Board 185: “Someone has Invested in Me to Do This": Supporting Low-Income Students to Persist in STEM Through a NSF S-STEM Grant

Rachel Funk; Jim Lewis; Leilani Pai; Johan Benedict Cristobal; Brittany Rader

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/46749

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Paper Authors

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Rachel Funk University of Nebraska, Lincoln

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Dr. Funk has served as a research scientist with the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) since 2021. She specializes in research about student experiences. Dr. Funk currently serves as the project coordinator and lead researcher of a S-STEM grant seeking to better understand factors that influence the persistence of students in STEM.

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Jim Lewis University of Nebraska, Lincoln

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Leilani Pai University of Nebraska, Lincoln

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Johan Benedict Cristobal University of Nebraska, Lincoln orcid.org/0009-0009-1978-2464

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Johan Benedict Cristobal is a fourth-year Mathematics doctoral candidate and student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). His dissertation work is in Mathematics Education, centered around how instructors have framed their teaching and their students' learning, how these frames shape how instructors notice classroom events, and the influence of culture in shaping these frames. Cristobal is currently working with the lead researcher of a S-STEM grant seeking to better understand factors that influence the persistence of students in STEM.

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Brittany Rader

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Abstract

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the S-STEM project, STEM CONNECT (Award No. 1930211) involves a partnership among three institutions (including one bachelor’s degree-awarding and two associate’s degree-awarding institutions) aimed at supporting cohorts of low-income, high achieving students (“Scholars”) to succeed in obtaining a STEM degree that emphasizes computer science and mathematics. The project is particularly interested in supporting women, underrepresented minorities, first generation students, transfer students, and rural students. The project uses a variety of mechanisms to support Scholars, including providing academic support through tutoring, connecting Scholars with faculty and peer mentors, developing community-building activities (e.g., Puzzle Hunts, documentary viewings), and providing career development activities (e.g., tours of local engineering and technology businesses).

In this poster session, we present an analysis of data on students’ academic progress (e.g., grades, graduation rates) and STEM work experiences (e.g., internships, research opportunities) as well as a qualitative analysis of student interview data to describe to what extent and how project structures and activities have helped Scholars to persist in their selected STEM majors and STEM career pathways. Specifically, we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of data from student focus groups held over a period of three years (three in Spring 2021, nine in Spring 2022, and eight in Spring 2023), during which Scholars were asked to reflect on and evaluate components of the project, as well as interviews with five women Scholars about their experiences. We used theories of capital (e.g., social capital theory, Yosso’s cultural wealth model) to aid in the development of themes. Overall, Scholars valued the extent to which the project invested in their educational and professional success. Major themes highlight the importance of mentors, positioning Scholars as STEM professionals, and academic support structures in increasing Scholars’ sense of belonging and desire to persist in STEM. Mentors were shown to play a critical role in a.) supporting times of transition (e.g., transitioning from applied to proof-based courses, transitioning from small class sizes at a community college to large enrollment courses at a bachelor’s degree-awarding institution) b.) helping Scholars get “a foot in the door” to obtain relevant work experiences and c.) assisting students in navigating academic structures perceived as barriers to their academic pathway. Scholars also valued project opportunities that allowed students to envision themselves as professionals (e.g., through speakers who talked about their professional journey, by interacting with “like-minded peers” that have similar “goals and drives”) and that positioned Scholars as professionals (e.g., by inviting Scholars to serve as panelists at local events, by giving students funding to attend a STEM conference). Further, Scholars appreciated the project’s efforts to enroll scholars in the same sections of courses, as Scholars saw the value in being able to collaborate with peers that they know. Finally, an overarching theme from these data was that project structures and activities were often successful because they built upon the assets (e.g., aspirations) that Scholars brought with them to college.

Citation
Format

Funk, R., & Lewis, J., & Pai, L., & Cristobal, J. B., & Rader, B. (2024, June), Board 185: “Someone has Invested in Me to Do This": Supporting Low-Income Students to Persist in STEM Through a NSF S-STEM Grant Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/46749

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Funded by the National Science Foundation, the S-STEM project, STEM CONNECT (Award No. 1930211) involves a partnership among three institutions (including one bachelor’s degree-awarding and two associate’s degree-awarding institutions) aimed at supporting cohorts of low-income, high achieving students (“Scholars”) to succeed in obtaining a STEM degree that emphasizes computer science and mathematics. The project is particularly interested in supporting women, underrepresented minorities, first generation students, transfer students, and rural students. The project uses a variety of mechanisms to support Scholars, including providing academic support through tutoring, connecting Scholars with faculty and peer mentors, developing community-building activities (e.g., Puzzle Hunts, documentary viewings), and providing career development activities (e.g., tours of local engineering and technology businesses). 

In this poster session, we present an analysis of data on students’ academic progress (e.g., grades, graduation rates) and STEM work experiences (e.g., internships, research opportunities) as well as a qualitative analysis of student interview data to describe to what extent and how project structures and activities have helped Scholars to persist in their selected STEM majors and STEM career pathways. Specifically, we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of data from student focus groups held over a period of three years (three in Spring 2021, nine in Spring 2022, and eight in Spring 2023), during which Scholars were asked to reflect on and evaluate components of the project, as well as interviews with five women Scholars about their experiences. We used theories of capital (e.g., social capital theory, Yosso’s cultural wealth model) to aid in the development of themes. Overall, Scholars valued the extent to which the project invested in their educational and professional success. Major themes highlight the importance of mentors, positioning Scholars as STEM professionals, and academic support structures in increasing Scholars’ sense of belonging and desire to persist in STEM. Mentors were shown to play a critical role in a.) supporting times of transition (e.g., transitioning from applied to proof-based courses, transitioning from small class sizes at a community college to large enrollment courses at a bachelor’s degree-awarding institution) b.) helping Scholars get “a foot in the door” to obtain relevant work experiences and c.) assisting students in navigating academic structures perceived as barriers to their academic pathway. Scholars also valued project opportunities that allowed students to envision themselves as professionals (e.g., through speakers who talked about their professional journey, by interacting with “like-minded peers” that have similar “goals and drives”) and that positioned Scholars as professionals (e.g., by inviting Scholars to serve as panelists at local events, by giving students funding to attend a STEM conference). Further, Scholars appreciated the project’s efforts to enroll scholars in the same sections of courses, as Scholars saw the value in being able to collaborate with peers that they know. Finally, an overarching theme from these data was that project structures and activities were often successful because they built upon the assets (e.g., aspirations) that Scholars brought with them to college.

AU  - Rachel Funk
AU  - Jim Lewis
AU  - Leilani Pai
AU  - Johan Benedict Cristobal
AU  - Brittany Rader
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 185: “Someone has Invested in Me to Do This": Supporting Low-Income Students to Persist in STEM Through a NSF S-STEM Grant
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/46749
ER  -