Scholarship and Mentoring Investment in Low-Income, Academically Talented Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Baccalaureate Degree Seeking Students

对低收入、有学术才华的科学、工程和数学学士学位学生的奖学金和指导投资

• 批准号: 2130381
• 负责人: Sedig Agili
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-01 至 2028-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2130381&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Scholarship; Mentoring; Investment; Low; Income

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 Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg Campus, a public, four-year institution of higher education. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 full time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in one of several areas. These include degrees in Biology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, (General) Science, and Structural Design and Construction. Three cohorts of ten students each will receive support during their first year at Penn State- Harrisburg and will receive four years of scholarships. Low-income, first-generation students experience several challenges when attending institutions of higher education. Some challenges include higher levels of stress, lower levels of life satisfaction, decreased sense of belonging, and lack of interest in STEM fields. These factors may influence students' persistence in continuing in their majors. This project aims to examine how a series of interrelated project components foster the STEM scholars’ persistence related to academic interest, positive attitude, the rigor of the STEM program, and commitment to the STEM program. Additionally, the project will generate knowledge about how institutions can create a series of integrated and interdisciplinary supportive structures that promote STEM students’ persistence throughout undergraduate degree seeking, enhancing the learning opportunities for all current and potential STEM students. The project supports NSF’s mission to promote diverse, equitable, and inclusive participation in STEM programs. The project will include various robust recruitment strategies and attention to retention through the interdisciplinary engagement of peers, STEM faculty, and representatives from the career fields to foster students’ engagement in social and academic experiences. This will include a particular focus on seminars that attend to scholars’ socio-emotional needs.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Using Prenzel’s Persistence of Interest model, the project objectives include: (i) increasing the number of diverse, low-income, academically talented students who enroll in and graduate from Penn State-Harrisburg STEM undergraduate programs; (ii) contributing to the workforce in STEM frontier areas; (iii) implementing curricular and supportive activities that promote scholars’ persistence in STEM programs; (iv) identifying factors that, from those curricular and supportive activities, contribute to scholars’ persistence to remain in STEM undergraduate programs and successfully graduate; and disseminating knowledge about the role of the STEM components in promoting persistence in undergraduate STEM programs. The interrelated STEM components include scholar support, team-based cohorts, and engagement activities. The structured Multi-Level mentoring and implementation of Scholars Persisting in Academic (SPA) Seminars are two core components of this project. The SPA Seminars are intended to alleviate the stress and anxiety that low-income students experience when taking challenging courses in STEM. Another projecs component is the broader participation of local industry, such as providing internships and mentoring scholars, to accomplish these goals. Sample project deliverables include an industry mentoring plan, sample team-based Calculus modules, scholar research or internship products, and evaluation results. It is anticipated that the lessons learned from applying the persistence framework with the STEM components will enhance the retention and graduation rates of low-income, academically talented students at other institutions. Findings will be disseminated through regional channels for publicly funded four-year institutions, with a focus on how to best gather and present pertinent information needed for widespread adoption. 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.

该项目将通过支持宾夕法尼亚州立大学（Harrisburg campus），公众，四年制高等教育机构的公众，在宾夕法尼亚州立大学（Pennsylvania State University）表现出具有丰富的高收入学生的保留和毕业，这将促进受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需求。在六年的持续时间内，该项目将为30名在几个领域中获得学士学位的全职学生提供奖学金。其中包括生物学，土木工程，计算机科学，电气工程，数学科学，机械工程，（一般）科学以及结构设计和构造学位。在宾夕法尼亚州哈里斯堡的第一年，将有三名十个学生的队列获得支持，并将获得四年的科学工作。低收入的第一代学生在参加高等教育机构时面临一些挑战。一些挑战包括更高水平的压力，较低的生活满意度，减少的归属感以及对STEM领域的兴趣。这些因素可能会影响学生在继续前进的持久性。该项目旨在研究一系列相互关联的项目组件如何促进STEM学者的持久性与学术兴趣，积极态度，STEM计划的严谨性以及对STEM计划的承诺有关。此外，该项目将为机构如何创建一系列综合和跨学科的支持结构，从而促进STEM学生在整个本科学位的寻求过程中的持久性，从而增强所有当前和潜在的STEM学生的学习机会。该项目支持NSF促进潜水员，公平和包容性STEM计划的使命。该项目将包括各种强大的招聘策略和通过同龄人，STEM教师的跨学科参与以及从职业领域的代表来促进学生参与社会和学术经验的关注。这将包括特别关注参加学者社会情感需求的半岛。该项目的总体目标是增加具有证明财务需求的低收入，高成就的大学生的茎学位完成。 Prenzel的兴趣模型的坚持，项目目标包括：（i）增加潜水员，低收入，有才华的学生的数量，这些学生从宾夕法尼亚州哈里斯堡茎本科课程中招募并毕业； （ii）为STEM边境地区的劳动力做出贡献； （iii）实施课程和支持的活动，以促进学者在STEM计划中的持久性； （iv）确定从这些课程和支持活动的因素，有助于学者的持久性留在STEM本科课程中并成功地毕业；并传播有关茎成分在促进本科STEM计划中持久性的作用的知识。相互关联的STEM组件包括学者支持，基于团队的同伙和参与活动。在学术（SPA）研讨会中，持续存在的学者的结构化多层指导和实施是该项目的两个核心组成部分。温泉研讨会旨在减轻低收入学生在STEM参加挑战课程时所经历的压力和焦虑。另一个项目组成部分是当地工业的广泛参与，例如提供实习和心理化学者来实现这些目标。样本项目可交付成果包括行业心理计划，基于样本团队的微积分模块，学者研究或内部化产品以及评估结果。可以预料，从将持久性框架应用于STEM组件的经验教训将提高其他机构低收入，学术才华的学生的保留率和毕业率。调查结果将通过公共资助的四年制机构的区域渠道传播，重点是如何最好地收集和呈现采用宽度所需的相关信息。该项目由NSF在科学，技术，工程和数学计划方面的奖学金提供资金，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人数，他们在STEM领域获得了学位。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。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来通过评估来诚实地通过评估来诚实地支持。