HSI Institutional Transformation Project: Retention and Achievement for Introductory STEM English Learners (RAISE)

University Enterprises Corporation At Csusb, San Bernardino CA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 3 Institutional Transformation Project (ITP) aims to improve retention in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) programs with a language and culture-focused approach in introductory STEM courses, in which there are substantial bottlenecks to student retention in STEM disciplines nation-wide. All STEM students face challenges in discipline-specific academic language, which is defined as unique language used by practitioners to communicate in an academic discipline and is different from everyday usage of language. Academic language is also an added challenge to English learners. Language-conscious teaching is a culturally responsive way to support student success and is common in K-12 education but not in higher education. This work will contribute to understanding the role of academic language and language-centric pedagogy in STEM student success at the university level. The Nation’s demographics indicate that the number of multilingual and English learner students is ever-increasing, and preliminary inquiry suggests that English learners represent 15-30% of incoming freshmen. Thus, the broader impact of this project is that it will help develop a STEM workforce that reflects this diversity and leverages its multilingual assets. This will be essential for the United States to stay competitive in an increasingly multicultural world. Upon successful implementation of the project, the expected outcomes are: (1) student success and retention will improve in introductory STEM courses; (2) cultural and pedagogical shifts will occur among faculty to account for and celebrate the unique language skills of our students; (3) institutions will be more cognizant of supporting and planning for the success of English learners and multilingual students. The specific aims of the project are to (1) establish a faculty and staff learning community around STEM academic language challenges and evidence-based interventions. The culture and contexts of the incoming class will be explored through partnerships with local high schools that are major feeder campuses to the university; (2) develop and implement best practices for collecting institutional data on English learners; (3) design and implement interventions targeting STEM academic language challenges. It is expected that some STEM-focused English learner interventions designed for K-12 programs can be effectively adapted and adopted for university-level introductory STEM courses to benefit all students, including English learners. Promising interventions will undergo more formal evaluation and investigation for efficacy; (4) research student and faculty engagement in STEM academic language. How students engage with STEM disciplinary language, what STEM faculty attitudes towards teaching and engaging in academic language are, and how those attitudes affect student learning will be examined. Results will be broadly disseminated through publication, professional organizations, and networks through the large California State University system. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims. 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.