Building Biologists Using Assets for Scholar Success

该项目将有助于对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需要，通过支持高成就，低收入的学生在堪萨斯城堪萨斯社区学院（KCKCC）证明经济需要的保留和毕业。在五年的时间里，该项目将为30名正在攻读生物学副学士学位或以生物学为重点的普通副学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。全日制学生谁已宣布他们打算主修生物学将获得两年每年$7，500的奖学金。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持服务联系起来，提高毕业的持续性，然后转移或直接进入STEM劳动力市场。这些服务包括基于资产的指导，本科研究经验，与行业合作伙伴的实习机会，以及参与展示STEM路径的需求和回报的演示和研讨会。由于KCKCC的学生人数众多，来自代表性不足的群体，该项目有可能扩大STEM领域的参与，并促进对资产有效性的理解，本项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需要的本科生的学位完成率。有三个具体目标：1）建立一个成功的学者奖学金计划，利用现有的基础设施，合作努力和新的支持计划招募三个10名学生的群体; 2）制定一个强大的基于资产的指导和建议计划;和3）实施学者参与和丰富活动，以鼓励学习社区，并为所有学生创造积极的学术氛围。许多关于STEM学生坚持性的研究集中在必须做些什么来解决学生的真实的或感知的缺陷。教育差距往往与基于种族、族裔、社会经济地位、残疾和其他因素的陈规定型特征联系在一起。由于这些陈规定型观念，学生可能会被鼓励采取不那么严格的教育轨迹。或者，基于资产的干预措施是一种有效的手段，通过建立在学生的文化，动机和梦想的财富上来提高学生的持久性。该项目旨在调查如何采用基于证据的，基于资产的支持实践，即基于资产的指导，影响获得生物学副学士学位和生物学副学士普通科学学位的学生人数。学者将发展作为科学家的个人身份，并获得高质量的生物学教育，为他们进入劳动力市场或过渡到四年STEM计划做好准备。项目评价包括两个方面。年度外部评估将由一个非营利组织进行，该组织在项目评估、应用研究、需求评估和战略规划方面提供当地/区域领导。KCKCC项目管理层将更频繁地进行内部评估。将进行形成性和总结性评价。该项目的知识将通过教师研讨会和讨论在校园内传播。该项目的成果还将通过在同行评审的期刊上发表文章以及在区域和国家科学和教育会议上介绍研究结果的方式向更广泛的科学界介绍。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 Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 unique full-time students who are pursuing Associate’s degrees in biology or Associate’s general degrees with a biology emphasis. Full-time students who have declared their intention to major in biology will receive $7,500 annually in scholarships for two years. The project aims to increase persistence to graduation and then in transferring or directly entering the STEM workforce by linking scholarships with effective support services. These services include asset-based mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, internship opportunities with industry partners, and participation in presentations and workshops that showcase the demands and rewards of a STEM path. Because KCKCC has a high population of students from underrepresented groups, this project has the potential to broaden participation in a STEM field and to advance the understanding of the effectiveness of asset-based mentoring and high impact practices within the two-year college environment.The overall goal of this project is to increase degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There are three specific aims: 1) establish a successful scholar fellowship program that recruits three cohorts of 10 students using existing infrastructure, collaborative efforts, and new support programs; 2) develop a robust asset-based mentoring and advising program; and 3) implement scholar engagement and enrichment activities to encourage learning communities and create a positive academic climate for all students. Many research studies on STEM student persistence focus on what must be done to address students' real or perceived deficits. Educational disparity is often framed with stereotypical traits based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, and other factors. Students may be encouraged to take less rigorous educational trajectories as a result of these stereotypes. Alternatively, asset-based interventions are an effective means for increasing student persistence by building upon the wealth of a student's culture, motivations, and dreams. This project seeks to investigate how the adoption of evidence-based, asset-based support practices, that is, asset-based mentoring, impacts the number of students obtaining an Associate’s degree in biology and Associate’s General Science with a biology emphasis. Scholars will develop individual identities as scientists and obtain a high-quality biology education to prepare them to either enter the workforce or transition to a four-year STEM program. Two facets comprise the project evaluation. An annual external evaluation will be conducted by a non-profit organization that provides local/regional leadership in program evaluation, applied research, needs assessments, and strategic planning. Internal evaluation will be conducted more frequently by KCKCC project management. Both formative and summative evaluation will be conducted. Knowledge from this project will be disseminated locally across campus through faculty seminars and discussions. Results of this project will also be presented to the greater scientific community by publications in peer-reviewed journals and through presentations of findings at regional and national science and education conferences. 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.