Graduating the Next Generation of Engineering Technology Professionals by Promoting Competence, Group Identity, and Autonomy

通过提升能力、群体认同和自主性培养下一代工程技术专业人员

• 批准号: 1930313
• 负责人: Jeanne Christman
• 金额: $ 99.99万
• 依托单位: Rochester Institute of Tech
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1930313&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Graduating; Next; Generation; Engineering; Technology

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Over its 5-year duration, this project will provide scholarships to 36 undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Civil, Computer, Electrical, Electrical Mechanical, Mechanical, and Robotics and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. Students will receive scholarship support for their first five semesters at RIT. To increase retention, the project will use faculty and peer mentors, create individualized scholar support networks, and improve instruction through faculty development aimed at fostering a more welcoming environment for all students. Because the percentage of African American, Latin American and Native American (AALANA), first generation, and deaf/hard of hearing students enrolled in Engineering Technology programs at RIT exceeds national levels, the broader impact of this project lies in its potential to increase diversity in the engineering workforce. This project also has the potential to significantly advance the understanding of best practices that address the social and environmental factors which have historically contributed to low retention of underrepresented students in Engineering Technology programs. Thus, it supports a key strategic objective of NSF, to grow a more capable and diverse STEM workforce. The guiding principle of this project is to promote competence, develop relatedness (or a sense of group identity), and nurture autonomy in Engineering Technology students through the implementation of support networks and pedagogical reform. As posited by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), when these three basic psychological needs, competence, relatedness, and autonomy are met, individuals will be intrinsically motivated to support their own personal growth and well-being. This project is important because it will help to fill the void in the literature on evidence-based strategies to improve retention of underrepresented groups specifically in Engineering Technology. This project will investigate if three particular strategies designed to address social and environmental factors, indeed improve scholars' motivation and persistence. First is programmatic implementation, using an SDT framework, to address the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Second is utilization of faculty and peer mentors along with individualized scholar support networks. Third is the adoption of evidence-based practices to engage and improve learning for a diverse group of students in the Engineering Technology classroom. The effectiveness of these strategies will be evaluated quantitatively using GPA and retention data along with results from an SDT measurement instrument. The evaluation also includes a qualitative component featuring focus group interviews with scholarship recipients. The results of this project will be disseminated through conference papers, peer reviewed journals, and RIT's and the College of Engineering Technology's social media accounts. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income 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.

该项目将通过支持罗切斯特技术学院（RIT）的高分，低收入学生的保留和毕业，这将有助于国家对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的需求。在5年的持续时间内，该项目将为36名本科生提供奖学金，这些本科生正在攻读民用，计算机，电气，电气，机械，机械以及机器人技术和制造工程技术的学士学位。学生将为他在RIT的前五个学期获得奖学金支持。 为了提高保留率，该项目将使用教师和同伴导师，创建个性化的学者支持网络，并通过旨在为所有学生促进更热情的环境而改善教师发展。因为非裔美国人，拉丁美洲和美洲原住民（Aalana），第一代以及聋哑人的聋哑学生的百分比超过了国家级别的工程技术计划，因此该项目的广泛影响在于其潜力增加工程劳动力的多样性。该项目还有可能大大促进对最佳实践的理解，这些实践解决了社会和环境因素，这些因素历史上导致人数不足的学生在工程技术计划中的保留不足。因此，它支持NSF的关键战略目标，以发展更有能力和多样化的STEM劳动力。该项目的指导原则是通过实施支持网络和教学改革来促进能力，发展相关性（或群体认同感）以及在工程技术学生中培养自主权。正如自决理论（SDT）所提出的那样，当满足这三个基本的心理需求，能力，相关性和自主权时，个人将是内在的动机来支持自己的个人成长和福祉。该项目很重要，因为它将有助于填补有关循证策略的文献中的空白，以提高专门在工程技术领域的代表性不足群体的保留。该项目将调查是否旨在解决社会和环境因素的三种特定策略，确实改善了学者的动力和持久性。首先是使用SDT框架的程序化实施来满足自治，能力和相关性的基本心理需求。其次是对教师和同伴导师的利用以及个性化的学者支持网络。第三是采用基于证据的实践来吸引和改善工程技术课堂中各种学生的学习。这些策略的有效性将使用GPA和保留数据进行定量评估，以及SDT测量工具的结果。评估还包括一个定性组成部分，其中包括与奖学金获得者进行焦点小组访谈。该项目的结果将通过会议论文，同行评审的期刊以及RIT和工程技术学院的社交媒体帐户来传播。该项目由NSF在科学，技术，工程和数学计划方面的奖学金资助，该计划旨在增加具有证明经济需求的低收入学术才华的学生的数量，他们在STEM领域获得学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工人的教育，并为低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业以及学术/职业途径提供知识。这项奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的审查标准通过评估来通过评估来支持的。