Fostering (STEM) Identity through the Transition (FIT) to College among Underrepresented Students

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority (URM) populations to successfully complete high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The Broadening Participation Research (BPR) funding opportunity provides three-year support to enhance the understanding of the underlying issues affecting the differential participation and success rates of students from underrepresented groups in STEM. Using the Fostering Identity through Transitions (FIT) model, researchers at Stony Brook University (SBU) will study cohorts of STEM and non-STEM majors to test the FIT model with STEM programs, such as the SUNY LSAMP program, that seem likely to boost STEM identity by providing STEM skills training, research mentoring, and community building opportunities that parallel the FIT model components. The research fills important scientific knowledge gaps in broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM by conducting an in-depth theory-driven examination of the needed experiences that lead to engagement, retention, and overall success versus withdrawal among URM and non-URM students particularly during the first two years of college matriculation. The aim of the three-year study is to test whether the FIT model can be used to predict STEM success outcomes among students from historically underrepresented populations. A quantitative and qualitative data intensive methodological approach of "experience sampling" will be employed to capture pivotal academic and social experiences that lead to college success during critcal first and second year transition. An interdisciplinary advisory board will provide oversight of the project. Project results will be disseminated broadly via the institution's website, publishing of scholarly articles, conference presentations, and among institutional administrators.