Preparing a Skilled Technical Workforce through Utilization and Assessment of Undergraduate Research

Mount San Antonio College, Walnut CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project builds upon the evidence that early immersion in mentored experiential learning, such as an undergraduate research experience, increases student persistence in STEM, completion of STEM certifications, and entry into the technical workforce. Since research experiences may be limited at many two-year college campuses, students at these institutions would benefit from expanded opportunities to engage in authentic research experiences. Educating enough skilled technical workers who are prepared for advanced technology industries has become a national priority in the United States, and it is essential for the country to retain its global leadership in science and technology. Community and technical colleges play a vital role in meeting this demand, especially for preparing students who are well qualified to enter the technical workforce or transfer to a four-year university to earn STEM baccalaureate degrees. An efficient and rapid way to produce the STEM professionals that the nation needs would be to increase community college student persistence in STEM fields. This project proposes to achieve that goal by providing more undergraduate research experiences to community college students. The research experiences are expected to help students gain deeper STEM knowledge and skills, to increase their academic success, and to enable them to develop the highly valued professional skills needed to enter the STEM technical workforce. The project will build on three distinct goals: (1) providing authentic undergraduate research experiences to a large number of STEM students to help strengthen their interest in STEM careers and gain professional skills that are critically important in the technical workplace; (2) modifying an assessment tool, EvaluateUR, for use in shorter (8-week) summer research experiences; and (3) implementing EvaluateUR to assess the intellectual growth and development in the students’ disciplinary and professional skills acquired through participating in the undergraduate research experiences. The project is aligned with the goals of the Advanced Technological Education program and leverages the vast research facilities and resources at the University of California, Irvine, together with the technical resources and support for modifying and implementing EvaluateUR available through SUNY-Buffalo State and the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. Four cohorts of 20 STEM students will be recruited and engaged in an undergraduate research experience. Student and faculty mentors will be assessed using the modified EvaluateUR tool. This tool has been shown to measure a broad range of desirable outcomes that include both content knowledge and the outcomes that are critically important in the workplace, including communication skills, ability to solve obstacles, problem solving skills and critical thinking. The project will work to ensure educational equity through activities that support the recruitment of women, veterans, first-time college students, racial and ethnic minorities; these groups represent an important, talented STEM pool for growing the nation's technological workforce. The project outcomes will be published through a dedicated website, presentations at local and regional conferences, including the ATE Principal Investigators Conference, the American Association of Community Colleges annual convention, and the Council on Undergraduate Research Conference. The lessons learned while implementing this project will likely be of interest to all community colleges and other academic institutions with an interest in engaging students in similar research experiences. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.