Siena Heights: Applying Psychological Constructs and Student Supports to Improve the Education of Students in STEM

应用心理学结构和学生支持改善STEM学生教育(SHAPE STEM)将通过支持锡耶纳高地大学(SHU)有经济需求的高成就、低收入学生的留校和毕业，来促进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。锡耶纳高地大学位于密歇根州东南部，是一所小型私立男女同校大学。在为期五年的时间里，该项目将为30名正在攻读生物、化学、环境科学、网络安全、数据分析、数学以及环境和普通工程学士学位的全日制本科生提供奖学金。一年级学生将获得最多四年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与整体方法联系起来，独特地将四年全面的研究经验和积极心理学实践与其他STEM支持相结合，以减轻压力和改善情绪健康，从而提高学生在STEM领域的坚持性。该项目旨在通过校友指导、实习和职业小组提供接触STEM专业人员的机会，从而改善学生对STEM的认同感和对职业道路的接触。该项目有可能通过提供更多的情感支持、队列建设和职业意识来扩大STEM领域的参与，以提高SHU大量符合佩尔条件的第一代学生的留校率和毕业率。该项目的总体目标是增加STEM领域低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生的学位完成率。许多学生进入第一年时并不知道有哪些学位可供选择。该项目将利用西耶纳高地大学强大的环境研究和教育项目，解决新生对就业机会的了解差距，以支持环境劳动力的大量就业机会和国家在环境研究方面的需求。该基金的目标包括：1)融合感恩、正念和幸福的积极心理学技能，让学生参与个人心理干预，帮助他们建立社交资源，并更好地与同龄人建立联系；2)扩大定向社交网络和指导；以及3)发展一系列协调的专业发展活动，帮助学生建立STEM身份。该项目整合了学生大学生涯中的多种策略，使研究团队能够纵向跟踪结果，评估不同学年使用的元素的影响。该项目有可能培养出多样化的STEM毕业生，他们可以为劳动力需求做出贡献，并将他们的环境管理知识应用于他们的职业，以帮助解决对低收入社区造成不成比例影响的环境问题。这一项目的成果将通过参加区域和国家会议以及在同行评议的期刊上发表来公布。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。

Applying Psychological Constructs and Student Supports to Improve the Education of Students in STEM (SHAPE STEM) 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 Siena Heights University(SHU). Siena Heights University, located in southeastern Michigan, is a small, private, coeducational university. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 unique full-time undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, environmental science, cybersecurity, data analytics, mathematics, and environmental and general engineering. First-year students will receive up to four-years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with a holistic approach that uniquely integrates a four-year comprehensive research experience and positive psychology practices with other STEM supports to reduce stress and improve emotional wellbeing. The project aims to improve students’ STEM identity and exposure to career paths by providing access to STEM professionals through alumni mentorships, internships, and career panels. This project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields by providing increased emotional supports, cohort building, and career awareness to improve the retention and graduation rates for SHU’s large number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students.The overall goal of the project is to increase degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields with demonstrated financial need. Many students enter their first year unaware of degree options. This project will capitalize on Sienna Heights University’s strong environmental research and education programs to address the gap in incoming students’ knowledge of career opportunities to support the substantial employment opportunities for the environmental workforce and national needs in environmental research. The objectives of the grant include: 1) incorporating positive psychology skills of gratitude, mindfulness, and wellbeing and engaging students in personal psychological interventions to help them build social resources and better connect with their peers, 2) expanding directed social networking and mentoring, and 3) developing a coordinated series of professional development activities that will help students build a STEM identity. The program integrates multiple strategies over the students’ college careers, allowing the research team to track outcomes longitudinally, evaluating the impacts of elements used in different class years. The project has the potential to produce diverse STEM graduates who can contribute to workforce needs and apply their knowledge of environmental stewardship in their occupations to help address environmental problems that disproportionately impact low-income communities. Results of this project will be made available through participation in regional and national conferences and publication in peer reviewed journals. 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.