H.S.I. Institutional Transformation Project: NMSU-MAS, Mejorando las Aulas en STEM/Improving STEM Classrooms

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, this Track 3 project aims to enhance the success of a diverse population of students through faculty professional development focused on equitable and inclusive teaching practices. This will increase the number of Hispanic, first-generation, and low-income students who complete STEM degrees and are prepared to successfully enter the workforce or pursue advanced training. This is important as it will contribute to a more diverse, and therefore more innovative and productive, STEM workforce and develop role models for future generations of students. This project will investigate the impact of a specific model of faculty professional development on faculty teaching and the success of a diverse STEM student population, including Hispanic and first-generation students at a land-grant Hispanic-Serving Institution. The results of this project will contribute to the understanding of (i) How faculty make decisions about teaching strategies, particularly in light of institutional equity, diversity, and inclusivity (EID) and research priorities (ii) How faculty professional development focusing on active, culturally-relevant and welcoming practices impacts faculty and their teaching and (iii) How faculty engagement with active, culturally-relevant and welcoming practices impacts the success of a diverse STEM student population. By monitoring the impact of project activities on measures of success of students who are Hispanic, first-generation and/or low income, the project will enable the researchers to determine the extent to which specific interventions have the intended impact on students in the context of an HSI and land grant institution. This work has the potential to make substantial impacts on the number and diversity of students entering and strengthening the STEM workforce. This will create a generalizable and transferable model of faculty professional development and STEM student success that will impact faculty and students beyond our institution. 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.