Susan E. Walden - US grants

The University of Oklahoma (OU) attracts a substantial population of students from under-represented minority (URM) populations, including an unusually high proportion of Native American students (7%). As is common across the country, OU as a whole, and the College of Engineering (COE) in particular, have achieved differential levels of success in graduating students from these populations. This project will study these patterns, focusing on the questions (1) What systemic factors contribute to the success of URM students in engineering at large, predominantly white universities? and (2) What systemic factors contribute to differential success between URM populations? An external advisory board will inform the collection and analysis of data, as well as the interpretation and dissemination of results.
Intellectual Merit: Given the context, this research is building on and expanding prior research in very specific ways. First, research and interventions have routinely either focused on only one population or addressed URMs as a unit without taking into account differential needs and perspectives among the populations. Second, much of the scholarship related to URM participation in STEM fields has focused on factors related to loss from the pipeline. However, although engineering graduation rates are not as high as desired, OU has achieved atypical levels of success with URM populations. Thus, this group is in an unusual position both to disaggregate similarities and differences among populations and to identify factors related to success as well as those systemic factors that need improvement. A student's opportunities, options, and choices are affected by a complex web of factors. We have sorted our target factors into the following overlapping categories: (1) race/ethnicity; (2) attributes of engineering as a field; (3) student's background; (4) attributes of academic communities; (5) attributes of personal support structures and responsibilities; (6) attributes of student communities; and (7) student's future. In addition to examining patterns in quantitative data, qualitative data will be longitudinal and open-ended from interviews with students, faculty, advisors, and program directors, as well as observations of student group activities and student communities. These open-ended data allow investigation of the student experience in a holistic way, guided by factor categories distilled from the literature and the expertise of the research team. This team has experience with this model from work related to a grant from the NSF Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program.
Broader Impacts: This proposal is submitted through the OU-based K20+ Center for Educational and Community Renewal. The team is multidisciplinary (e.g., engineering, education, STEM education research, and African and African-American studies) and systemic (e.g., personnel include the Director of Engineering Education ). The research is contributing to the knowledge about increasing URM persistence in STEM undergraduate majors and will inform intervention efforts and future research directions. We will disseminate to faculty, administrators, policy makers, and parents by way of sessions and workshops at conferences, journal articles, campus-wide teaching seminars and other instructional development initiatives, the K20+ Center network, and appropriate websites.

This proposal describes a Track 2 project developed by the University of Oklahoma. This Track 2 proposal builds upon two Track 1 awards: The Authentic Teaching Alliance (ATA); and the Adventure Engineering (AE). The outcomes from the first two grants include: (1) a dual degree program in engineering education; (2) greater than 50% of the undergraduate Fellows were accepted into STEM graduate programs; (3) four competitive grants were awarded to the ATA teachers and Fellows; (4) over 100 teaching and learning modules were developed of which 30 are available through the Internet on the ATA website; and (5) improvements in the Fellows communications and teaching skills.

The proposed Track 2 has three stated goals: (1) build upon the success of the Track 1 awards, an example being the integration of the 100 units referenced to include more utilization of the engineering processes; (2) create summer engineering academies (SEA) that would serve to disseminate the material and be professional development opportunities for the teachers; and (3) the preparation of Future Faculty through a proposed dual STEM education degree between the Colleges of Engineering and Education. Key to the Track 2 projects is the integration of the two Track 1 activities and programs into one model.

A phased workshop will be held at the University of Oklahoma (OU) to engage school administrators in conversations to enhance their awareness of engineering as a discipline and to establish how the OU College of Engineering can optimally utilize its resources and expertise to support and increase student participation and engagement with engineering. The first phase of the workshop engages OU staff and administrators from rural school districts in a dialogue to understand the obstacles to mathematical and scientific literacy in the K-12 that inhibit incoming college student?s interest in and ability to pursue engineering majors. The second phase is similar in scope and mission, except that the K-12 representatives invited will include superintendents, principals and curriculum directors from urban and suburban school districts in Oklahoma. The workshop has three major objectives. The first is to increase awareness in Oklahoma?s K-12 superintendents and principals of the importance of encouraging K-12 students to prepare to study engineering at the university level. The second is to develop a plan through which OU College of Engineering, K-12 superintendents, principals, and teachers and professional and industrial partners can cooperatively facilitate and implement appropriate engineering education programs and activities for K-12 students and their parents to enhance interest and motivation in science and mathematics. The third is to identify potential strategic partners for the College of Engineering?s Sooner Engineering Education (SEED) Center from Oklahoma K-12 superintendents and principals and professional organizations and industrial donors.

This workshop will attempt to discover a mutually beneficial and acceptable path for promoting engineering among K-12 and identifying how the (SEED) center or other similar engineering education centers can engage appropriate federal, state, professional, and industrial partners in a collaborative and long-term plan for increasing the number and diversity of students pursuing engineering degrees. Results from these workshops will be disseminated to engineering educators through major publications, and research results also will be disseminated directly to Oklahoma educators. The results of the workshop dialogs will be of interest to engineering programs across the nation since the Oklahoma state demographics is similar to several states in the nation. The action plan developed from the workshop should aid SEED and other institutions with similar constituents in recruiting and retaining prepared engineering students from poorly represented rural communities.

As lead institution of the Oklahoma State Alliance, Oklahoma State University (OSU) requests a five-year continuation of its Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP) program for a fourth and final period (FY09 ? 13). Alliance members are OSU, the University of Oklahoma (OU), the University of Tulsa (TU); Langston University (LU), an Historically Black College or University (HBCU); and seven regional universities: East Central University (ECU), Northeastern State University (NSU), University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU), Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU), Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), Cameron University (CU). Most programs are coordinated through multicultural/diversity offices on each campus.

This proposal accords with NSF?s goal to increase the number of students completing degree programs in STEM fields from historically underrepresented groups. In Oklahoma, this population consists primarily of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. OSU has the largest Native American enrollment in the United States. The Principal Investigator has more than 30 years experience leading multicultural/diversity programs. OK-LSAMP has developed a variety of innovative academic strategies over 14 years, resulting in a dramatic increase in minority STEM undergraduate enrollment and success, and transition to graduate study. Both OSU and OU have Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) programs in place. The Alliance has a committed mentoring cadre of counselors, faculty, staff and alumni. The OK- LSAMP?s main goal for this phase is to recruit and graduate at least 25% more underrepresented minority undergraduates and graduate students compared to 2007-08 numbers.
Program activities will be to recruit increasing numbers of students into STEM fields using enhanced recruitment strategies; support students academically and professionally, relying on strong mentoring networks and links to research opportunities such as EPSCoR and Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs); prepare students for global success, including Study Abroad, domestic international activities, and Fulbright Exchanges; and to strengthen an infrastructure that supports student success and professional development. An Advisory Board of minority STEM faculty and staff provides culturally sensitive advice to program leaders.

The proposed activities will result in increased numbers of a wide range of minority groups in the STEM workforce of the United States. The Alliance provides an important national model for promoting the success of Native Americans ? one of the least represented groups in STEM careers. Results of this research will be disseminated widely to inform understanding of how to encourage and support minority STEM education. Building on well-established relationships with local, state, and Indian Nation authorities, OK-LSAMP can expand its impact into diverse communities. By drawing on Oklahoma?s half century of international outreach experience, students will have tremendous opportunities for global engagement ? an essential asset for career and research success. This program will exert a transformative impact by diversifying and internationalizing the scientific work force of the United States, particularly with respect to Native Americans and other underrepresented groups, and by ensuring that all aspects of America?s cultural and ethnic heritage contribute to future leadership in STEM nationwide

This STEP Type 2 project is a study that identifies and examines the factors that contribute to differential levels of student participation in student engineering competitions. Generally, engineering faculty and industry representatives have positive views towards Student, Experiential Learning, Engineering Competition Teams (SELECT) that are sponsored by professional engineering societies. These national competitions offer students the opportunity to develop technical engineering skills, teamwork skills, and other non-technical professional skills through designing and building projects and testing their performance. For example, professional organizations sponsor competitions that require students to solve problems associated with building vehicles for challenging terrains or building devices out of specified materials that can perform specific tasks. These competitions are designed to foster innovative thinking, the application of engineering principles, and professional skills through solving open-ended, constrained problems. While the numbers of students participating in these types of competitions have increased over the years, participation by students from traditionally underrepresented groups remains disproportionately low when compared to the demographics of students enrolled in engineering programs. This study identifies and examines the underlying beliefs, assumptions, policies, and practices contributing to cultures of inclusion and/or exclusion in these team competitions. The study is guided by a theoretical framework that suggests that underlying social motivations (e.g., power, ideology, maintenance of the status quo) and mechanisms (e.g., political, economic, language) shape social relationships in institutions. The mixed-qualitative study investigates the following question, What factors contribute to cultures of inclusion or exclusion within Student, Experiential Learning, Engineering Competition Teams? The research team hypothesizes that the most significant factors contributing to team cultures of inclusion or exclusion fall into several general categories: extrinsic influences, group dynamics, and individual attributes, motivators, and agency.

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming STEM education through innovative recruitment and retention strategies and experiences in support of groups historically underrepresented (URM) in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders.

Oklahoma State University (OSU), lead institution for the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP), will double the recruitment and retention numbers of URM students in STEM fields over the five years of the project. The activities will strengthen scholarly participation in research and international experiences preparing students for global success. Activities are dedicated to building the skills and collegial relationships scholars will need to pursue successful careers in research, teaching, government, and the private sector. As scholars progress through the programs, including the associated Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) activities, they will be provided opportunities to develop collaborative leadership skills by working with peers and senior researchers, performing primary research for presentations at national and international conferences and publishing research papers with a multicultural perspective.

The STEM activities will result in increased numbers of a wide range of minority groups in the STEM workforce, not only in the United States but globally. The Alliance will provide an important national model for promoting the success of all minorities including Native Americans. Results from this research will be disseminated widely to inform understanding of how to encourage and support minority STEM education. Building on well-established relationships with local, state, and tribal nation authorities, OK-LSAMP will expand its impact into all diverse communities. OK-LSAMP institutional members include OSU, the University of Oklahoma (OU), the University of Tulsa (TU); Langston University (LU), an Historically Black College or University (HBCU); East Central University (ECU), Northeastern State University (NSU), University of Central Oklahoma UCO), Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU),Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SEOSU), Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), and Cameron University (CU).

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through the development of highly competitive students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. The goal of the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity is to increase the quantity and quality of STEM graduate students from underrepresented populations, with emphasis on Ph.D. matriculation and completion. BD programs implemented in the nation's institutions of higher education contribute to addressing one of the objectives in NSF's 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, namely to "integrate education and research to support development of a diverse STEM workforce with cutting-edge capabilities." The University of Oklahoma, a member institution of the Oklahoma LSAMP alliance (OK-AMP), proposes an integrated model of social supports and community networks to support the graduate education for 12 graduate students from underrepresented groups as Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Fellows for two years.

Bridge to the Doctorate: OK-LSAMP will integrate Social Cognitive Career Theory and Social Capital Theory into a research-based mentoring program for optimizing academic, personal, and professional development of 12 BD Fellows. The mentoring program focuses on helping Fellows develop multi-layered communities of support. The project seeks to institutionalize a culture that enhances the personal and professional development and improve retention to PhD for all STEM graduate students.