Developing a High-Quality Academic Environment for Broadening Participation of Hispanic Students in Computing

在改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构(HSI)计划的支持下，该实施和评估(Track 2)项目旨在通过将文化资本整合到各种教育活动中，扩大拉美裔学生对计算机的参与。这些措施包括创新课程开发、采用影响较大的教学方法、支持模范互动以及培养多样化和包容性的文化。该项目将开发一个反应迅速的环境，注入有文化能力的实践，以促进学生在计算方面的成功。它还将通过教授职业发展的基本能力来扩大对计算机教育的参与。该项目旨在从根本上改变计算机教育，支持机构文化变革。将确定影响拉美裔学生更广泛地参与计算的重要因素和文化资本结构。该项目将实施四组基于资产的倡议。首先是在课程中融入计算思维和专业技能发展。第二是建立一个有效的平台，支持学生与同行和教职员工的互动。第三，为计算机课程的教学发展主动的和个性化的学习。第四，也是最后一点，是与教育专家合作，培养包容的教育文化。将制定一项适合西班牙裔高中毕业生和社区大学学生的计划。该项目将提高计算机教育的质量，以提高计算机专业本科生拉美裔学生的入学率、保留率和毕业率。另一个预期结果是了解文化资本对学生学业成就、留校率和幸福感的影响。该团队将通过分享经验、研究结果和教育成果，支持在德克萨斯州北部的大学和社区学院实施其他项目的倡议。调查结果将通过文章和演示文稿广泛传播。鉴于高级别机构的不同性质和背景，实现这些目标需要注意鼓励机构和社区变革的创造性方法。行动研究将被嵌入到混合方法设计中，以确定有效的教学、沟通和保留策略。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大STEM的参与，并建设HSIS的能力。鉴于高等教育机构的不同性质和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法，以激励机构和社区的变革，并促进基础研究(I)关于学生参与式学习，(Ii)关于如何有效地多样化和增加对STEM的参与，以及(Iii)提高对如何建设高等教育机构能力的理解。HSI计划支持的项目也将从这些方法中获得如何实现这些目标的新知识。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this Implementation and Evaluation (Track 2) project aims to broaden the participation of Hispanic students in computing by integrating cultural capital into a variety of educational activities. These include innovative curriculum development, adoption of high-impact pedagogies, supporting exemplary interactions, and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture. The project will develop a responsive environment infused with culturally competent practices to facilitate student success in computing. It will also broaden participation in computing education by teaching essential competencies for career development. The project is designed to fundamentally change computing education and support institutional cultural change. Significant factors and cultural capital structures that impact the broadening of the participation of Hispanic students in computing will be identified. This project will implement four groups of asset-based initiatives. First is infusing computational thinking and professional skill development into the curriculum. Second is building an effective platform for supporting students' interactions with peers and faculty. Third is developing active and personalized learning for teaching computing courses. Fourth, and finally, is collaborating with education experts to foster an inclusive educational culture. An adaptable plan for recruiting Hispanic high school graduates and community college students will be developed. The project will enhance the quality of computing education to increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation rate of undergraduate Hispanic students in computing programs. Another anticipated outcome is gaining an understanding of cultural capital's impact on student academic achievement, retention, and well-being. The team will support implementing the initiatives for other programs at universities and community colleges in North Texas by sharing the experience, research results, and educational outcomes. Findings will be broadly distributed through articles and presentations. Given the diverse nature and context of HSIs, achieving these goals requires attention to creative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation. Action research will be embedded in a mixed-methods design to identify effective strategies for instruction, communication, and retention. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to 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.