Supporting Biology and Neuroscience Undergraduates with Scholarships and Development of Science Identity, Belonging, and Self-Efficacy

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在肯塔基州大学的经济需要。肯塔基州大学是联邦的旗舰机构，是一所公立赠地大学，为30，000多名学生提供服务。在六年的时间里，该项目旨在为45名攻读生物学或神经科学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级学生将获得四年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，包括指导，研究经验，实习机会，职业发展，研讨会和顶点体验，来提高学生在STEM领域的坚持性。队列活动将包括一个分层的指导系统，这将为S-STEM学者提供一个本科生同伴导师，一个研究生导师和一个教师导师。课程规划将跨越奖学金期间，从为S-STEM学者设计的大学学术方向的一部分开始，并以顶峰体验结束。学者将有机会在第一年和作为高年级学生与教师导师进行研究。编程包括与职业中心的合作伙伴关系，为完成学士学位后进入劳动力市场的学生提供新的实习机会和校友指导。旨在提高科学身份和自我效能的干预措施将贯穿整个课程。课外活动将建立社区，提供群组成员和导师之间的网络机会，并支持学生在更大的科学界的归属感。S-STEM计划有潜力帮助实现肯塔基州大学的使命，为S-STEM学者准备研究生和专业课程或进入劳动力市场。最终，这项工作可能会为促进本科STEM专业所有学生的成功，鼓励保留和学位进展提供扩展方法。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。该项目有三个具体目标：1）为有经济需要的学术人才生物学和神经科学本科生提供奖学金，2）实施循证课程和课外课程规划，以发展STEM技能，加强科学身份，归属感和自我效能感，以及3）产生将传播到更广泛的STEM教育社区的知识。心理社会因素，包括科学身份，归属感和自我效能感已知会影响STEM的持久性。重要的是，高影响力的做法，特别是指导和研究经验，已被证明是积极影响学生的自我信念和动机，从事干领域，特别是对学生谁一直代表性不足。该项目将研究一些高影响力的教育实践在促进科学自我效能，归属感和STEM身份方面的有效性。该项目将使用定量和定性措施相结合，包括调查，期刊和访谈来衡量STEM身份，归属感和自我效能感。在STEM领域的保留和持久性也将被跟踪。该计划有可能增加有效的课程和支持性学习实践的知识基础，并产生有关有效招聘和保留学术才华的低收入学生在STEM学科的知识。知识将通过演讲和出版物传播给校园领导以及更广泛的STEM教育社区。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。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术成功，保留，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 Kentucky. The University of Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s flagship institution, is a public land grant university that serves a diverse group of over 30,000 students. Over its six-year duration, this project aims to provide scholarships to 45 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology or Neuroscience. First year students will receive four years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, including mentoring, research experiences, internship opportunities, career development, workshops, and a capstone experience. Cohort activities will include a tiered mentoring system, which will provide S-STEM scholars with an undergraduate peer mentor, a graduate student mentor, and a faculty mentor. Curricular programming will span the scholarship period, beginning with a section of the university’s academic orientation designed for S-STEM scholars and culminating with a capstone experience. Scholars will have the opportunity to conduct research with a faculty mentor both during their first year and as upper-level students. Programming includes a partnership with the Career Center to offer new internship opportunities and alumni mentorship for students entering the workforce after completion of their bachelor’s degree. Interventions aimed to increase science identity and self-efficacy will be embedded throughout the curriculum. Co-curricular activities will build community, offer networking opportunities among cohort members and mentors, and support students’ sense of belonging in the larger scientific community. The S-STEM program has potential to help achieve the mission of the University of Kentucky by preparing S-STEM scholars for graduate and professional programs or to enter the workforce. Ultimately, this work is likely to inform expanded approaches for fostering the success of all students in undergraduate STEM majors, encouraging retention and degree progression. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has three specific aims: 1) provide scholarships for academically talented Biology and Neuroscience undergraduates with financial need, 2) implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular programming to develop STEM skills and strengthen science identity, belonging, and self-efficacy, and 3) generate knowledge that will be disseminated to the broader STEM education community. Psychosocial factors including science identity, belonging, and self-efficacy are known to affect STEM persistence. Importantly, high impact practices, especially mentoring and research experiences, have been shown to positively affect students’ self-beliefs and motivation to engage in STEM domains, particularly for students who have been historically underrepresented. This project will study the effectiveness of a number of high-impact educational practices in promoting science self-efficacy, belonging, and STEM identity. The project will be evaluated using a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures including surveys, journals, and interviews to measure STEM identity, belonging, and self-efficacy. Retention and persistence in STEM fields will also be tracked. This program has potential to increase the knowledge base of effective curricular and supportive learning practices and to generate knowledge about effective recruitment and retention of academically talented low-income students in STEM disciplines. Knowledge will be disseminated to campus leaders as well as the broader STEM education community through presentations and publications. 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.