Driving Math Competency through STEM Modeling

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Fort Valley State University (FVSU). As a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), FVSU has over 86% low-income students.

Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 30 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics. Specifically, 12 first-year students will receive up to four-year scholarship support, while 18 third year/transfer students will receive up to two-year scholarship support. The project aims to prepare low-income, high achieving students not only to obtain a degree in mathematics, but also to gain exposure to STEM modeling through summer research.

STEM modeling will enable students to be strong candidates for the high demanding STEM workforce and/or graduate STEM degrees. This project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, including self-regulated learning, growth mindset, mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, professional development, and participation in discipline-specific conferences.

Over the six years duration, this project intends to investigate the ways in which the latter factors affect persistence for each cohort. Because Fort Valley State University has a high population of underrepresented students, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields. Moreover, this project will assist in the preparation of underrepresented students to become outstanding STEM professionals, and researchers who are able to solve real world problems with mathematics.

The findings of the project will help to improve the retention rate of low-income, academically talented students in STEM.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. Four goals animate this project. First is to retain math students’ enrollment into subsequent year or increase graduation rate from 57% to 80%.

Second is to improve students’ level of self-regulation. Third is to promote a growth mindset in students. Fourth and finally is to improve mathematics identity among students.

This will be done through the dissemination of scholarship application information, visits to high schools, cohort-building activities, faculty mentoring, professional development, and student support workshops. In addition, instructional activities focusing on cognitive, metacognitive, and self-management strategies; activities to foster growth mindsets and regular engagement with mathematics activities; faculty mentoring and the use of case studies; along with provision of career information will be coordinated by the project PIs.

Though studies have been done to describe the independent effects of self-regulation, having a growth mindset, and professional development on African American college students, little is known on how a combination of all three components affect black low-income math students. This project will investigate the collective impact of self-regulation, having a growth mindset, and professional development on the persistency of black low-income math students.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the project, the Center for Evaluation and Research Services (CERS) at Georgia State University will analyze pre-/mid/post- assessment data regarding self-regulation and mindset and will collect and analyze narrative data regarding participants' experiences in the program and identification with mathematics. The results of the project will be disseminated through professional local, regional and/or national conferences and/or journal publications.

Insight from the project will also be shared with the necessary departments on campus through faculty presentations. This project is funded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields.

It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income 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.