Search for: All records

In the early 2000s, our primarily undergraduate, white institution (PUI/PWI), began recruiting and enrolling higher numbers of students of color and first-generation college students. However, like many of our peer institutions, our established pedagogies and mindsets did not provide these students an educational experience to enable them to persist and thrive in STEM. Realizing the need to systematically address our lack of inclusivity in science majors, in 2012 faculty from multiple disciplines developed the Science, Math, and Research Training (SMART) program. Here, we describe an educational innovation, originally funded by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, designed to support and retain students of color, first generation college students, and other students with marginalized identities in the sciences through a cohort-based, integrated, and inclusive first-year experience focused on community and sense of belonging. The SMART program engages first-year students with semester-long themed courses around “real world” problems of antibiotic resistance and viral infections while integrating the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and an optional Computer Science component. In the decade since its inception, 97% of SMART students have graduated or are on track to graduate, with 80.9% of these students earning a major in a STEM discipline. Here, we present additional student outcomes since the initiation of this program, results of the student self-evaluative surveys SALG and CURE, and lessons we have learned from a decade of this educational experience. 

Millions of dollars each year are invested in intervention programs to broaden participation and improve bachelor degree graduation rates of students enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The Virginia–North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (VA-NC Alliance), a consortium of 11 higher education institutions and one federal laboratory funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is one such investment., The VA-NC Alliance partners implement evidence-based STEM intervention programs (SIPs) informed by research and specifically designed to increase student retention and graduation rates in STEM majors. The VA-NC Alliance is conducting an Alliance-wide longitudinal research project based in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) titled “What’s Your STEMspiration?” The goal of the research project is to assess the differentiated impacts and effectiveness of the Alliance’s broadening participation efforts and identify emergent patterns, adding to the field of knowledge about culturally responsive SIPs. In other words, “What’s Your STEMspiration?” explores what influences and inspires undergraduates to pursue a STEM degree and career; and how does the development of a STEM identity support students in achieving their goals. In order to complete this research, the research team developed a survey instrument to conduct the quantitative portion of the study. Two preliminary studies, statistical analysis, and cognitive interviews were used to develop and validate the survey instrument. This paper discusses the theoretical and conceptual frameworks and preliminary studies upon which the survey is built, the methodology used to validate the instrument, and the resulting final survey tool.