Blended Learning in a Geographically Distributed Education System for Geomatics Students

该项目将通过支持佛罗里达大学有经济需要的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，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。在为期6年的时间里，该项目将为38名攻读测绘学学士学位的全日制和半全日制学生提供奖学金。三年级和四年级的学生，包括社区学院的转校生，将获得最多两年的奖学金。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，包括教师指导、有意建议、参与课外活动、专业培训和参加特定学科会议，来增加学生的入学率和对地理信息学的坚持。该项目建立在佛罗里达大学现有的地理分布混合地理信息教育系统的基础上，该系统在主校区和靠近该州最大人口中心的两个地点提供学位课程。转学生将从社区和州立大学招募，并提供支持服务，帮助学生成功过渡到佛罗里达大学并完成他们的地理信息学位。该项目引入了一种模式，该模式将改善四年制STEM学位课程、社区/州立大学和州一级工业专业人员之间的合作。通过研究混合学习和组织结构调整对低收入家庭学生参与和成功的影响，预计将产生新的知识。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、优秀本科生的STEM学位完成率。该项目旨在：增加地理分布教育系统中低收入地理信息专业学生的入学率；提供专业发展，帮助学生过渡到地理信息技术工作队伍；并通过研究影响低收入转校生录取和保留的因素产生新的认识。通过地理分布教育和混合教育系统的使用来适应组织结构，应该有助于改善STEM教育并克服转学生的系统障碍。需要进一步研究以了解组织结构适应、有意指导、参与课外活动和提供经济支持如何影响低收入学生在地理信息技术领域的参与和成功。本项目将确定影响低收入学生入学的障碍，促进学生进步的因素，以及采用混合地理分布式地理信息教育系统对学生成功的影响。在这个项目中收集的数据将被分析，以评估项目学者和其他学生在学位课程的差异。社会经济、组织结构、人口统计和地理相关因素将使用探索性、统计学和机器学习分析技术进行分析。该项目有潜力提供新的知识，了解具有财政、文化和专业支持的分布式教育系统如何影响低收入转学学生的招聘和STEM领域的进步，这将有利于地理信息技术教育和更广泛的STEM教育社区。研究结果将在教育和专业会议、讲习班和研讨会以及其他数字传播场所展示。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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 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 Florida. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 38 unique full time and half-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geomatics. Third- and fourth-year students, including transfer students from community colleges, will receive up to two-year scholarships. This project intends to increase student enrollment and persistence in geomatics by linking scholarships with effective support activities, including faculty mentoring, intentional advising, participation in co-curricular activities, professional training, and participation in discipline-specific conferences. This project builds on the existing geographically distributed blended geomatics education system at the University of Florida, which delivers the degree program at the main campus, and at two locations close to the largest population centers in the state. Transfer students will be recruited from community and state colleges and support services will be provided to help students have a successful transition to the University of Florida and complete their geomatics degree. This project introduces a model that will improve the collaboration between a four-year STEM degree program, community/state colleges, and professionals in industry at the state level. It is expected that new knowledge will be generated by studying the effects of blended learning and organizational structure accommodations on low-income student participation and success.The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion for low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. This project aims to: increase the enrollment of low-income geomatics students in a geographically distributed education system; provide professional development to help students transition to the geomatics workforce; and generate new knowledge by studying factors affecting recruitment and retention of low-income transfer students. Organizational structure adaptations through geographically distributed education and the use of a blended education system should help improve STEM education and overcome systemic barriers for transfer students. Further study is warranted to understand how organizational structure adaptation, intentional mentoring, participation in co-curricular activities, and providing financial support can affect low-income students’ participation and success in the geomatics technology field. This project will identify the barriers affecting the enrollment of low-income students, the factors contributing to student advancement, and the effects of adopting a blended geographically distributed geomatics education system on student success. The data collected in this project will be analyzed to assess differences between project scholars and other students in the degree program. Socioeconomic, organizational structure, demographic, and geographic related factors will be analyzed using exploratory, statistical, and machine learning analysis techniques. This project has the potential to contribute new knowledge about how a distributed education system with financial, cultural, and professional support will affect low-income transfer student recruitment and advancement in STEM fields, which will benefit geomatics technology education and the broader STEM education community. The results will be presented at education and professional conferences, workshops, and seminars as well as other digital dissemination venues. 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.