HSI Institutional Transformation Project: Retention and Achievement for Introductory STEM English Learners (RAISE)

在改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）的支持下，这个Track 3机构转型项目（ITP）旨在提高科学、技术、工程、数学（STEM）项目的留用率，在STEM入门课程中采用以语言和文化为重点的方法，在全国范围内，STEM学科的学生留用率存在重大瓶颈。所有STEM学生在特定学科的学术语言方面都面临挑战，学术语言被定义为从业者在学术学科中用于交流的独特语言，与日常使用的语言不同。学术语言对英语学习者来说也是一个额外的挑战。语言意识教学是支持学生成功的一种文化响应方式，在K-12教育中很常见，但在高等教育中并不常见。这项工作将有助于理解学术语言和以语言为中心的教学法在大学水平的STEM学生成功中的作用。国家的人口统计数据表明，多语种和英语学习者的人数不断增加，初步调查表明，英语学习者占新生的15-30%。因此，该项目的更广泛影响是，它将有助于培养一支反映这种多样性的STEM劳动力队伍，并利用其多语言资产。这对美国在日益多元文化的世界中保持竞争力至关重要。项目成功实施后，预期结果是：(1)学生在STEM入门课程上的成绩和保留率将会提高；(2)教师之间将发生文化和教学上的转变，以解释和庆祝学生独特的语言技能；(3)各院校将更加意识到支持和规划英语学习者和多语种学生的成功。该项目的具体目标是：(1)围绕STEM学术语言挑战和循证干预措施建立一个教职员工学习社区。将通过与当地高中的合作来探索即将到来的班级的文化和背景，这些高中是大学的主要附属校区；(2)制定和实施收集英语学习者机构数据的最佳做法；(3)设计和实施针对STEM学术语言挑战的干预措施。预计一些专为K-12课程设计的以STEM为重点的英语学习者干预措施可以有效地适用于大学水平的STEM入门课程，使包括英语学习者在内的所有学生受益。有希望的干预措施将进行更正式的疗效评估和调查；(4)研究学生和教师对STEM学术语言的参与。学生如何使用STEM学科语言，STEM教师对教学和使用学术语言的态度是什么，以及这些态度如何影响学生的学习。研究结果将通过出版物、专业组织和大型加州州立大学系统的网络广泛传播。HSI计划旨在加强HSI的本科STEM教育和能力建设。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 3 Institutional Transformation Project (ITP) aims to improve retention in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) programs with a language and culture-focused approach in introductory STEM courses, in which there are substantial bottlenecks to student retention in STEM disciplines nation-wide. All STEM students face challenges in discipline-specific academic language, which is defined as unique language used by practitioners to communicate in an academic discipline and is different from everyday usage of language. Academic language is also an added challenge to English learners. Language-conscious teaching is a culturally responsive way to support student success and is common in K-12 education but not in higher education. This work will contribute to understanding the role of academic language and language-centric pedagogy in STEM student success at the university level. The Nation’s demographics indicate that the number of multilingual and English learner students is ever-increasing, and preliminary inquiry suggests that English learners represent 15-30% of incoming freshmen. Thus, the broader impact of this project is that it will help develop a STEM workforce that reflects this diversity and leverages its multilingual assets. This will be essential for the United States to stay competitive in an increasingly multicultural world. Upon successful implementation of the project, the expected outcomes are: (1) student success and retention will improve in introductory STEM courses; (2) cultural and pedagogical shifts will occur among faculty to account for and celebrate the unique language skills of our students; (3) institutions will be more cognizant of supporting and planning for the success of English learners and multilingual students.The specific aims of the project are to (1) establish a faculty and staff learning community around STEM academic language challenges and evidence-based interventions. The culture and contexts of the incoming class will be explored through partnerships with local high schools that are major feeder campuses to the university; (2) develop and implement best practices for collecting institutional data on English learners; (3) design and implement interventions targeting STEM academic language challenges. It is expected that some STEM-focused English learner interventions designed for K-12 programs can be effectively adapted and adopted for university-level introductory STEM courses to benefit all students, including English learners. Promising interventions will undergo more formal evaluation and investigation for efficacy; (4) research student and faculty engagement in STEM academic language. How students engage with STEM disciplinary language, what STEM faculty attitudes towards teaching and engaging in academic language are, and how those attitudes affect student learning will be examined. Results will be broadly disseminated through publication, professional organizations, and networks through the large California State University system. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.