This student-led research will assess a weekly lunch that eight faculty mentors implemented to promote student retention for an S-STEM scholarship cohort of approximately twenty engineering students. The faculty mentors hosted the students by providing simple home-cooked meals, which helped reduce food insecurity among the cohort while providing a venue for professional development. These lunches also provided an informal way for the faculty to connect with the students while fostering peer-to-peer relationships. The weekly lunch was initiated in the winter quarter of the first year of study for the participating students. As students moved into their sophomore year and began to enroll in separate, major-specific courses, the lunches helped to preserve previously formed relationships and group identity.
While the weekly lunches focused on social interaction and provided a relaxed environment for catching up, each lunch included professional development “nuggets” strategically timed to increase impact. Example activities included the initial introduction of faculty mentors, talks from Ph.D. students, ambassadors from student organizations, discussions about academic success, interview skills in preparation for upcoming university career fairs, and research opportunities for undergraduates.
This paper quantifies the impact of the lunches on professional development, group identity and belonging, connections with faculty mentors, and academic success using a 25-question survey. The survey includes Likert scale questions, yes/no/unsure questions, and open-ended discussion questions. While survey results show that students enjoy the lunches and believe the social and professional support activities are beneficial, the results are mixed on whether or not the lunches play a role in their decision to remain in an engineering major.
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To Pursue or Not to Pursue STEM? Faculty Behavior Enhances Student Involvement in STEM Roles by Signaling Role-Specific Support
Four studies examine the faculty–student relationship as a mechanism through which students ascertain their place in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Studies 1 and 2 use experimental methods to demonstrate STEM faculty who behave communally, relative to independently, increase undergraduates’ belonging and interest in STEM roles through anticipation of greater role-specific support (i.e., support that emphasizes guiding students through structures and activities of field-specific roles). Study 3 then examined the consequences of role-specific support for undergraduates’ belonging and interest in STEM. Students anticipated more belonging and interest in STEM roles when faculty provided high levels of role-specific support. Finally, STEM doctoral students’ perception of role-specific support from faculty related to their belonging and future identification in STEM fields (Study 4). Taken together, these studies demonstrate the importance of students’ construals of role-specific support from faculty, and how faculty behavior signals role-specific support, with benefits for student involvement in STEM.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1943041
- PAR ID:
- 10315329
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Social Psychological and Personality Science
- ISSN:
- 1948-5506
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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null (Ed.)Purpose The purpose of this case study is to explore the perceptions of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty members toward mentoring undergraduates. Design/methodology/approach Within the context of a student scholarship and faculty development project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), STEM faculty members were interviewed at a small teaching-focused university in South Texas, United States. This research study utilized a qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews with nine Mathematics and Computer Science faculty members. Transcripts were coded thematically, beginning with open coding and continuing with repeated rounds of comparison leading to the identification of four themes. Findings Four themes were identified in the data: describing settings where mentoring occurs, identifying the tasks of mentoring, developing skills for mentoring others and inhabiting the identity of a mentor. These findings suggest that increasing faculty engagement and effectiveness in mentoring STEM students may be a matter of broadening the definition of mentoring and helping faculty members develop the identity of a mentor. Practical implications In an effort to promote retention of students, specifically within STEM fields, many initiatives highlight the importance of faculty mentoring for undergraduate students. This research suggests that faculty members' perceptions of the role and structure of a mentoring relationship will shape this relationship and have an impact on student persistence and success. Originality/value While most studies of faculty–student mentoring focus on the experiences of students, this study explored faculty members' perceptions of that relationship.more » « less
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A sense of belonging in a particular context is cued not only by the people in the role but by the affordances of the role—that is, the opportunities for goal pursuit. We investigate this role-based belonging in four studies documenting that the perceived affordances of social roles inform sense of belonging and convey known benefits of belonging. Perceiving more communal opportunities in naturalistic science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) settings was associated with heightened belonging in those roles (Studies 1–2). Experimentally manipulating collaborative activities in a science lab increased anticipated belonging in the lab and fostered interest, particularly among women (Study 3). Finally, mentally simulating communal affordances in a role promoted recovery from belonging threat: Considering communal opportunities in STEM facilitated recovery of STEM-specific belonging after recalling exclusion in STEM (Study 4). Investigations of role-based belonging offer the potential for both theoretical and practical advances.
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Previous studies have documented student–faculty interaction in STEM, but fewer studies have specifically studied negative forms of interaction such as discrimination from faculty. Using a sample of 562 STEM undergraduates from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we use hierarchical generalized linear modeling to investigate various types of student–faculty interaction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and in particular, the link between discrimination from faculty and retention in STEM. While Black students interacted more frequently with faculty, they were also most likely to report experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination. Overall, female, Black, and Latinx students were more likely to leave STEM by the fourth year of college than male, White, and Asian American peers. Feeling that professors made a student feel uncomfortable due to race/ethnicity was negatively linked with STEM retention. None of the traditional forms of student–faculty interaction (i.e., non-discriminatory) predicted retention. Variation in patterns by race, gender, and income are discussed, as well as implications for research, policy, and practice.more » « less
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With support from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education, this five-year project led by a two-year HSI seeks to provide underrepresented students with mentored work experiences in computer information systems. Students will have access to on-campus work experiences and internships in businesses and industries. It is anticipated that some examples of potential student projects include mobile application development, cybersecurity, and computer support. It is expected that these experiences will increase undergraduate student interest, persistence, and success in computer information systems, as well as in STEM more broadly. To ensure that they are well-prepared for and gain the most from their work experiences, students will receive training on employability skills such as communication, teamwork, and project management. In addition, during their work experiences, students will be mentored by faculty, industry professionals, and peers. To strengthen the capacity of faculty to serve all students, including Hispanic students, the project will provide faculty with professional development focused on equity mindset. This framework to provide mentored work experiences will be developed and piloted at Phoenix College, in the computer information technology department and eventually expanded to other STEM fields at the institution. Following this, the project also intends to expand this framework four other two-year HSIs in the region. Through this work, the project aims to develop a replicable model for how two-year institutions can develop work experiences that foster increased student graduation and entry into STEM career pathways. This project, which is currently in its first year, seeks to examine how a curriculum that integrates cross-sector partnerships to provide work experiences can enhance STEM learning and retention. Using mixed methods and grounded theory, the project will expand knowledge about: (1) the impact of cross-sector partnerships that support work-focused experiential teaching and learning; (2) systematic ways to maintain and better use cross-sector partnerships; and (3) the degree to which a model of work-focused learning experiences can be adopted at other two-year HSIs and by other STEM fields. Baseline data about Hispanic serving identity at the pilot institution has been collected and assessed at the institutional, departmental, and for different educator roles including faculty, support staff, and administrative leaders to produce inputs towards developing a detailed plan of action. Early results from baseline data, visualizations, and planning responses will be reported in the submission. Expected long term results of the project include: development of sustainable mechanisms to foster cross-sector partnerships; increased student retention and workforce readiness; and measurable successes for STEM students, particularly Hispanic students, at two-year HSIs.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211035003
