HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Scaling and Extending Exploratory Reading Groups to Strengthen Computing Pathways

在不断改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构(HSI计划)的支持下，这一轨道2：IEP旨在显著增加加州大学圣克鲁斯分校(一所R1拉美裔服务机构和亚裔美国太平洋岛民服务机构)和卡布里略学院(一所两年制拉美裔服务机构)的工程学学生的数量和多样性。在大型大学，本科生研究的机会是临时的，数量有限，而在两年制院校，获得这些经验的机会更是有限或根本不存在。事实证明，本科研究经验为参与的学生提供了许多好处，包括增加了攻读研究生的可能性，改善了对STEM专业的保留，明确了职业目标，增加了知识和技能；这些好处往往对代表性不足的学生最大。探索性阅读小组(ERGs)是指学生参加时间投入少的阅读小组，以教师活跃的研究领域为中心，为期半个季度的阅读小组，具有社会相关性，因此是提高学生对STEM本科生研究兴趣的一个激励因素。该项目将扩大该项目的规模，以服务于加州大学圣克鲁斯分校50%的工程学本科生，以及卡布里略大学累计数百名准备转学的学生。本项目将了解大规模探索性阅读小组参与对学生在工程学上的成功、进入本科生的研究经历和支持迁移途径的影响。本项目的具体目标包括在加州大学圣迭戈分校发展工程探索阅读小组(ERGs)，对其影响进行总结性的大规模和纵向评估，以及通过在Cabrillo建立ERGs来支持迁移途径。该项目将制定一份完善和更新的手册，以大规模运行ERG，对其进行量身定做，以更好地服务于代表性不足的学生，并使其适应两年制院校和转学路径。将公开提供运行ERG的相关网络平台和支持脚本。为了评估有效性，该项目将对ERGs对学生在工程方面的成功、对进入本科生的研究经历和对转学途径的影响进行大规模的纵向分析，并对代表性不足的人群的经历和结果有何不同进行公平性分析。该项目还将对教师采用ERG的障碍和学生参与ERG的障碍进行分析，特别是对代表性不足的学生群体。除了在计算机和工程学教育场所出版学术出版物外，该项目还将为增长和社区大学合作编写一本扩展的地球资源指南，广泛传播受众，例如通过IUSE Disruptor博客或SIGCSE讲习班，并制作用于运行地球资源报告的开放源码材料和数字工具。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育和HSI的能力建设。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 Track 2: IEP aims to significantly increase the number and diversity of engineering students at UC Santa Cruz, an R1 Hispanic Serving Institution and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution, and Cabrillo College, a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution. At large universities, opportunities for undergraduate research are ad hoc and limited in number, while at two-year institutions access to these experiences is even more limited or non-existent. Undergraduate research experiences has proved to provide many benefits to participating students, including increased likelihood of pursuing graduate study, improved retention in STEM majors, clarification of career goals, and increased knowledge and technical skills; these benefits are often strongest for underrepresented students. Exploratory Reading Groups (ERGs) where students participate in low time-commitment half-quarter-long reading groups on topics centered on an active research area of a faculty member are socially relevant and thus a motivating factor in increasing student interest in STEM undergraduate research. The project will scale this program to serve 50% of engineering undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz, cumulatively hundreds of transfer-intending students at Cabrillo. This project will understand the impact of large-scale Exploratory Reading Group participation on student success in engineering, on entry into undergraduate research experiences, and on supporting transfer pathways.Specific goals for this project include growing engineering Exploratory Reading Groups (ERGs) at UCSC, performing a summative large-scale and longitudinal evaluation of their impact, and supporting transfer pathways through establishing ERGs at Cabrillo. The project will develop a refined and updated playbook for running ERGs at scale, tailoring them to better serve underrepresented students, and adapting them for two-year institutions and transfer pathways. An associated web platform and supporting scripts for running ERGs will be publicly available. To evaluate effectiveness, the project will perform a large-scale longitudinal analysis of the impact of ERGs on student success in engineering, on entry into undergraduate research experiences, and on transfer pathways, as well as an equity analysis on how experiences and outcomes differ for underrepresented populations. The project will also perform an analysis of barriers to faculty adoption of ERGs and on student participation in ERGs, especially for underrepresented student populations. In addition to scholarly publications at computing and engineering education venues, the project will produce an extended ERG playbook for growth and community college collaborations, perform broad audience dissemination, e.g. via the IUSE Disruptor Blog, or a SIGCSE workshop, and produce open-source materials and digital tools for running ERGs. 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.