Developing a Diversified STEM Education Trajectory: Community College STEM Participation via Conference Participation

Cuny Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn NY

Investigators

Abstract

Early exposure to research has been shown to be formative to a student’s decision to pursue STEM, yet research experiences are not readily available to community college students. Community college students constitute one-third of U.S. undergraduates and consist of larger portions of underrepresented communities, a potential pipeline for a STEM workforce that reflects the diversity of the local community. This project will develop co-curricular programming that acclimates community college students to STEM and the academic process. A cohort of first year students will be recruited each semester, over five years, to a workshop series that provides academic guidance, mentorship, exposure to STEM research, careers, and community-building activities. Students who demonstrate promise at the end of the semester will be invited to attend a national conference. This project will recruit first-year community college students to attend STEM conferences to explore how their interactions with the scientific community at large impact academic trajectory. The project will investigate how identifying as a scientist early on plays a role in student persistence and retention in STEM. Informed by Social Cognitive Career Theory, the project will take an action research approach to adapt programming to the needs of the cohort to account for variabilities in college preparedness and education loss due to the pandemic. Student mindset will be determined by surveys and interviews, so that programmatic evaluation leads to informed decisions in a timely manner. The longer-term effects of the program will be assessed by student output such as participation in research programs, extra-curricular work, transfer to STEM baccalaureate programs, testimonials, and other indicators of student trajectory. The proposed study will generate discipline-based research specific to community colleges, lending insight on how underrepresented students find their way to STEM research. This project aims to show how underrepresented students from community colleges can start to identify as scientists by capitalizing on their curiosity and love of learning. Findings will be disseminated in research conferences and papers. This project has implication for using conference participation to promote equity and will be a driver for diversifying the STEM workforce. This project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education activity (EDU Racial Equity). The activity supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise. This activity aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations. Programs across EDU contribute funds to the Racial Equity activity in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate. 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.