Postdoctoral Fellowship: STEMEdIPRF: Using a first-year seminar and peer mentorship program to foster well-being and academic success in biology undergraduates

Northern Illinois University, Dekalb IL

Investigators

Abstract

In the United States, more than half of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students leave programs before finishing, and only a small portion of those who graduate pursue careers in STEM. The students who leave STEM programs are disproportionately women, persons traditionally excluded because of their ethnicity or race, and non-traditional students. This affects scientific and technological progress not only by limiting the number of skilled candidates, but also in limiting diversity in the workforce. Diversity in teams has many benefits including being better able to solve complex problems. As such, it is essential to assess the issues affecting retention and work toward improvement. Supporting students’ well-being early in college has been shown to increase student success and is particularly important for those who identify as members of groups that have been marginalized in the sciences. This project assesses whether early intervention programs affect student success by helping support well-being. Specifically, this project seeks to (A) develop a peer mentorship program to accompany a first-year seminar, and (B) investigate the impacts of these early intervention programs on student success and well-being with specific focus on comparing traditional to non-traditional students. This project seeks to contribute to establishing and improving first-year seminars and STEM-specific mentorship programs nationwide. The United States economy depends on a workforce that is strong in STEM making it imperative to examine the issues affecting retention in STEM and work toward improvement. More than half of STEM students leave their selected program before graduation, and less than a third of individuals who obtain degrees remain in STEM careers post-graduation. A disproportionate number of individuals leaving STEM programs are women, persons traditionally excluded because of their ethnicity or race and non-traditional students. Engaging students early in their academic careers has been shown to increase retention and other metrics of student success. Many programs have recognized that improved student success was mediated through psychosocial factors. Supporting students’ psychosocial well-being is particularly important for those who identify as members of groups that have been marginalized in the sciences. This project will investigate whether and how early intervention and mentorship affects student success in the unique context of an R2 regional comprehensive university with a large commuter and transfer student population. A peer mentor program will be developed to accompany the “Introduction to the Biology Major” seminar at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Early intervention programs will be assessed in terms of improved outcomes of student success and how specific psychosocial factors may mediate those effects using a mixed-methods approach. Measurable outcomes of student success are equitable increases in retention, persistence, and graduation rates within the major. Metrics of student well-being are the psychosocial factors of sense of community and belonging, self-efficacy, and science identity. This project has the potential to contribute to immediate impacts on biology students at NIU and the reproducibility of research on psychosocial factors mediating the improvement of student success while informing institutional reforms on established first-year seminars and the implementation of discipline-specific mentorship programs. This project is supported by NSF’s STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) Program. The STEM Ed PRF Program aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field. 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.