STEMWay is a comprehensive outside-the-classroom academic support program designed to increase graduation of STEM students at 2-year institutions. STEMWay combines four key elements, consistent with recent research on STEM student success: academic support services that closely parallel STEM courses and pathways; analytical management to enable comprehensive support with limited resources; comprehensive mentoring services for progressive student success within an active learning community; and continual involvement by all STEM faculty members for collaborative improvement. STEMWay academic student support applies a scaffolding model, which includes multi-dimensional skills readiness assessment to improve placement of students into appropriate courses and to identify knowledge gaps, and anticipatory booster instruction to give students the necessary skills for success in each course. A full-service emporium supplies assessments and instruction, coordinates with faculty and courses, monitors students' pathway progress, and assesses success of each program element. STEMWay's initial target is 482 additional student graduations (a 95% increase beyond baseline) in a 2-year mathematics progression, which has been shown to be foundational for success in all STEM areas.
STEMWay evaluation includes formative analysis of multiple program factors for continual feedback, to be followed by summative evaluation of STEMWay as a full system to promote STEM retention, and dissemination of STEMWay assessment of effective strategies to positively impact nation-wide STEM graduation efforts.
Intellectual Merit: STEMWay is a testable model of "intensive intervention", reflecting a theory of student retention that has been proposed but not yet fully implemented, according to its theorists Tinto and Seidman. STEMWay combines early and continuous assessment and intervention with strategic management optimization practices, and with academic community construction. STEMWay methods produce improved pedagogical models and strategies for STEM success. The experiences of the full program and of each of its parts inform colleges of effective practices for STEM student progression, retention, and graduation. STEMWay defines and applies a system of wrap-around services for students' academic needs outside the classroom. STEMWay adapts multiple external and internal resources for assessment, placement, and scaffolding. The combination of a comprehensive solution for complementary academic support with longitudinal implementation and improvement, and applied management science to add adaptive allocation of resources, is new.
Broader Impacts: The STEMWay project is expected to increase the number of graduates with associate degrees and to prepare more students for advanced 4-year studies leading into STEM careers. As many Foothill College graduates continue on to receive baccalaureate degrees at local universities or are employed in Silicon Valley, increasing the number of STEM graduates immediately benefits the local community and further benefits the nation. Because Foothill College currently supports teacher preparation and STEM teacher recruitment, its efforts lead to more K-12 STEM teachers, especially among underrepresented groups. A successful STEMWay program changes not only the lives of participating students for the better but also those who benefit from the successes of STEM companies and corporations who hire qualified STEM graduates.
