An official website of the United States government
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.
more »
« less
First Two Network: Improving STEM persistence in the first two years of college.
Many college students in West Virginia hail from rural communities and are the first in their families to pursue an undergraduate degree. Research indicates that first-generation college students can face particular barriers to their postsecondary persistence, as can rural students. However, data on the persistence of first-generation college students who are also from rural places is scant. To better understand—and help remove—the barriers confronting such young people interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the FIRST TWO Project (https://first2network.org/) brings together community college and university faculty, administrators, national laboratory professionals, and rural education experts. The FIRST TWO pilot program integrates early STEM experiences via internships, a support network for rural first-generation STEM students, and STEM skills development through a discovery-based "principles of research and development" college seminar for first-year students. A "Hometown Ambassadors" program component prepares students to return to their home communities to engage younger students’ interest in STEM, and teachers’ and school board members’ support for STEM education. Our goal is for project courses and support mechanisms to be fully transferrable to other institutions of higher education in the state so that, ultimately, more rural first-generation students participate in the wider STEM enterprise. Funding for the project is provided by the National Science Foundation INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) initiative.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1649323
- PAR ID:
- 10422907
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science
- Volume:
- 89
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0096-4263
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Achieving Change in our Communities for Equity and Student Success (ACCESS) in STEM at the University of Washington Tacoma started as a Track 1 S-STEM program in 2018 and has supported 69 students to date. This year we received Track 2 funding and welcomed our fifth cohort to campus, with funding to support ~32 additional students through 2026. University of Washington Tacoma is an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (AANAPISI), and we serve a high proportion of racial minority and first generation college students. Our ACCESS scholars are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics, Environmental Science, Biomedical Sciences, Information Technology, Computer Science and Systems, Computer Engineering and Systems, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Civil Engineering, with Computer Science and Engineering representing over 60% of ACCESS scholars to date. First-time college students and first-year transfer students receive full scholarships for their first two years, and partial scholarships for their third and fourth years. The project includes an optional Early Fall Math course to enhance entry into STEM majors, and participants are able to engage in a Research Experience or project-based Introduction to Engineering course in their first year. Coupled with individual faculty mentoring and an on-campus STEM living learning community, the quarterly Success in STEM seminar course helps scholars form a cohesive community through group mentoring, as well as develop a sense of belonging, identity, and empowerment to transform the culture of STEM. This program is distinguished by its focus on pre-STEM majors in their first and second years on campus, and includes mentor training for ~30-40 faculty in teaching and mentoring diverse student populations, thus impacting all students in our majors. Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program that focuses on the first two years of college and provides financial support, courses to introduce students to research and project-based engineering, and intensive mentoring in increasing retention and academic success for Computer Science and Engineering (CS+E) students, and whether this program helps to close equity gaps for CS+E students who are low socioeconomic status (SES), underrepresented minorities (URMs), female, and/or first generation in college (First Gen) students. We compared our student scholars to a comparison group of students who met eligibility requirements but did not participate in the program. Program scholars had higher first and second year retention, and had significantly higher GPAs. The pandemic resulted in significant social, emotional, and economic stresses for our program scholars, which may have heightened the impact of the ACCESS in STEM program.more » « less
-
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 early evaluation results from the First2 Network’s first 18 months of operation. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the First2 Network 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 four summer immersive research experiences for targeted students. 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 will be available by the time of the conference. The First2 Network is supported by National Science Foundation INCLUDES Award Nos. 1834595, 1834586, 1834601, 183457, and 1834569.more » « less
-
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.more » « less
-
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.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.55632/pwvas.v89i1.278
