Innovation Training and Scholarships To Improve Student Retention and Graduation in STEM Fields

该项目将为国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献，方法是支持阿肯色大学这所综合性研究型大学留住并毕业有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生。在为期五年的时间里，该项目将向32名正在攻读数据科学、计算机科学、工程、化学和生物化学、物理、数学和/或生物学非医学领域学士学位的独特全日制学生提供奖学金。奖学金将分成两组，每组16名一年级学生，将获得长达四年的奖学金支持。不同的背景和不同的生活经历对科学创新至关重要。该项目旨在增加接受过专门创新培训的低收入STEM毕业生的数量，这有助于增加STEM创新者的经济多样性。这些创新课程是这个项目的一个新特点。这些课程将吸引学者与多学科团队和行业合作，从而帮助他们发展对现实世界创新原则和实践的理解。以前实施的和基于证据的留校和毕业倡议将用于提高学者的学术成就。该项目有可能扩大对STEM领域下一代创新者的参与，从而对阿肯色州和全国产生积极的经济影响。该项目的成果将有助于扩展有关STEM创新者发展的有限STEM教育文献，并为培养有兴趣成为STEM创新者的学生提供关于有效学术计划的见解。该项目的总体目标是增加低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。该项目的具体目标是：1)招募多样化的STEM学者；2)通过教育经验提高学者的创新技能；3)开发包括行业合作在内的三个新的创新课程；4)提高学者的学术成就；5)使用循证策略提高对毕业的坚持性，以最大限度地减少经济、社会和学术障碍。该项目将提供创新培训，这在目前的STEM课程中是不常见的。通过评估当前和不断发展的环境、课程和计划，该项目将提供关于提高学者创新能力的因素的见解，并将通过开发和评估旨在发展学者创新技能的教育举措来促进知识体系的发展。本研究可为培养创新型STEM学生提供有效的教学策略和培养方法。项目评估将使用混合方法来检查项目在获得奖学金、学业成绩、留存和毕业等方面朝着年度基准进展的程度。项目成果将通过STEM教育会议和出版物与STEM教育界分享；b)通过报告和简报与政策制定者和普通公众分享；以及c)通过方便读者的信息图表、报告和专业交流与社区和家庭分享。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学业成功、留住、转移、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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 will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Arkansas, a comprehensive research university. Over its five-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 32 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, physics, math and/or non-medical areas of biology. The Scholars will enter in two cohorts of 16 first-year students and receive up four years of scholarship support. Diversity of backgrounds and varied life experiences are critical to scientific innovation. This project aims to increase the number of low-income STEM graduates with specific training in innovation, which can help increase the economic diversity of STEM innovators. These innovation courses are a novel feature of this project. The courses will engage Scholars with multi-disciplinary teams and industry collaboration, thus helping them develop an understanding of real-world innovation principles and practices. Previously implemented and evidence-based retention and graduation initiatives will be used to improve Scholars’ academic success. This project has the potential to broaden participation in the next generation of innovators in STEM fields and thus have a positive economic impact on Arkansas and the nation. Results from this project will help expand the limited STEM education literature regarding the development of STEM innovators and provide insights on effective academic programs for educating students interested in becoming STEM innovators. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific aims of this project are to: 1) recruit a diverse body of STEM Scholars; 2) improve Scholars’ innovation skills through educational experiences; 3) develop three new innovation courses that include industry collaboration; 4) enhance Scholars’ academic achievement; and 5) increase persistence to graduation using evidence-based strategies to minimize financial, social, and academic barriers. This project will provide innovation training, which is not typically found in current STEM curricula. By assessing the current and evolving environment, courses, and programs, this project will provide insights about factors that improve Scholars’ ability to innovate and will advance the body of knowledge by developing and evaluating education initiatives designed to develop Scholars’ innovation skills. This study could provide insights on effective teaching strategies and training methods for cultivating innovative STEM students. The project evaluation will use a mixed methods approach to examine the extent to which the project is progressing toward its annual benchmarks in terms of awarded scholarships, academic performance, retention, and graduation. Project results will be shared with a) the STEM education community through STEM education conferences and publications; b) policymakers and the general public through reports and briefings; and c) communities and families via reader-friendly infographics, reports, and professional communications. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.