Broadening Access to Diverse Students through Research Experiences at

1. 2008 S-STEM Scholars Broadening Access to Diverse Students through Research Experiences at Hope College as a Pathway to STEM Education and Careers Motivation and Connectivity: Driven by the Natural and Applied Sciences Vision 20/20 plan, and building upon Hope College’s historic strength of collaborative and productive student-faculty research experiences, Hope College has created a suite of programs designed to attract, retain and graduate a more diverse group of students with STEM majors. Dedicated faculty, administrative commitment, and support from various agencies have led to this suite of programs. Our next steps are to share strategies, leverage resources, and develop a culture to sustain our efforts. Thanks to support from our most recent HHMI award, we have funding to hire a STEM Director for Diversity Programs who will help connect and strengthen all four of these programs. This person, working with a team, will strengthen the faculty and peer-mentoring, professional development and other transitional support aspects of these programs so that all the participants are ready for success beyond these research experiences. For more information about these programs, see our chapter contribution in “Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research: Fostering Excellence and Enhancing the Impact” Editors Mary K. Boyd and Jodi L. Wesemann, Council on Undergraduate Research, in press. Hope contacts: nordellpearson@hope.edu lee@hope.edu Research Experiences Across Cultures at Hope (REACH) Science Education (SciEd) Scholars Program Created: Fall 2004 Funding: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Leadership: Kathy Winnett-Murray (Hope Biology) and Jennifer Soukhome (HS Science Teacher) Goals: As future K-12 teachers, the SciEd Scholars will have tremendous influence over the next generation of STEM students. Through research experiences, the SciEd Scholars are involved in the creation of new knowledge and can make connections between doing science and teaching science (e.g. inquiry, discovery, evaluation). Participant Recruiting and Selection: SciEd Scholars are recruited through personal invitations from faculty, flyers and information circulated across campus and within science departments. Participants are selected by a committee based upon their career goals, an essay on how participating in the program will prepare them for a teaching career, a description of the types of curriculum development and research projects they will carry out, GPA, and letters of recommendation. Participant Activities: SciEd Scholars carry out an original research project and a curriculum development project connected to their research. They participate in their research group meetings as well as a suite of special programs including weekly meetings with area educators on topics including classroom management, writing in science, and understanding the MI state teaching standards. Program Created: Fall 2005 Funding: Hope College, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Exxon-Mobile, Faculty NSF, NIH, and other external grants Leadership: Karen N. Pearson (Hope Chemistry) supported by the offices of the Dean of the Natural and Applied Sciences and Hope’s HHMI Goal: To provide meaningful research experiences for high school students who plan to study one of the STEM disciplines in college. Participant Recruiting and Selection: We work closely with area high school teachers and counselors to recruit not only high achieving students, but also students for whom this experience might be transformative for their future as college students. Participants are selected by a committee based on their GPA, an essay, a letter of recommendation from a science or math teacher, transcript and year in school. We reserve at least half the spots for members from underrepresented groups which includes gender and racial/ethnic identity. Participant Activities: REACH participants carry out an original research project under the careful mentoring of a Hope faculty member and in most cases, other undergraduate students. We also meet weekly for brown bag lunches with topics ranging from college applications and financial aid to ethics in science. Pre-Service Teachers High School Students Outcomes: All REACH participants make oral presentations about their projects at the program’s Closing Celebration attended by parents, teachers, school administrators, and other community members. Six participants have contributed to five manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. All of the REACH participants are currently or are planning to attend college. Of the 12 students from URG (2006-2008), nine said that their participation in REACH had significantly impacted their decision to purse a career in science. Outcomes: All SciEd Scholars make presentations about their research and curricular projects locally and 16 of the 19 scholars from 2005-2007 presented at regional, state or national conferences. Three manuscripts are in preparation. All 24 of the participants from 2005-2008 are educations majors. Ten of the fifteen graduates are currently K-12 teachers and one is a counselor. Unanticipated benefit of pre-service teachers being “in the research spotlight”: The Scholars report increased self-confidence as they are included in one of Hope’s most distinctive programs. This sends an important message to the entire Hope community that preparing leaders in science education is “on par” with preparing pre-medical students, pre-graduate students, etc. • Selected Project Titles • The Neurochemistry of GALP: Where Form Meets Function • The Psychological Profile of Youth Athletes with Overuse Injuries • Constructing a Chronology of Dune Movement • Bio-sand filters for clean water in Cameroon • Numbers of SciEd Scholars • 2005 – 5 Scholars • 2006 – 6 Scholars • 2007 – 8 Scholars • 2008 – 5 Scholars • 2009 – 9 Scholars • Selected Project Titles • Seed Banks, Seed Dispersal and Forest Dynamics • Toxicity of Copper in the Sediment of Local Suburban Ponds • Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Style Assessments • Numbers of REACH students • 2006 – 11 students • 2007 – 12 students • 2008 – 13 students • 2009 – 17 students Participant Comments: “I learned so many interesting things during the brief five weeks and it helped me confirm my passion for biological science. The best part of the program is that it gives you hands-on experience. ” “I view my experience in [REACH] as very positive … because I learned something new, not only about the engineering research field, but also a little something about myself and where I'm headed. “ Participant Comment: “One of the biggest connections this program helped me with was linking classroom science learning and doing science. I feel the more science one can actually “do” the more science one can teach.” Karen Nordell Pearson1, Kenneth Brown1, Herbert L. Dershem2, Kathy Winnett-Murray3, Christopher Barney3, Moses Lee1, Departments of Chemistry1, Computer Science2 and Biology3, Hope College, Holland, MI 49423 Undergraduate Research Collaborative (URC) S-STEM Scholars Program Created: Spring 2006 Funding: Hope College and Chemistry NSF-REU, National Science Foundation (STEM-ENGINES URC) Leadership: Kenneth Brown (Hope Chemistry), Tom Higgins, award PI (Harold Washington College) Goal: To increase the number of students obtaining 4-year degrees or advanced graduate degrees in STEM disciplines. The URC program targets students from 2-year colleges (2YC) who are motivated in a STEM field and offers them summer research experiences as preparation for their transfer to a 4-year college (4YC). Participant Recruiting and Selection: Hope College faculty have initiated collaborative relationships with faculty at several 2YC in Chicago and in Western Michigan. Through these collaborations, faculty at the 2YC identify students who would be good candidates for this program and encourage them to apply. Hope’s Program Director and colleagues at Hope and at the 2-YC make the selections. Participant Activities: URC participants are on campus for 10 weeks carrying out a research project under the careful mentoring of a Hope faculty member and working alongside other undergraduate students. URC students take an online ethics course, participate in safety and hygiene training, participate in a scientific ethics workshop and make at least one 15 minute presentation about their research to faculty and students in their department. Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program Created: Fall 2007 Funding: NSF S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Hope College Leadership: Herbert L. Dershem, (Hope Computer Science) Goal: To further diversify the national STEM workforce by providing scholarships, mentoring and research opportunities for students transferring from two-year colleges to Hope College to complete their baccalaureate degrees in a STEM discipline. Participant Recruiting and Selection: The S-STEM Scholars are students from two-year colleges, many of whom are non-traditional students. The students selected as S-STEM Scholars have been accepted to Hope College and awarded two years of scholarships of up to $10,000 per year. While scholarship recipients must be adequately prepared to transfer in to a Hope College science program, the determination of the scholarship recipients is not only based on academic merit, but also on financial need and the potential for the student to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. Participant Activities: Each S-STEM Scholars is offered a paid summer undergraduate research position in the student’s chosen STEM discipline for the summer prior to enrolling at Hope College. By living on campus for the summer and being part of Hope’s summer research program, the S-STEM Scholars will become part of the community of more than 200 students and faculty conducting research in a STEM field. After S-STEM Scholars begin their studies at Hope College, they will be given extensive mentoring from faculty and peers. Current students who transferred to Hope from two-year colleges have already volunteered to be part of these mentoring groups. 2-Year College Students Transfer Students Outcomes: Two of the URC participants have transferred to Hope College and all 5 of the 2007 participants are studying a STEM discipline in college. Three URC participants have contributed to two manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and 10 conference presentations have been made by Hope’s URC students. In 2009, two of the four Hope URC students are from underrepresented groups. Unanticipated Outcome: Currently three faculty at Hope and one faculty member each at Harold Washington and Harper Colleges maintain ongoing research collaborations. These relationships have enhanced the URC by maintaining research connections between the colleges throughout the academic year and helping recruit participants for the summer research programs. Outcomes: Six of the seven S-STEM Scholars that started during the summer of 2008, will be enrolled in their second year at Hope in the fall of 2009. • Selected Project Titles • Synthesis of mycosporine-like compounds • Exploring the relationships between fungal endophytes in tall fescue grasses • Numbers of S-STEM Scholars • 2008 – 7 Scholars • 2009 – 8 Scholars • Numbers of URC students • 2006 (pilot year) – 3 students • 2007 – 5 students • 2008 – 4 students • 2009 – 4 students • Selected Project Titles • The Synthesis of Ruthenium Complexes • Three Dimensionally Macroporous Electrodes Participant Responses: What were some influences on your decision to attend Hope?: “I was very impressed with the willingness the faculty and staff showed toward helping me to reach my career goals. I also liked the small college and Christian atmosphere.“ “Initially I was drawn to Hope because of their strong reputation in chemistry, small class sizes, and their excellent undergraduate research program. It wasn’t until I heard about the S-STEM scholarship that I was financially able to consider the college.“ 2008 URC participant Jide Banks and S-STEM Scholar Jackie Krintz during their presentation “Understanding the Characteristics of Macroporous and Screen Imprinted Electrodes.” Participant Comment:“Participating in the URC has enriched my undergraduate experience by affording me an opportunity to work ahead of the curve my peers are on.  The experiences of working on a summer research project and having a mentor have been the most valuable elements of this program for me.” Photos courtesy of Tom Higgins, Harold Washington College