Scholarships for Oregon Scientists II

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Oregon (UO), Scholarships for Oregon Scientists II(SOS2) program addresses significant local and national needs. First, it provides clear pathways to careers in the Pacific Northwest's High technology sector through the long established Masters Industrial Internship Program (MIIP), which comprises 4 strands of post-chemistry or physics baccalaureate summer course and lab work, followed by 9-month paid internships working for one of 70+ STEM industry partners. Second, SOS2 provides opportunities for success to high-achieving, talented, high school students who often leave STEM major programs in large numbers (50% in the sciences) within two years of starting undergraduate programs. The five-year program will provide up to 60 scholarships for chemistry and physics majors. On-going partnerships with Eastern Oregon schools, the district-umbrella Inter-Mountain Education Service District, the Lane County Content in Context (C2) program, which connects five school districts, and 10 S-STEM industry and government partners, will continue. Established partnerships with six Oregon community colleges to produce seamless transitions for chemistry and physics majors, allow the university access to Oregon's most diverse higher education community. Lessons learned from prior work indicate that developing effective study habits for building science content knowledge for students during the first year in the program is critical. Consequently, developing new and continuing supports is planned for SOS2 participants to explicitly map connections between research and scientific discourse and academic fundamentals such as core science content and study skills. The proposed program also includes Freshman Interest Groups (FIG) designed to support physical science majors. An innovative aspect of the program is the development of elements of social persuasion by including scholars in various science-focused, University-sponsored outreach events. A substantial optional summer research program for SOS2 scholars is supported using internal university funds. An external evaluator with science education expertise provides feedback quarterly, drawing on a variety of data sources. Evaluation activities will inform program activities and assess the program's impact. Specifically, formative measures, including scholars' feedback from midyear surveys assessing program elements, summaries of freshmen scholars successes/challenges provided by the program coordinator and scholars, and conversations with key personnel from partner institutions. Data are gathered quarterly for all majors; GPAs and enrollment are reported. Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) is administered at the start and the end of freshman year, after a summer of research. Results are disseminated internally via the new University of Oregon (UO) Center focused on K-16 STEM career development, STEMCORE. Wide dissemination of best practices, for example, building a science-focused community of practice, takes place at monthly STEMCORE meetings. Members of the PI team publish articles and book chapters about innovative programs and attend annual meetings of national professional societies. The SOS team member from the UO Financial Aid office routinely attends national meetings for college Financial Aid officials, where he is able to detail the structure, impact and progress towards meeting goals for SOS2.