STEM Scholars Program 2.0 (#2030890)

Holyoke Community College SCoRE: STEM Cohorts for Research and Engagement

Holyoke Community College (HCC) will expand upon its current STEM Scholars Program (NSF #1458613) to develop students' STEM identity and self-efficacy through six activities which will have culturally responsive pedagogies/practices (CRP) built into each.

The research component of the grant seeks to address untested methods to developing STEM identity in students identified by Rodriguez et al. (2019) including: 1) building and sustaining interest and competence: 2) encouraging identity performance; and, 3) supporting identity recognition by identifying ways in which culturally responsive pedagogy supports the construction of STEM identity, known to be a strong predictor of persistence in STEM (Corleone & Johnson, 2007).

There are five central activities in the project: 1) a cohort model with a common course, an enriched STEM-focused seminar (STEMinar); 2) intensive faculty and peer mentoring; 3) early undergraduate research; 4) civic engagement; 5) tutoring in challenging STEM courses, and 6) professional development (PD) for STEM faculty on CRP.

The project tests the hypothesis that when CRP is intentionally embedded in the STEM program interventions, scholars will have an improved STEM identity and sense of belonging, which will increase their success, achievement, and retention. The research questions will determine how CRP-embedded program interventions are related to student success (persistence, retention, graduation, transfer) and to students’ affective attributes (STEM identity, self-efficacy and sense of belonging). This project will address research gaps in CRP identified by Sleeter (2012) such as a need for “evidence-based research that documents connections between CRP and student outcomes that include academic achievement.”

This website contains highlights of our work, and is designed and maintained by STEM scholars © Christian Dela Cruz and Josh Betancourt.