Promoting Successful Outcomes for Diverse Computer Science Students through Mentored Professional Experiences

该项目将采用创新的方法进行专业指导和早期工作经验，以提高计算机科学专业本科生的成功率。虽然计算机科学（CS）本科课程的数量在过去十年中飙升，但黑人和拉丁裔学生成功完成CS学位的比例低于全国平均水平。研究指出，众所周知的“数字鸿沟”是一个因素，拉丁裔和黑人年轻人不太可能上过计算机科学课程，在某些情况下甚至不太可能广泛接触计算机。来自这些群体的进入计算机科学专业的学生报告说，他们对自己取得成功的能力的信心较低，这种信心往往被一种他们不属于这个领域的感觉放大了。该项目通过为学生提供与CS工作场所和专业人员有目的的结构化接触来解决这些问题。在“改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）计划”的支持下，国立路易斯大学和行业合作伙伴将设计并提供在专业环境中获得指导经验的机会，并通过后续指导会议来加强经验，并提供持续的鼓励和支持。这些经验将在高级实习之前进行，这可能是学生第一次接触CS专业的现实，为早期学生提供重要的工具和视角，以丰富他们在工作中的学术和专业经验。计算机科学行业的合作伙伴将获得文化响应辅导方面的培训，并将定期开会讨论他们的辅导经验和改进策略。这种伙伴关系模式将培养一批STEM公司骨干，这些公司有承诺和能力支持不同的STEM本科生作为实习生和早期专业人士，提供一种丰富的大学到工作场所合作模式，可以在广泛的机构中复制。本项目探讨的假设是，增加学生对文化响应的专业经验的早期接触，增加对学术和外部社区的参与，将加强他们的学术能动性，提高学术成果。学术代理是一种学生的信念，认为他们可以在工作中有效，并拥有成功所需的策略和资源的知识。混合方法研究工作将研究学术机构的发展，参与者通过项目指导的行业经验取得进展。由项目团队与行业和社区合作伙伴开发的培训材料和其他系统将广泛共享，支持在全国各机构复制项目模式。超过300名计算机科学和信息系统专业的本科生将参加指导的行业体验，估计其中160名学生将在项目过程中进入劳动力市场。项目校友将被邀请在与合作伙伴的会议上分享他们的观点和经验，这将支持不断改进项目活动和促进STEM劳动力多样性的努力。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，扩大STEM参与，并在HSI进行能力建设。考虑到hsi的多样性和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区转型，并促进基础研究(1)关于参与式学生学习，(2)关于如何有效地使STEM多样化和增加参与，以及(3)提高我们对如何在hsi建立机构能力的理解。HSI计划支持的项目也将借鉴这些方法，为如何实现这些目标提供新的知识。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。

This project will apply innovative approaches to professional mentoring and early workplace experiences to increase the success of diverse undergraduates in computer science programs. While the number of undergraduate computer science (CS) programs have skyrocketed over the past decade, the rates at which Black and Latinx students successfully complete CS degrees falls below the national average. Research points to the well-known ‘digital divide’ as a factor, with Latinx and Black youths less likely to have had computer science classes, or in some cases even extensive exposure to computers. Students from these groups who enter computer science programs report lower confidence in their abilities to succeed, which is often magnified by a sense that they do not belong in the field. This project addresses these issues by providing students with purposefully structured contact with CS worksites and professionals. With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, National Louis University and industry partners will design and offer opportunities for mentored experiences in professional settings, with follow-up mentoring sessions to reinforce the experiences and provide continued encouragement and support. These experiences will take place in advance of senior internships, which can be students' first exposure to the realities of CS professions, providing early students with important tools and perspective to enrich their academic and professional experiences in the workforce. Computer science industry partners will be provided with training in culturally-responsive mentoring and will regularly meet to discuss their mentoring experiences and refine strategies. This partnership model will develop a cadre of STEM companies that have the commitment and capacity to support diverse STEM undergraduates as interns and early professionals, providing a model of rich university-to-workplace collaborations that can be replicated at a breadth of institutions.This project explores the hypothesis that increasing students' early exposure to culturally-responsive professional experiences and increased participation in academic and external communities will strengthen their academic agency and improve academic outcomes. Academic agency is a student’s belief that they can be effective in their work and have the knowledge of strategies and resources needed to succeed. A mixed method research effort will study the development of academic agency as participants progress through the project’s mentored industry experiences. Training materials and other systems developed by the project team with industry and community partners will be shared widely, supporting replication of the project model at institutions nationwide. Over 300 undergraduates in computer science and information systems will participate in mentored industry experiences and an estimated 160 of those students will enter the workforce over the course of the project. Project alumni will be invited to share their perspectives and experiences at meetings with partners, which will support efforts to continuously improve the project activities and promote diversity in the STEM workforce. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.