The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program will support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Harold Washington College (HWC) in Chicago, Illinois. This project aims to award 94 scholarships over five years to 47 unique STEM students as they progress through academic requirements for an associate degree and transfer to a four-year institution for a baccalaureate degree in a STEM major. Because urban community colleges are the entry point to higher education for many low income and demographic groups that are underrepresented in STEM careers, by increasing the success and transfer rates of these students and identifying practices that most impact and promote student persistence, this project can provide a model for other community colleges.
The project will take a cultural wealth approach, which focuses on how cultural capital can be nurtured to promote student success. This approach results in a shift in focus from a deficit model, which assumes students are working from a position of disadvantage, to a position that students possess unacknowledged and unrecognized cultural knowledge that enhances their learning. The project will engage students in student-driven creative exploration and project-based learning, scaffolded by formal mentoring and skills-focused instruction. This project will involve cohort building, networking, and faculty development activities. Cohort activities include a common course sequence. Networking activities include professional development, social, and community engagement events for all students and will be co-organized by the S-STEM Scholars and existing the HWC STEM Club. Faculty development will focus on the creation of a professional learning community. An extensive research study is planned to help determine how to redesign classroom activities, courses, and curricula to maximize the success of students, and the cultural wealth focus will provide insights into how community college systems can change to meet the expectations and needs of their students.
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.
