skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Community College and University Collaboration for STEM Teacher Preparation
We examined a collaboration between a community college and a university that aimed to encourage STEM majors to pursue science and mathematics teaching careers. This qualitative study examined the impact of recruiting students and offering UTeach replication courses at a community college on students' interest in teaching and actual matriculation rates into an educator preparation program. Several barriers were identified, including nuanced financial barriers, interinstitutional challenges (ex., the way courses were transferred), student inability to move to the university's location, and cultural differences at the university campus that decreased student interest in matriculation. The study also found that the program increased student interest in STEM teaching, strengthened student confidence in their teaching ability, and materially changed students' educational plans.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2050397
PAR ID:
10597145
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Intelligenta Connect
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of applied research in the community college
Edition / Version:
2024
Volume:
24
Issue:
2
ISSN:
1068-610X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
121-135
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
BARRIERS TO TRANSFER COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP EDUCATOR PREPARATION STEM TEACHING
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)
    This work in progress paper presents an overview of the Hispanic Alliance for the Graduate Education and the Professoriate (H-AGEP) program. H-AGEP is working on developing and implementing a new model to improve the preparation and transition of Hispanic STEM doctoral students into community college faculty positions. The partnership is a collaborative effort between the City College of New York (CCNY) (lead institution) and The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) along with a group of partner community colleges: LaGuardia Community College, Queensborough Community College, and El Paso Community College. The H-AGEP model consists of three main elements: (1) a training and mentoring program for effective STEM teaching at community colleges; (2) a training program for effective mentoring of community college students in STEM research; and (3) a professional development program to address career preparation, transitioning, and advancement at academic careers in community colleges. H-AGEP research goals are: (1) to consider the collected evaluation and research data to determine what intervention activities are most impactful, and (2) to better understand the career-decision making process of Hispanic STEM doctoral students regarding whether they will seek employment at community colleges and other two-year institutions. An interesting aspect of the partnership is that the institutions in El Paso, Texas, serve primarily a Mexican-American student population while the New York institutions serve primarily a Hispanic population of Caribbean origin. This provides the unique opportunity to compare Hispanic students from both groups. The program evaluation: (1) documents and provides feedback on H-AGEP activities and model implementation; and (2) assesses the extent to which H-AGEP is achieving its intended outcomes. Assessment results on the first cohort of students in the program show the value of including community college faculty as career and teaching mentors in the program. Furthermore, the effect of model interventions in students from the first cohort show positive advances in improving teaching skills, increasing student professional networks, and increasing interest and awareness in careers at community college. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Community College Journal of Research and Practice)
    A study of hidden risks, anxieties and barriers to STEM student transfer from community college to a large, comprehensive university is presented. This qualitative study employed a thematic analysis of student responses to a semi- structured interview that asked students about their hesitancy to transfer to a 4-year institution. Participants included students enrolled in a collaborative NSF-sponsored S-STEM scholarship project between three community colleges and a large public university (all in the same large metropolitan area). The project included elements that are well documented in the literature to encourage transfer. These include advising visits by university staff, clear articulation path-ways, scholarship support to assist with costs, peer and near peer mentoring opportunities, and cohort-building activities between campuses and on each individual campus. Transfer rates in this group were higher, but still many students with declared interest in transferring did not transfer on time or at all. The authors identified numerous hidden risks and barriers to transfer, in addition to the well-known ones found in the literature. These include additional academic, financial, social, logistical and external/family related barriers. A theme common to many of these barriers was complex bureaucratic processes and events outside of student’s direct control. Many student comments highlighted the importance of in-person connections, mentoring and advising 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, American Society for Engineering Education)
    Broadening participation in engineering among underrepresented minority students remains a big challenge for institutions of higher education. Since a large majority of underrepresented students attend community colleges, engineering transfer programs at these community colleges can play an important role in addressing this challenge. However, for most community college engineering programs, developing strategies and programs to increase the number and diversity of students successfully pursuing careers in engineering is especially challenging due to limited expertise, shrinking resources, and continuing budget crises. This paper is a description of how a small engineering transfer program at a Hispanic-Serving community college in California developed effective partnerships with high schools, other institutions of higher education, and industry partners in order to create opportunities for underrepresented community college students to excel in engineering. Developed through these partnerships are programs for high school students, current community college students, and community college engineering faculty. Programs for high school students include a) the Summer Engineering Institute – a two-week residential summer camp for sophomore and junior high school students, and b) the STEM Institute – a three-week program for high school freshmen to explore STEM fields. Academic and support programs for college students include: a) Math Jam – a one-week intensive math placement test review and preparation program; b) a scholarship and mentoring program academically talented and financially needy STEM students; c) a two-week introduction to research program held during the winter break to prepare students for research internships; d) a ten-week summer research internship program; e) Physics Jam – an intensive program to prepare students for success in Physics; f) Embedded Peer Instruction Cohort – a modified Supplemental Instruction program for STEM courses; g) STEM Speaker Series – a weekly presentation by professionals talking about their career and educational paths. Programs for community college STEM faculty and transfer programs include: a) Summer Engineering Teaching Institute – a two-day teaching workshop for community college STEM faculty; b) Joint Engineering Program – a consortium of 28 community college engineering programs all over California to align curriculum, improve teaching effectiveness, improve the engineering transfer process, and strengthen community college engineering transfer programs; c) Creating Alternative Learning Strategies for Transfer Engineering Programs – a collaborative program that aims to increase access to engineering courses for community college students through online instruction and alternative classroom models; and d) California Lower-Division Engineering Articulation Workshop – to align the engineering curriculum. In addition to describing the development and implementation of these programs, the paper will also provide details on how they have contributed to increasing the interest, facilitating the entry, improving the retention and enhancing the success of underrepresented minority students in engineering, as well as contributing to the strengthening of the community college engineering education pipeline. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; (, Journal of College Science Teaching)
    United States policy aims to bolster a declining interest in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), professions. This disinterest is especially notable in women, Latinx, Black and Indigenous people who make up first-generation Americans attending college. Removing barriers for those under-represented in the STEM professions could sustain a pipeline of undergraduates, and challenge inequity in cultural diversity in the STEM workforce. This study examines one program and its impact on transfer students in their pursuit of STEM careers. This is a qualitative analysis from 57 interviews of transfer students from community colleges into biological studies at a four-year university. Data were transcribed and coded, with the codes presented as evidence for themes that repeated within and across interviews. Codes and themes were analyzed to detect patterns in student views over four years. Results confirm the importance of financial and structural support as necessary but not sufficient to contradict the societal biases that contribute to low interest. Data support the importance of student views of the gender and disposition of faculty in the retention of students under-represented in STEM studies. The results are discussed in the context of two theories Stereotype Threat and the Imposter Syndrome. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science)
    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
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email