RII-BEC: Co-Mentoring, Community Building, Career Development, and Content Area Research Experiences to Enhance Systemic Change in STEM

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。全国数据显示，高等教育迫切需要更公平地为来自不同教育背景的学生提供服务，特别是来自代表性不足群体（URG）的学生和转校生。这两个人群受到COVID-19大流行的影响尤为严重。该项目为科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育的系统性变革创造了一个“4C模式”。该模式以学生作为共同创造者为特色，强调了学生代理和领导在变革努力中的重要性。学生将参与的4个“c”是共同指导（一种非分层指导方法）、社区建设活动、职业发展和内容领域的研究经验。这些都是基于证据的策略，以支持学生进入和通过大学，并为毕业后的过渡做好准备。该项目还包括教师和机构层面的活动，以推进系统变革，包括教师与学生共同指导和定期召开的协同委员会，以促进整个大学的知识和人际交流，同时改变权力结构，提升学生的观点。重点放在劳动力和研究生院的准备工作上是必要的，以影响该地区的研究、教育和经济发展需求，特别是考虑到大流行的影响。然而，这个项目的影响是广泛的。它将成为高等教育机构可以采用的模式，以提高URG和转移人口学生的成功学生成绩。这些学生在未来的STEM职业生涯中所产生的工作和知识有可能产生进一步的影响。由于该项目以自我决定理论（SDT）和四框架理论为基础，通过开发和评估一个可操作的理论转化为实践的项目（4C模型），对教育工作者和研究人员来说将是有价值的。该项目的总体目标是通过保留、毕业和职业过渡等指标来衡量，增加来自URG的学生和转移人口对STEM研究和职业的直接参与。这三个目标是：1)在现有学生支持的基础上，创建和评估新的结构和项目，以支持URG和转学生为研究生职业生涯做准备；2)为教职员工提供专业发展，以更包容、更专业地促进重点学生向研究生职业生涯的成功过渡；3)将校园内的单位和人员结合起来，以支持目标1和2，形成可持续的基础设施。该项目的主要策略包括创建和实施“4C”模式奖学金计划，通过奖学金和上述四种类型的活动，包括学生和教师相互指导的共同指导，为重点人群中的学生提供支持。此外，教师将参与专业发展，以更好地为这些人群服务，并通过与项目中的学生共同指导经验来体验专业成长。该项目的协同委员会旨在改善STEM部门与校园其他部门之间的协作和精简。研究部分旨在通过扩展SDT的应用，通过识别和加强进出大学的关键过渡点，增加URG和转学生直接参与STEM相关活动，从新的角度提高STEM劳动力的多样性水平。SDT的扩展将把高等教育机构对STEM学生成功的方法从被动转变为主动。本研究将是第一个采用系统变革方法来扩展SDT理论的研究，通过评估系统变革的四个框架（结构、符号、人员和权力）如何与SDT的自主性、能力和相关性相互作用，以提高STEM URG和转学生的大学毕业率，并成功过渡到劳动力市场。该项目将为寻求提高STEM学生成功的高等教育机构提供宝贵的新知识，并了解如何成功地为URG和转学生开发和实施长期有效的STEM项目。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).National data show a dire need for higher education to more equitably serve students from diverse educational backgrounds, especially students from underrepresented groups (URG) and transfer students. These two populations were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This project creates a “4C model” for systemic change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The model features students as co-creators, highlighting the importance of student agency and leadership in change efforts. The 4 “Cs” students will participate in are co-mentoring (a non-hierarchical approach to mentoring), community-building activities, career development, and content-area research experiences. These are all evidence-based strategies to support students’ transitions into and through college and to prepare them for post-graduation transitions. The project also includes faculty- and institutional-level activities to advance systemic change, including faculty co-mentoring with students and a Synergies Board convened regularly to facilitate knowledge and interpersonal exchange across the university, while changing power structures to elevate students’ perspectives. The focus on workforce and graduate school preparation is necessary to impact the research, education, and economic development needs of the region, especially in light of the effects of the pandemic. However, the impact of this project is broader. It will serve as a model that institutions of higher education can adopt to increase successful student outcomes among students from URG and transfer populations. The work and knowledge produced by these students in their future STEM careers have the potential to make further impacts. Because it is informed by Self Determination Theory (SDT) and Four Frames Theory, the project will be valuable to educators and researchers by developing and assessing an actionable theory-into-practice program (the 4C model).The overall project goal is to increase direct participation of students from URG and transfer populations in STEM research and professions as measured using metrics such as retention, graduation, and transition to career. The three objectives are to 1) build on existing student supports by creating and assessing new structures and programs for supporting URG and transfer students as they prepare for post-graduate careers, 2) offer faculty and staff professional development to more inclusively and expertly facilitate the successful transition of the focus students to post-graduate careers, and 3) combine units and people across campus in support of objectives 1 & 2 into a sustainable infrastructure. The project’s primary strategies include creating and implementing the “4C” model fellowship program to support students from the focus populations through scholarships and the four types of activities listed above, including co-mentoring where students and faculty co-mentor each other. Additionally, faculty will participate in professional development to better serve these populations and experience professional growth through co-mentoring experiences with students in the program. The project’s Synergies Board aims to improve collaboration and streamlining between STEM departments and other units on campus. The research component seeks to improve levels of diversity in the STEM workforce from a new standpoint by extending the application of SDT to increase the direct participation of URG and transfer students in STEM-related activities through the identification and strengthening of key transition points into and out of college. The extension of SDT will transform higher education institutional approaches to STEM student success from being reactive to proactive. This research will be the first that takes a systemic change approach to extend SDT theory by evaluating how the Four Frames for Systemic Change (structures, symbols, people, and power) interact with SDT’s autonomy, competence, and relatedness to increase STEM URG and transfer students’ college completion and successful transition into the workforce. The project will provide valuable new knowledge for higher education institutions seeking to increase STEM student success and understanding on how to successfully develop and implement long-term, effective STEM programing specifically for URG and transfer 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.