Linfield College S-STEM Scholarship Recruitment and Retention Program

Linfield University, Mcminnville OR

Investigators

Abstract

This NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) project will contribute to the national effort to produce more STEM graduates by establishing a cohort of 15 academically strong scholars with demonstrated financial need. The project will build on Linfield College's robust interdisciplinary STEM programs, which emphasize experiential learning through a student-centered approach. Scholars will participate in new and existing curricular and extracurricular programs along with the broader STEM student population. Such programs include (a) student-led learning communities organized around intellectual topics, (b) an interdisciplinary science and mathematics seminar, (c) career development, and (d) one-on-one student and faculty mentoring. The theory of action for this project is based on research that shows that cultivating communities in which students connect to one another while engaging in science can foster their STEM identities and aid in their retention and persistence as STEM majors. Building upon the success of and expanding on a prior interdisciplinary initiative at Linfield, this project will support student collaboration on real-world problems that cross several disciplines through the science and mathematics seminar. The research team has developed a modified version of the Colorado Learning Attitudes in Science Survey to assess students' beliefs about the nature of science and the way it is conducted, as well as their attitudes about their own abilities to learn science before and after this intervention. Student interest surveys, participation in project activities, and monitoring of student retention and graduation rates will be performed as part of formative and summative project evaluation. Results from the project will be disseminated via education journals such as the Journal of Higher Education and the Journal of Science Teaching and at national conferences sponsored by Mathematical Association of America, American Chemical Society, and Project Kaleidoscope.