Developing STEM Professionals through Peer Mentoring/Tutoring and Career Coaching

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，证明在斯克兰顿，宾夕法尼亚州玛丽伍德大学（MU）的经济需要。在六年的时间里，该项目将为12名攻读生物学、生物技术、环境科学、数学、计算机科学或信息安全学士学位的全日制本科生提供四年的奖学金。项目内容包括通过高中联系招募低收入和少数民族学生，同伴指导和辅导，以帮助学生克服成功的障碍，教师指导，校友指导，通过共同课程的队列发展，以及四年的职业发展计划。学者将追求STEM职业和/或研究生学习，填补了国家和国家对更多和更合格的STEM工作者的需求。项目小组将测试一项新战略，以解决学生不利用辅导服务这一普遍问题。该项目还将加强与地方产业的伙伴关系，以提供奖学金支持，并加强与高中的伙伴关系，以招聘学生。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。其他项目目标包括实施新的同伴导师/导师模式，以帮助学生在充满挑战的前两年取得成功;将学者聚集在一个学习社区中，旨在增加队列中的联系;提高职业意识和准备进入STEM劳动力。目标是：（1）12名低收入，学术天赋的学生就读于MU的STEM专业之一;（2）学者受益于学术支持，与同龄人的协作学习，以及与教师和校友的联系;（3）在原有的12名学者中，至少有10名（83%）被留用一年，9名（75%）被留用至毕业（学者谁不保留将被替换）;（4）学者进入STEM劳动力或STEM研究生课程;（4）同伴导师/导师模式，基于队列的学习和职业意识编程的有效性得到证明。该项目将通过评估一种新的同伴导师/导师模式来扩大目前的知识基础，以满足低收入学生的学术和社会需求，并建立一个学习社区，以增加同伴合作和学者与他们的学术计划，他们的同龄人和大学的联系。评估问题是：（1）同侪导师/导师模式在提高第一年和第二年STEM课程的成绩以及提高学生在大三之前的保留率方面有多有效？低收入家庭学生获得同伴导师/辅导员支持的频率如何？(2)第一年的研讨会和共同课程招生在鼓励学者组成同伴学习小组方面的效果如何？对通勤学生与同龄人形成有意义的关系的能力有什么影响？项目小组将传播评价结果，与外部机构分享成果。同伴指导/辅导，教师指导，第一年的研讨会和学习社区将继续受益于项目结束后在MU的其他学生。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 Marywood University (MU) in Scranton, PA. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund four years of scholarships to 12 unique, full-time undergraduate students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, biotechnology, environmental science, mathematics, computer science, or information security. Project elements include recruitment of low-income and minority students through high school connections, peer mentoring and tutoring to help students overcome barriers to success, faculty mentoring, alumni mentoring, cohort development through common coursework, and a four-year career development plan. Scholars will pursue STEM careers and/or graduate studies, filling a state and national need for more and better-qualified STEM workers. The project team will test a new strategy for addressing the pervasive issue of students not making use of tutoring services. The project will also strengthen partnerships with local industries for scholar support and with high schools for recruitment. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Additional project goals include implementing a new peer mentor/tutor model to help students succeed through the challenging first two years; bringing the scholars together in a learning community designed to increase connections within the cohort; and improving career awareness and preparation to enter the STEM workforce. The objectives are that (1) 12 low-income, academically talented students enroll in one of MU’s STEM majors; (2) scholars benefit from academic supports, collaborative learning with peers, and connections to faculty and alumni; (3) at least 10 of the original 12 scholars (83%) are retained for one year and nine (75%) are retained until graduation (scholars who are not retained will be replaced); (4) scholars enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate programs; and (4) the effectiveness of the peer mentor/tutor model, cohort-based learning, and career awareness programming is demonstrated. The project will expand upon the current knowledge base for student support by evaluating a new peer mentor/tutor model for meeting low-income students’ academic and social needs and a learning community for increasing peer collaborations and scholar feelings of connection with their academic program, their peers, and the university. Evaluation questions to be examined are (1) How effective is the peer mentor/tutor model in improving grades in first- and second-year STEM courses and increasing retention until junior year? How frequently do low-income students access support by the peer mentor/tutor? (2) How effective are the first-year seminar and common course enrollment in encouraging the scholars to form peer study groups? What is the impact on the ability of commuter students to form meaningful relationships with peers? The project team will disseminate evaluation findings to share results with outside institutions. The peer mentoring/tutoring, faculty mentoring, first-year seminar, and learning communities will continue to benefit other students at MU after the end of the project. 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.