Improving Student Success in Science and Mathematics through Mentoring and Research Engagement

该项目将通过支持加州大学默塞德分校高成就、低收入、有经济需求的学生的留校和毕业，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。加州大学默塞德分校是一所服务拉美裔、少数族裔、亚裔美国人和太平洋原住民的服务机构，总部设在加利福尼亚州中部的圣华金河谷，服务于一批有才华的学生，包括74%的第一代学生、符合资格的学生以及58%来自STEM学科代表性不足的群体。在为期6年的时间里，该项目将为30名正在攻读应用数学、生物、化学、环境科学或物理学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。一年级学生将获得为期四年的奖学金，以专注于教育目标，建立STEM认同感，并坚持到毕业。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与学术支持、早期研究机会的资金和指导、同行队列中的社区发展以及丰富活动联系起来，增加STEM领域的学生留存率。作为一所较新的研究型大学，服务于高度多样化和大多数的第一代学生和符合佩尔资格的学生，该项目将通过提高学者在STEM专业的坚持性并为他们进入研究生院和STEM职业生涯做好准备，显著改变他们的教育轨迹。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的STEM学位毕业率。通过认真和有意地将现有的学生服务和促进学生成功的循证实践相结合，该项目将：(I)创建一个四年计划，以促进学生对研究的兴趣，将学生与研究机会联系起来，并为毕业工作/STEM职业生涯做好准备；(Ii)提供课程和共同课程活动，以提高学术成就、坚持性和保持性，并及时在STEM学科毕业；(Iii)提供课程和共同课程活动，以促进STEM身份和自我效能；以及(Iv)通过学习社区和同行、近同行和教师导师支持学生的成功。确定哪些因素最有助于在STEM职业生涯中形成科学认同感和最终的坚持性，特别是对于STEM中代表性不足的群体的学生来说，仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。对学生在学位课程期间的态度和坚持性的评估将促进科学教育界对两个具体研究问题的理解：早期研究经验和相关项目元素在多大程度上促进了STEM认同感、自我效能和STEM代表性不足群体的坚持性？在促进STEM认同感、自我效能感和坚持不懈方面，综合教师和同伴指导和支持系统的哪些组成部分最有效？所产生的知识将通过在科学教育会议和期刊出版物上发表演讲来广泛传播。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。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业成功、留住、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优势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 California, Merced. UC Merced is a Hispanic-Serving (HSI), Minority-Serving (MSI), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) based in the San Joaquin Valley in central California, serving a talented population of students including 74% first-generation, 64% Pell eligible, and 58% from groups underrepresented in STEM disciplines. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for 30 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in applied mathematics, biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, or physics. First-year students will receive scholarships for four years to focus on educational goals, build STEM identity, and persist to graduation. The project aims to increase student retention in STEM fields by linking scholarships with academic support, funding and mentoring for early research opportunities, community development in peer cohorts, and enrichment activities. As a newer research university serving a highly diverse and majority first generation and Pell-eligible students, this project will make a significant difference in the educational trajectories of scholars by increasing their persistence in STEM majors and preparing them for graduate school and STEM careers. Lessons learned will help support future UC Merced STEM majors beyond the grant period, broaden the existing knowledge base, and inform other institutions looking to identify successful models for student pathways to graduate school and academic excellence.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high- achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Through careful and intentional integration of existing student services and evidence-based practices for student success, this project will: (i) create a four-year program that promotes student interest in research, connects students to research opportunities, and increases readiness for graduate work/STEM career; (ii) offer curricular and co-curricular activities to increase academic success, persistence and retention, and timely graduation in STEM disciplines; (iii) offer curricular and co-curricular activities to promote STEM identity and self-efficacy; and (iv) support student success with learning communities and peer, near-peer, and faculty mentors. Establishing which factors best contribute to the formation of a science identity and ultimate persistence in STEM careers, particularly for students from groups underrepresented in STEM, remains an open question. Assessment of student attitudes and persistence during their degree program will advance the science education community’s understanding on two specific research questions: To what extent do early research experiences and related program elements promote STEM identity, self-efficacy, and persistence of students from groups underrepresented in STEM? What components of a comprehensive faculty and peer mentoring and support system are most effective in promoting STEM identity, self-efficacy, and persistence of students from groups underrepresented in STEM? Knowledge generated will be disseminated broadly, through presentations at science education conferences and journal 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.