Collaborative Research: Effects of Mentoring Relationship Heterogeneity on Student Outcomes among NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program Participants

理解指导关系对于增加STEM领域的多样性至关重要。德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校和犹他大学的研究人员提议在NSF本科生研究体验(REU)项目中研究导师关系不匹配对学生结果的影响。该项目旨在采用一种新的方法来研究辅导，通过检查多层次辅导以及学生和导师团队的人口统计数据。该项目旨在从来自全国各地的参与学生和导师那里收集数据，在暑期研究计划结束时和明年期间，以衡量与STEM兴趣、毅力和走STEM职业道路的意图有关的结果。该项目与EHR核心研究计划的目标一致，即应对STEM兴趣、学习和参与方面的挑战。该项目旨在解决三个相互关联的研究问题，包括指导关系异质性如何影响短期和中期学生的结果，这些影响是否可以通过导师和被辅导者之间的互动动态来调节，以及指导关系异质性如何在REU经历之后立即和一年后影响教育、研究和职业目标。背景下的指导关系异质性提供了一个概念框架，重点关注学生被指导者如何与多位导师匹配，包括研究生和博士后研究人员。课程异质性的概念将被用来衡量学生的人口背景和他们的REU项目的人口构成之间的差异。从改善研究指导经验中心(CIMER)收集的REU后调查将与半结构个人面试回答的矩阵分析一起使用。短期和中期的学生结果包括像科学家一样工作的直接收获，对科学技能的舒适感，科学认同感，对职业道路的明确性，研究效率，对STEM专业的坚持，以及攻读研究生的意图。该项目旨在增进对导师关系的了解，并旨在制作导师和学员研讨会，以积极影响来自代表性不足群体的本科生。该项目由EHR核心研究计划资助，该计划支持以STEM学习和学习环境、扩大对STEM的参与和STEM专业劳动力发展为重点的基础研究。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。

Understanding mentoring relationships is critical to increasing diversity in STEM fields. Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Utah propose to study the effects of mentor relationship mismatch on student outcomes during NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs. This project aims to employ a novel approach to studying mentoring by examining multilevel mentoring and demographics of students and the mentor team. The project aims to collect data from participating students and mentors from across the country at the end of the summer research program and during the next year to gauge outcomes related to STEM interest and persistence and intent to follow a STEM career pathway. This project aligns with the EHR Core Research program’s goal of addressing challenges in STEM interest, learning, and participation. The project aims to address three interrelated research questions, including how mentoring relationship heterogeneity impacts short-term and mid-term student outcomes, if these effects can be moderated by interactional dynamics between mentors and mentees, and how mentoring relationship heterogeneity impacts educational, research, and career goals immediately after the REU experience and after one year. Mentoring Relationship Heterogeneity in Context provides a conceptual framework focusing on how student mentees match with multiple mentors, including graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. The concept of programmatic heterogeneity will be used to measure the dissimilarity between students’ demographic background and the demographic composition of their REU program. Post-REU surveys collected from the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) data will be used along with a matrix analysis of semi-structure individual interview responses. Short-and mid-term student outcomes consist of immediate gains in working like a scientist, comfort with science skills, science identity, sense of clarity about career path, research productivity, persistence in STEM major, and intent to pursue graduate school. The project seeks to advance knowledge about mentoring relationships and aims to produce mentor and mentee workshops to positively impact undergraduate research students from underrepresented groups. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research program that supports fundamental research focused on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM professional workforce development.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.