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1. Learning to Improve: Early Evaluation of the First2 Network

   https://doi.org/10.55632/pwvas.v93i1.837  

   Howley, Caitlin (April 2021, Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science)

   The first two years of an undergraduate student’s STEM program of study are particularly treacherous, with roughly half of STEM majors switching to other fields or dropping out entirely after their sophomore year. Moreover, attending a rural high school that was unable to offer higher-level math courses and being a first-generation college student further increase the likelihood of STEM attrition.   This presentation will feature evaluation results from the First2 Network’s first two years of operation. Funded by the National Science Foundation, First2 is a collective impact effort to improve STEM persistence among rural, first-generation college students in West Virginia. With students themselves as co-creators of solutions to problems of persistence, core Network activities include iterative testing of improvements to practice, development of a statewide network to support student success, and capacity building to ensure sustainability.   Study methods include surveys and interviews, observation of Network activities, document review, social network analysis, and tracking of student progress. Key findings suggest rapid Network expansion, establishment of core processes to support workgroups, provision of Network-wide training in improvement science, and successful facilitation of summer immersive research experiences for targeted students (in-person in 2019 and virtually in 2020). Early outcomes include statistically significant improvements in students’ STEM efficacy and STEM identity following summer immersive experiences, and improved survey scores indicating progress through iterative testing cycles. Early persistence data from participating students is less promising. But since the purpose of the Network is to learn how to help students persist, members continue their efforts to improve. 

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2. Learning to Improve: Early Evaluation of the First2 Network.

   Howley, C. (April 2021, Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science)

   null (Ed.)

   The first two years of an undergraduate student’s STEM program of study are particularly treacherous, with roughly half of STEM majors switching to other fields or dropping out entirely after their sophomore year. Moreover, attending a rural high school that was unable to offer higher-level math courses and being a first-generation college student further increase the likelihood of STEM attrition. This presentation will feature evaluation results from the First2 Network’s first two years of operation. Funded by the National Science Foundation, First2 is a collective impact effort to improve STEM persistence among rural, first-generation college students in West Virginia. With students themselves as co-creators of solutions to problems of persistence, core Network activities include iterative testing of improvements to practice, development of a statewide network to support student success, and capacity building to ensure sustainability. Study methods include surveys and interviews, observation of Network activities, document review, social network analysis, and tracking of student progress. Key findings suggest rapid Network expansion, establishment of core processes to support workgroups, provision of Network-wide training in improvement science, and successful facilitation of summer immersive research experiences for targeted students (in-person in 2019 and virtually in 2020). Early outcomes include statistically significant improvements in students’ STEM efficacy and STEM identity following summer immersive experiences, and improved survey scores indicating progress through iterative testing cycles. Early persistence data from participating students is less promising. But since the purpose of the Network is to learn how to help students persist, members continue their efforts to improve. 

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3. Analyzing the Growth of a Statewide Network to Increase Recruitment to and Persistence in STEM

   https://doi.org/10.5406/23288612.28.2.05  

   Darrah, Marjorie; Cowley, Kimberly; Wheatley, Christopher; McJilton, Leah; Humbert, Roxann (October 2022, Journal of Appalachian Studies)

   Abstract The First2 Network is a collection of people from K–12, higher education, government, and industry who are coming together to ensure that students of West Virginia, a rural Appalachian state, will be prepared to choose science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and persist in them. This project—funded by the National Science Foundation—combines many features, including semi-annual conferences, structured working groups, summer immersive experiences for students, a student ambassador program, and network improvement communities. The growth of the First2 Network is vital to make sure that these activities and programs are disseminated and sustained statewide. This article uses social network analysis to examine participation of people around the state during the first three years of the project. Findings indicate that the network is growing in number of people and in strength of connections. Network leadership members are playing key roles in the network, and student participants who persist in their STEM majors have stronger ties to the network. Social network indicators suggest that the network has manifested positive changes in the first three years of the project, which will lead to increased communication and collaboration among state agencies related to STEM persistence within the state. 

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4. Findings from the first two years of the First2 Network.

   https://doi.org/10.55632/pwvas.v91i1.566  

   Heatherly, Sue Ann; Starcovic, Sarah; Rutherford, Rebecca; Harvey, Erica; Williamson, Kathryn; Burt-Kinderman, Joanna; Riley, Sarah; Howley, Caitlin (March 2019, Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science)

   Nationally, more than half of all college students who declare a major in STEM fields drop out or change their majors in the first two years of post-secondary education.  Among first-generation college students in West Virginia this number may approach 70%.    The First2 STEM Success Network, an NSF INCLUDES Alliance, is a cross-sector effort aimed at improving the college enrollment rate and success of undergraduate STEM students, with emphasis on rural first-generation students in West Virginia. At the core of our shared vision is the inclusion of students themselves as co-creators of the solutions.      First2 is an outgrowth of a two-year pilot project funded by the National Science Foundation in 2016. During the pilot, we began to create and test interventions that address the underlying reasons for attrition in STEM majors, and to develop a preliminary research program to better understand rural first-generation STEM students, a population for which there is scant existing research.    We engaged 36 rural first-generation students in some combination of early STEM research experiences, an online discovery-based "principles of research and development" college seminar, a “hometown ambassador” program, and leadership training. We also developed and administered an online survey to an additional 101 first generation students attending West Virginia University and Fairmont State University.    This presentation describes the research and evaluation findings from the pilot project and implications for the Network moving forward.    The First2 Network Design and Development Pilot Project was supported by National Science Foundation INCLUDES Award No. 1649323. 

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5. Growth and impact of a statewide network focused on STEM success

   Darrah, M; Wheatley, C; Stewart, J (August 2005, Research in higher education journal)

   The First2 Network is a coalition of individuals from multiple universities, K-12 schools, industry, and government organizations from a rural eastern U.S. state who collaborate to ensure that rural, first-generation undergraduate students are prepared and motivated to persist in their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major. Since its inception in 2018, this National Science Foundation-funded project has utilized student summer immersive experiences for incoming freshmen and Networked Improvement Communities to produce replicable best practices, campus student clubs, student ambassador programs, institutional teams, statewide conferences, and many other methods, all for the purpose of promoting student STEM persistence across the state. This study employs social network analysis to explore the structure, growth, and impact of the connections across this Network over the five years of its existence. Social network analysis metrics indicate that the Network grew both in size and connectivity until 2022 when policy changes led to more institutional localization for the purpose of sustainability. Students have formed robust connections with other Network members throughout the course of the project, leading to a higher STEM persistence rate among students in the Network than average at their university. Faculty from different universities across the state have made connections, which has increased productivity as a result of network membership. The available data suggests that the Network has had a positive impact on both student retention and faculty collaboration, which should be sustained and have a positive impact on STEM persistence throughout the state in years to come 

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