中，例如本科生的研究经历，可以提高学生在STEM方面的毅力，完成STEM认证，并进入技术劳动力大军。由于许多两年制大学的研究经验可能有限，这些机构的学生将受益于更多参与真实研究经验的机会。在美国，培养足够多的为先进技术行业做好准备的熟练技术工人已经成为国家的优先事项，对美国来说，保持其在科学技术方面的全球领先地位至关重要。社区和技术学院在满足这一需求方面发挥着至关重要的作用，特别是为那些具备进入技术劳动力大军或转到四年制大学获得STEM学士学位的学生做好准备。培养国家需要的STEM专业人才的一个有效和快速的方法是提高社区大学生在STEM领域的毅力。该项目建议通过为社区学院的学生提供更多的本科生研究经验来实现这一目标。这些研究经验有望帮助学生获得更深层次的STEM知识和技能，提高他们的学术成就，并使他们能够发展进入STEM技术工作队伍所需的高度重视的专业技能。该项目将建立在三个不同目标的基础上：(1)向大量STEM学生提供真实的本科研究经验，以帮助增强他们对STEM职业的兴趣，并获得在技术工作场所至关重要的专业技能；(2)修改评估工具EvaluateUR，以用于较短(8周)的夏季研究经验；(3)实施EvaluateUR，评估学生通过参与本科生研究经历而获得的学科和专业技能的智力成长和发展情况。该项目与高级技术教育计划的目标相一致，并利用了加州大学欧文分校的大量研究设施和资源，以及通过纽约州立大学布法罗州立大学和卡尔顿学院科学教育资源中心提供的修改和实施EvaluateUR的技术资源和支持。将招募四组20名STEM学生，并参与本科生的研究体验。学生和教师导师将使用修改后的EvalateUR工具进行评估。这一工具已被证明可以衡量一系列理想的结果，其中既包括内容知识，也包括对工作场所至关重要的结果，包括沟通技能、解决障碍的能力、解决问题的技能和批判性思维。该项目将致力于通过支持招募女性、退伍军人、首次大学生、种族和少数民族的活动来确保教育公平；这些群体代表着重要的、有才华的STEM人才库，有助于发展国家的技术劳动力。项目成果将通过一个专门的网站发布，并在地方和地区会议上发表演讲，包括ATE首席调查人员会议、美国社区学院协会年会和本科生研究理事会会议。所有社区学院和其他有兴趣让学生参与类似研究经历的学术机构，很可能会对实施该项目时学到的经验感兴趣。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。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。

This project builds upon the evidence that early immersion in mentored experiential learning, such as an undergraduate research experience, increases student persistence in STEM, completion of STEM certifications, and entry into the technical workforce. Since research experiences may be limited at many two-year college campuses, students at these institutions would benefit from expanded opportunities to engage in authentic research experiences. Educating enough skilled technical workers who are prepared for advanced technology industries has become a national priority in the United States, and it is essential for the country to retain its global leadership in science and technology. Community and technical colleges play a vital role in meeting this demand, especially for preparing students who are well qualified to enter the technical workforce or transfer to a four-year university to earn STEM baccalaureate degrees. An efficient and rapid way to produce the STEM professionals that the nation needs would be to increase community college student persistence in STEM fields. This project proposes to achieve that goal by providing more undergraduate research experiences to community college students. The research experiences are expected to help students gain deeper STEM knowledge and skills, to increase their academic success, and to enable them to develop the highly valued professional skills needed to enter the STEM technical workforce.The project will build on three distinct goals: (1) providing authentic undergraduate research experiences to a large number of STEM students to help strengthen their interest in STEM careers and gain professional skills that are critically important in the technical workplace; (2) modifying an assessment tool, EvaluateUR, for use in shorter (8-week) summer research experiences; and (3) implementing EvaluateUR to assess the intellectual growth and development in the students’ disciplinary and professional skills acquired through participating in the undergraduate research experiences. The project is aligned with the goals of the Advanced Technological Education program and leverages the vast research facilities and resources at the University of California, Irvine, together with the technical resources and support for modifying and implementing EvaluateUR available through SUNY-Buffalo State and the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. Four cohorts of 20 STEM students will be recruited and engaged in an undergraduate research experience. Student and faculty mentors will be assessed using the modified EvaluateUR tool. This tool has been shown to measure a broad range of desirable outcomes that include both content knowledge and the outcomes that are critically important in the workplace, including communication skills, ability to solve obstacles, problem solving skills and critical thinking. The project will work to ensure educational equity through activities that support the recruitment of women, veterans, first-time college students, racial and ethnic minorities; these groups represent an important, talented STEM pool for growing the nation's technological workforce. The project outcomes will be published through a dedicated website, presentations at local and regional conferences, including the ATE Principal Investigators Conference, the American Association of Community Colleges annual convention, and the Council on Undergraduate Research Conference. The lessons learned while implementing this project will likely be of interest to all community colleges and other academic institutions with an interest in engaging students in similar research experiences. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.