Implementation Project: Pathway Ready Opportunities for Growth, Research, and Excellence in STEM Skills (PROGRESS) Project

Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View TX

Investigators

Abstract

Implementation Projects in the HBCU-UP program provide support to design, implement, study and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research. The Pathway Ready Opportunities for Growth, Research, and Excellence in STEM Skills (PROGRESS) Project at Prairie View A & M University seeks to support the representation of students from minoritized groups in the STEM workforce by increasing the number of STEM graduates from PVAMU. The project aims to produce globally competitive candidates, bring talent to different sectors in STEM, and contribute to the national STEM workforce. The project's theoretical framework states that successful outcomes in STEM education occur by blending psychological and social-environmental factors with STEM capital-building. The PROGRESS Project will cultivate STEM knowledge and professional competency in students through an interdisciplinary STEM educational design approach. The specific goal of the PROGRESS Project is to increase the number of STEM graduates at Prairie View A&M University through focusing on persistence in STEM majors. The potential societal impact involves acquiring assets that will help achieve the goal, including STEM cultural capital and STEM social capital. By developing 21st-century learning, literacy, and life skills, scholars will collect the tools necessary to build their STEM capital. STEM majors in the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics will have access to resources within and outside of the natural sciences, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of science and career options. The PROGRESS Project will focus on three objectives to build these skills and help students develop STEM capital, including designing and implementing a) a Panther PROGRESS Network for STEM students to access academic, career, and research mentoring, b) interdisciplinary STEM courses, and c) Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). The project aims to use research and evidence-based strategies to improve the quality of STEM education and achieve these goals. An evaluation of the project’s objectives is underpinned by formative and summative methods for documenting outcomes and tracking benchmark progress. 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.