Activities in an S-STEM Program To Catalyze Early Entry into Research (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Education
Undergraduate research opportunities have been demonstrated to promote recruitment, retention, and inclusion of students from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines. The opportunity to engage in hands-on, discovery-based activities as part of a community helps students develop a strong self-identity in STEM and strengthens their self-efficacy in what can otherwise be daunting fields. Kansas State University has developed an array of undergraduate research opportunities, both in the academic year and summer, and has established a management infrastructure around these programs. The Graduate School, which hosts its own Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program aimed at URM and first-generation college students, coordinates the leadership of the other grant-funded programs, and conducts a series of enrichment and networking activities for students from all the programs. These include professional development as well as primarily social sessions. The Kansas LSAMP, led by Ka...
2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings
oversees multiple Education and Outreach programs at the University of Texas at Austin. Her roles include: Staff Education and Outreach Director for the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials, a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and as the Pre-college Education Director for the NASCENT Engineering Research Center focused on nanomanufacturing. She manages programs in the areas of graduate student traineeship and career development, undergraduate research, Research Experiences for K-12 Teachers, high school student research internships, and general science/engineering outreach to the local K-12 community.
2010
Analysis of data collected from 108 respondents to the Survey of Summer Research Programs were conducted using descriptive and multivariate statistics to measure students' satisfaction with their SURE program, their level of engagement in the research project, and learning gains achieved as a result of participating in the program. Results suggest that SURE participants are generally satisfied with the program, despite some relative dissatisfaction with one's mentor. Several learning outcomes are associated with participating in a SURE, and participation also seems to sustain or increase students' interest rather than initiate new interest in graduate education. Background traits and learning gains were positive predictors of research self-efficacy, explaining approximately 52% of the variance in students' confidence in their research skills.
The Components of a Successful S-STEM Program
Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
In 1999, the National Science Foundation created the "Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships" (CSEMS) program to provide funding for institutions to supply scholarships for academically talented and financially needy students to complete an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree in computer science, computer technology, engineering, engineering technology, or mathematics. In 2004, the program was renamed to "Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" (S-STEM) and modified to include students from physical and life sciences. Appalachian State University (ASU) has been the recipient of four CSEMS/S-STEM awards since 2001 and the scholarships have funded 161 students. Nearly all of these students have high levels of financial need and the majority are first generation college students. Overall, the program has retained 87 percent of these students; 12 percent of the scholars completed a bachelor's and then continued on to complete a master's degree or are in the process of doing so. The retention rate has increased as our program has improved. The retention rate of the current cohort of S-STEM students is 92.3 percent; 31 percent of the students in the current program completed a bachelor's degree and are pursuing or have completed a master's degree. These retention numbers are significantly higher than the 31 percent national average reported by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, these retention numbers are higher than those found at our own institution for all Computer Science and Mathematics majors. This paper discusses the components of our successful program.
Cell Biology Education, 2010
Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to enhance the educational experience and retention of college students, especially those from underrepresented populations. However, many challenges still exist relative to building community among students navigating large institutions. We developed a novel course called Entering Research that creates a learning community to support beginning undergraduate researchers and is designed to parallel the Entering Mentoring course for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty serving as mentors of undergraduate researchers. The course serves as a model that can be easily adapted for use across the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines using a readily available facilitator's manual. Course evaluations and rigorous assessment show that the Entering Research course helps students in many ways, including finding a mentor, understanding their place in a research community, and connecting their research to their course work in the biological and physical sciences. Students in the course reported statistically significant gains in their skills, knowledge, and confidence as researchers compared with a control group of students, who also were engaged in undergraduate research but not enrolled in this course. In addition, the faculty and staff members who served as facilitators of the Entering Research course described their experience as rewarding and one they would recommend to their colleagues.
Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 2017
In 2000 several STEM faculty at Bethel College in Kansas designed and began offering a one-week intensive residential summer research experience for high school students – the Bethel College Summer Science Institute. The core idea underlying the design was to motivate students through the excitement of discovery. This event has been offered annually since that time and emphasizes collaboration with others during the research process, learning laboratory techniques, systematic data recording, data analysis methods, formal oral presentation of research results, exposure to cutting-edge STEM topics, and a residential experience with recreational activities mentored by college STEM students. Research topics have varied across STEM disciplines, including biology, psychology, chemistry, neuroscience, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and astronomy. Instruction involves a bare minimum of didactic presentation with emphasis on active involvement in laboratory or field activities. ...
LA-STEM Research Scholars Program: A Model for Broadening Diversity in STEM Education
Technology & Innovation, 2018
In the U.S., less than half of the students who enter into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate curriculum as freshmen will graduate with a STEM degree. An increased need exists for innovative initiatives that promote undergraduate retention and achievement within STEM. The Louisiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (LA-STEM) Research Scholars Program at Louisiana State University, within the Office of Strategic Initiatives, is an excellent model for increasing persistence and achievement within the STEM disciplines. For more than a decade, LA-STEM has holistically provided quality mentoring, effective learning strategies, unique undergraduate research opportunities, leadership and professional development, and intensive graduate school preparation to a diverse population of STEM undergraduates. Program success has included an 89% overall graduation rate in STEM, considerable national award and fellowship recognition, high matriculation of students into postgraduate programs, as well as a notable reduction in the achievement gap between underrepresented and female participants in comparison to majority males.
STAIRSTEP: An interdisciplinary program fo retention and outreach in STEM
2011
Lamar University's Students Advancing through Involvement in Research Student Talent Expansion Program (STAIRSTEP) is designed to increase the number of United States students receiving undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The program's goals are to attract students to STEM, retain them through to graduation, and help them transition to careers or advanced study in STEM. The STAIRSTEP program targets talented "at risk" students who face social and economic barriers that can make it difficult for them to complete degrees in STEM. This includes women and minorities who are underrepresented in STEM, low income and first generation students. It uses recognized strategies from the literature for increasing participation in STEM and implements them in an innovative way. The program has been very successful in its first two years. This paper describes the program's strategies, activities and results achieved during this time. Benefits and challenges of the interdisciplinary approach are discussed, and key elements essential to the program's success are identified.
Women in STEM: The Effect of Undergraduate Research on Persistence
ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2017
The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers constitutes a major issue in postsecondary science education. Perseverance of women in STEM is linked to a strong science identity. Experiential learning activities, such as undergraduate research, increase science identity and thus should help keep women in STEM. Most studies on research program development are from 4-year institutions, yet many women start at community colleges. The goal of this study was to fill this gap. Science identity and experiential learning theories provided the framework for this case study at a local institution (LECC). Semistructured interviews determined college science faculty and administrators perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of undergraduate research, the viability of developing a research program, and specific research options feasible for LECC. Transcripted data were analyzed through multiple rounds of coding yielding five themes: faculty perception of undergraduate research, authentic experiences, health technologies/nursing programs, LECC students career focus, and the unique culture at LECC. The most viable type of undergraduate research for LECC is course-based and of short timeframe. The project study advocates the use of citizen science (CS) studies in the classroom as they are relatively short-term and can take the place of lab sessions. The true benefit is that students perform authentic science by contributing to an actual scientific research project. CS projects can effect social change by developing science literate citizens, empowering Section 1: The Problem
Undergraduate Research Experience For STEM Students: Efforts And Outcomes
Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), 2017
Undergraduate research for STEM students involves students who are attending college or universities pursuing a bachelor's degree, majoring in fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM). Research experience for STEM undergraduates has been viewed as a positive experience that has several benefits such as developing intellectual mentality, enhancing teamwork skills and improving preparation for graduate study. In this paper, we provide an overview of HBCU-UP research experience with STEM students at Philander Smith College for the last few years. Projects in Bioinformatics and Human-Computer Interaction of two Computer Science faculty and their teams are shared. Efforts in implementing research experiences and outcomes of these efforts are discussed.