The Science Scholars Program

科学学者计划

• 批准号: 1458261
• 负责人: David Clark
• 金额: $ 62.24万
• 依托单位: Alma College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-02-15 至 2022-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1458261&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Science; Scholars; Program

To increase the number of academically talented and financially disadvantaged Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics graduates at Alma College, this project will provide financial support along with the tools and experiences the scholarship recipients need to achieve academic success. The project will build on lessons learned from an NSF-STEP project (now fully supported by the institution) that was designed to enhance the first-year experience. Evidence-based practices such as peer support generated in Learning Communities, early access to faculty through mentoring, and integration into the institution's rich undergraduate research culture will be central to the project's approach to retaining 20 participants in the STEM majors. The project is grounded in the needs of the local and regional community and should help to broaden the participation of first-generation students in the pursuit and attainment of STEM degrees. Scholarships for academically strong STEM students, who may not otherwise be able to afford college, have an impact on the number of STEM graduates prepared to help national, regional, and local companies. Talented STEM graduates help US industries to compete and innovate in a global economy. Building on research that shows that students' identities as scientist can be cultivated by their participation in disciplinary research, the project will incorporate the following activities: (a) an invitation to take part in pre-college experiences designed through the NSF-STEP project (a series of courses, seminars, and community building activities that culminates with a summer research project), (b) a special first-year seminar designed to introduce scholars to interdisciplinary research topics such as biotechnology and environmental monitoring, (c) mentor matching to professionals in industry, and (d) guaranteed, paid research opportunities. It is expected that the findings from the project evaluation will help to contribute to the knowledge base regarding the correlation of STEM retention to student's self-identification as scientists and researchers. Formative and summative evaluation will consist of an analysis of how well the project components align with successful attainment of this goal. Standardized survey instruments that are used college wide (the National Survey of Student Engagement [NSSE] and the Cooperative Institutional Research Program-survey [CIRP]) will be used along with customized assessment and evaluation instruments. In addition, participants who do research, present papers, and enter graduate and professional programs in the sciences will be tracked upon graduation. Dissemination of the results of evaluation will be done through webinars, brown bag lunches, and at national meetings like the Annual CUR Institute on Initiating and Sustaining Undergraduate Research Programs and the National Conference on Students in Transition. Discipline specific presentation venues will include the annual meetings of the American Chemical Society, the Annual Meeting of the Association of College and University Biology Educators, and the American Association of Physics Teachers National Meeting.

为了增加阿尔玛学院具有学术才华和经济困难的生物学、生物化学、生物技术、化学、数学、计算机科学和物理专业毕业生的数量，该项目将为奖学金获得者提供财务支持以及获得学术成功所需的工具和经验。 该项目将借鉴 NSF-STEP 项目（现已得到该机构的全力支持）的经验教训，该项目旨在增强第一年的经验。 循证实践，例如学习社区中产生的同伴支持、通过指导尽早接触教师以及融入该机构丰富的本科生研究文化，将是该项目留住 20 名 STEM 专业参与者的核心方法。 该项目立足于当地和区域社区的需求，应有助于扩大第一代学生对追求和获得 STEM 学位的参与。为学业成绩优秀的 STEM 学生提供的奖学金，这些学生可能无法负担大学费用，这对准备帮助国家、地区和当地公司的 STEM 毕业生的数量产生了影响。才华横溢的 STEM 毕业生帮助美国工业在全球经济中竞争和创新。研究表明，学生作为科学家的身份可以通过参与学科研究来培养，该项目将包括以下活动：(a) 邀请参加通过 NSF-STEP 项目设计的大学预科体验（一系列课程、研讨会和社区建设活动，最终形成夏季研究项目），(b) 第一年特别研讨会，旨在向学者介绍生物技术和环境监测等跨学科研究主题，(c) 与专业人士工业，以及 (d) 有保障的付费研究机会。 预计项目评估的结果将有助于建立关于 STEM 保留率与学生作为科学家和研究人员的自我认同之间的相关性的知识库。 形成性和总结性评估将包括对项目组成部分与成功实现这一目标的配合程度的分析。 大学范围内使用的标准化调查工具（全国学生参与度调查 [NSSE] 和合作机构研究计划调查 [CIRP]）将与定制的评估和评估工具一起使用。 此外，从事研究、发表论文以及进入科学研究生和专业课程的参与者将在毕业后受到跟踪。评估结果的传播将通过网络研讨会、午餐盒以及 CUR 启动和维持本科研究项目年度研究所和全国转型学生会议等全国会议来完成。 特定学科的演讲场地将包括美国化学会年会、学院和大学生物教育者协会年会以及美国物理教师协会全国会议。