A Holistic Two-Generation Approach to Improving STEM Education Outcomes in the South Bronx

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。该项目旨在通过解决学生家长在完成本科生STEM学位时的迫切需求来服务于国家利益。该项目将支持纽约州立大学霍斯托斯社区学院的学生家长，这是一所位于南布朗克斯的两年制拉美裔服务机构(HSI)。学生家长占该机构学生总数的近三分之一。HOSTOS OASIS for Parents‘Education(HOPE)是一个面向准备上大学的父母和他们的孩子的完整的两代(2Gen)STEM暑期计划。它将为学生家长提供平等的STEM职业道路和两年制学位完成机会，同时为他们的K-8学龄前儿童提供强大的夏季STEM学院体验。HOPE将结合一个三维(3D)整体支持模式，专注于三个不同的领域：家庭、学术和社会/专业支持。该项目将使用这种支持模式来解决学业熟练的学生家长遇到的许多障碍。这些障碍包括“时间匮乏”，没有足够的时间用于大学、工作和家庭。虽然学生家长完成大学学业的动机很强，但他们作为父母的角色大大增加了他们在没有学位的情况下离开大学的可能性。兼职状态通常会使他们无法参加现有的支持计划。通过利用经验学习机会(ELOS)等高质量的循证实践和循证项目，这一变革性的项目旨在促进人们对HOPE模式是否可以改善社区大学学生家长及其子女的STEM教育的质量和可及性的理解。项目成果有可能改善经常被忽视的人口获得高质量STEM教育的机会。对于一个受疫情影响不成比例的社区来说，这种全面干预可能是后新冠肺炎时代的一项至关重要的缓解战略。该项目的目标是：(I)通过STEM和社会科学的STEM教育，系统地改进社区大学的本科STEM教育；(Ii)为K-8年级前的儿童提供高质量的STEM体验；(Iii)创建一个开源的STEM工具包，并附带一个职业发展序列；(Iv)通过招募Hostos学生家长及其子女，他们主要是种族/少数民族，促进多样性、公平和包容性，特别是针对受司法影响的学生家长；以及(V)就HOPE的3D模式的有效性提供新的知识。这项全面而全面的第二代计划将在第一年招收22名学生家长和大约42名儿童，并每年增加容量。大约450名参与者将在五年内受益于HOPE计划，其中包括学生家长、儿童、教师(K-8学前班)、大学教职员工和本科生。该项目的有效性将使用混合方法进行评估，利用定量和定性研究，包括计划前和计划后的调查、焦点小组以及一组教师和教职员工的同行观察。一个在项目评估、在线教育和向有学习差异的中学生教授STEM方面拥有专业知识的团队将提供持续评估，作为我们流程开发和评估的一部分。关于HOPE 3D模型的研究将通过项目网站、会议讲习班和演示文稿以及同行评议文章进行传播。NSF关于在两年制高等教育机构推进本科STEM教育的创新和影响的项目描述支持在两年制大学推进STEM教育倡议的项目。该课程描述促进了两年制大学本科生STEM教育的创新和循证实践。该项目得到了NSF HSI计划和NSF IUSE：EHR计划的支持。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大对STEM的参与，并在HSIS建设能力。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 award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project aims to serve the national interest by addressing the immediate needs of student-parents as they complete undergraduate STEM degrees. The project will support student-parents at CUNY Hostos Community College, a two-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in the South Bronx. Student-parents comprise nearly one-third of the student body at the institution. Hostos Oasis for Parents’ Education (HOPE) is a holistic Two-Generation (2Gen) STEM summer program for college-ready parents and their children. It will provide equitable access to STEM career paths and to two-year degree completion for student-parents while providing a robust summer STEM Academy experience for their preK-8 children. HOPE will incorporate a three-dimensional (3D) holistic support model focused on three distinct areas: family, academic, and social/professional support. The project will use this support model to address the many obstacles encountered by academically proficient student-parents. These obstacles include "time poverty", insufficient time to devote to college, work, and family. While student-parents' motivation for college completion is strong, their role as a parent substantially increases their likelihood of leaving college without a degree. Part-time status often precludes them from existing support programs. By leveraging high quality evidence-based practices like Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELOs), and evidence-based programs, this transformative project intends to advance the understanding of whether the HOPE model can improve the quality and accessibility of STEM education for community college student-parents and their children. Project outcomes have potential to improve access to high quality STEM education for an often overlooked population. This holistic intervention is a potentially crucial mitigation strategy in the post COVID-19 landscape for a community disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The goals of the project are to: (i) make systematic improvements to undergraduate community college STEM education through ELOs in STEM and social sciences; (ii) provide high quality STEM experiences for children ages pre-K-8th grade; (iii) create an openly sourced ELO STEM Toolkit with an accompanying professional development sequence; (iv) promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by recruiting Hostos student-parents and their children who are predominantly racial/ethnic minorities with special recruitment efforts aimed at justice-impacted student parents; and (v) provide new knowledge on the effectiveness of HOPE’s 3D Model. This comprehensive and holistic 2Gen program will enroll 22 student-parents, and approximately 42 children during the first year and increase capacity each year. Approximately 450 participants over five years, including student parents, children, teachers (preK-8), college faculty, and undergraduate education students, will benefit from the HOPE Program. The effectiveness of the project will be evaluated using a mixed methods approach, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative research including pre- and post-program surveys, focus groups, and peer observation among a group of instructors and faculty. A team with expertise in program evaluation, online education, and teaching STEM to middle school students with learning differences, will provide ongoing assessment as part of our process development and evaluation. Research on the HOPE 3D model will be disseminated through a project website, conference workshops and presentations, and peer-reviewed articles. The NSF program description on Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education supports projects that advance STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges. The program description promotes innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges. This project is supported by the NSF HSI Program and the NSF IUSE: EHR Program. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.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.