Catalyst Award: Targeted Infusion Project: Advancing STEM Education Through Transportation Studies (TIP-ASETTS)

催化剂项目为历史上的黑人学院和大学提供支持，努力建立教师的研究能力，以加强科学，技术，工程和数学本科教育和研究。预计该奖项将进一步提高教师的研究能力，改善研究和教学机构，并参与本科生的研究经验。北卡罗来纳州农业技术州立大学（NCA T）的这个项目旨在为对运输行业感兴趣的学生创建一个数字徽章计划。拟议的工作有可能提高学生的技能，以提高交通运输行业技术机会的竞争力，并增加交通运输领域的多样性。它的意图是定位在P21框架，重点是装备学生的技能，他们需要成功的学校和他们的职业生涯在21世纪世纪。通过交通研究推进干教育（ASETTS）数字徽章计划的目标是通过旨在增加高技能的NCA T本科学生进入交通劳动力的数量的活动，以推进干教育的知识和理解。这一目标将通过以下方法实现：（a）创建一个可堆叠单元数字徽章计划，鼓励本科生沿着生活/职业、创新、技术和核心学科技能等各个方面提高技能;（B）增加参与交通研究经验和其他参与活动的本科生人数，这些活动将使学生获得就业机会在运输方面;（c）建立一个专业人员对学生和学生对学生的指导方案，以及（d）更新现有课程，包括旨在培养运输劳动力所需的具体能力的活动。一个成功实施的计划有可能作为一个案例研究，通过一个可堆叠的单元数字徽章计划，以提高学生在教育活动中的参与能力进行评估。通过关注不同STEM专业的学生，拟议的计划将是独特和新颖的，因为它将培养学生的竞争技能，如主动性和自我指导，并向他们介绍交通创新和技术。这些研究项目旨在涵盖运输领域的不同主题领域，包括运输需求管理，优化，新兴技术和人为因素。最后，通过整合P21和交通课程中的体验式学习成分，沿着导师活动，ASETTS计划旨在创新现有的课程，并提供更多的，所需的支持网络，以促进学生的成功，在干学科谁希望在交通行业的职业生涯代表不足。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估支持使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to work towards establishing the research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. This project at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) intends to create a digital badging program for students interested in the transportation industry. The proposed work has the potential to increase student skillsets to increase competitiveness for technical opportunities in the transportation industry and increase diversity in the transportation field. It is the intent to position the proposed work in the P21 framework which focuses on equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in school and their careers in the 21st century.The goal of the Advancing STEM Education Through Transportation Studies (ASETTS) digital badge program is to advance knowledge and understanding within STEM education through activities designed to increase the number of highly skilled NCA&T undergraduate students entering the transportation workforce. This goal will be achieved by using the following approach: (a) creating a stackable-units digital badge program that encourages undergraduate students to increase their skillsets along various dimensions such as life/career, innovation, technology, and core subject matter skills; (b) increasing the number of undergraduate students participating in transportation research experiences and other engaging activities that will expose students to career opportunities in transportation; (c) establishing a professional-to-student and student-to-student mentorship program, and (d) updating current courses by including activities designed to develop specific competencies needed in the transportation workforce. A successfully implemented program has the potential to serve as a case study through which the ability of a stackable-units digital badge program to increase students’ engagement in educational activities will be evaluated. By focusing on students across different STEM majors, the proposed program will be unique and novel in that it will develop students’ competitive skillsets such as initiative and self-direction as well as introduce them to transportation innovations and technologies. The research projects intend to cover diverse topic areas within the transportation domain including transportation demand management, optimization, emerging technologies, and human factors. Finally, through the integration of the P21 and experiential learning components in transportation courses along with the mentorship activities, the ASETTS program aims to innovate existing curricula and provide a much-needed support network to facilitate the success of students underrepresented in STEM disciplines who desire a career in the transportation industry.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.