Expanding Opportunities for the Success of Deaf and Hard of Hearing STEM majors

该项目将通过支持在加劳德特大学表现出经济需求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。加劳德特大学是世界上唯一一所为聋哑和听力障碍（DHH）学生而设立的文科大学，其双语使命是使用美国手语（ASL）和英语进行教学。该大学为DHH学生提供了巨大的支持，并处于有利地位，可以增加DHH个人在STEM劳动力中的数量。在为期六年的时间里，该项目将为32名攻读生物、化学、数学或信息技术学士学位的全日制或非全日制学生提供奖学金。所有年级的学生，包括转学生，都有资格申请S-STEM奖学金。一年级学生将获得最多四年的奖学金支持，转学生将获得最多两年的奖学金。该项目将通过诸如指导、辅导、研究生课程准备、会议演讲和支持美国手语无障碍环境等支持活动，增加DHH在STEM领域的学生数量。该项目的意义在于生成以stem为重点的语言内容，并改进DHH学生的课程。这种支持性的环境将有助于增加这些专业的毕业生数量，并为学生进入STEM研究生院和职业生涯做好准备。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。该项目的具体目标是增加和留住DHH在STEM专业的学生，为学生提供学术和健康支持，改善学生使用美国手语的机会，并为学生从事STEM职业做好准备。DHH本科生在STEM领域的数量很低，这导致DHH个体在STEM中的代表性不足。有几个因素导致了这种代表性不足，其中最主要的是语言和文化障碍。加劳德特大学可以解决这些因素，并为STEM专业的学生提供指导经验和支持活动。在项目结束时，DHH STEM专业学生将获得在主要听力环境中成功从事STEM职业的技能。该项目还旨在将STEM专业的毕业率提高50%。该项目将使用定性和定量数据进行评估，结果将通过科学、技术、无障碍、数学和公共卫生学院网站、同行评审出版物以及以STEM或聋人和重听教育为重点的国家会议进行传播。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 Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University is the world’s only liberal arts university established to accommodate Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students and its bilingual mission states that both American Sign Language (ASL) and English are used for instruction. The University provides tremendous support to DHH students and is well-positioned to increase the number of DHH individuals in the STEM workforce. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 32 full-time or part-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Information Technology. Students of all years, including transfer students, are eligible to apply for the S-STEM scholarship. First-year students will receive up to four years of scholarship support and transfer students will receive up to two-year scholarships. This project will increase the number of DHH students in STEM through support activities such as mentoring, tutoring, preparation for graduate programs, presenting at conferences, and supporting an ASL accessible environment. The significance of the project is to generate STEM-focused linguistic content and improve the curriculum specific for DHH students. This type of supportive environment will help to increase the number of graduates in these majors and prepare students for STEM graduate school and careers.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific goals of the project are to increase and retain DHH students in STEM majors, provide academic and wellness support to the students, improve ASL access to the students and prepare students for STEM careers. The number of DHH undergraduates in STEM fields is low which leads to an underrepresentation of DHH individuals in STEM. Several factors contribute to this underrepresentation, chief among them being linguistic and cultural barriers. Gallaudet University can address these factors and provide mentoring experiences and support activities for STEM majors. At the end of the project, DHH STEM majors will gain skills to be successful in STEM careers that are in primarily hearing environments. The project also aims to increase the graduation rates of the STEM majors by 50%. The project will be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative data and the results will be disseminated through the School of Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics and Public Health website, through peer reviewed publications, and at national conferences focused on STEM or deaf and hard of hearing education. 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.