Expanding and Diversifying STEM Degree Recipients: What We Know From Students' Experiences

1. Expanding and Diversifying STEM Degree Recipients: What We Know From Students' Experiences NIH Interventions Meeting Sylvia Hurtado, UCLA Higher Education Research Institute

2. Key Activities • Collected six-year degree data from the National Student Clearinghouse • Conducted focus groups with students enrolled in introductory STEM courses at eight campuses • Interviewed faculty who teach introductory STEM courses at eight campuses • Launched the 2011 Post-Baccalaureate Survey to more than 50,000 participants across more than 400 undergraduate “home” institutions • Analyzed existing data and disseminated findings

3. Project Map

4. Longitudinal Surveys Data Points • 2004 Freshman Survey • 420,000 students, 720 institutions • 2005 Your First College Year Survey • 5,100 longitudinal student respondents, 160 institutions • 2008 College Senior Survey • 6,224 longitudinal (TFS) student respondents, 240 institutions • 2008 Faculty Survey • 6,800 STEM faculty respondents, 206 institutions • 2011 Post-Baccalaureate Survey • Currently 10,600 longitudinal (TFS) student respondents, 498 institutions Key Findings • Importance of UG research programs on graduate enrollment intentions • Structure of opportunity in predicting students’ participation in UG research and STEM completion • Predictive power of science identity and negative racial experiences on 1st-year science major persistence • Role of student achievement and feelings of intimidation on receipt of faculty mentorship

5. Graduate Student Focus Groups • Conducted focus groups on six campuses with 150 graduate students • Predominantly in STEM programs • Recruited from programs such as AGEP • Key Themes: • Multiple career pathways – faculty’s willingness to expose them to alternative careers and support them in non-research careers • Intersections of identity – how students’ science identity appears in conflict with identities of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, and socioeconomic status • Perceptions of institutional support – the role of institutional agents in supporting STEM graduate students

6. ARRA Project Map

7. ARRA Data Collection and Findings Data • Pre/post student surveys • 3,205 longitudinal responses across 77 classrooms in 15 institutions • Faculty survey • 77 respondents across 15 institutions • Student focus groups • 241 participants across 8 institutions • Faculty interviews • 41 participants across 8 institutions Key Findings • Grades do not correlate with gains students make in scientific dispositions • Resourcefulness positively predicts students’ level of engagement in introductory STEM courses • Students respond more positively to Q&A sessions and group work than they do to lectures

8. Planned Data Collection and Studies • Data Collection • Summer 2011: Post-Baccalaureate Survey • Fall 2011: Follow-up survey of introductory STEM classrooms • Studies • BBS/STEM degree completion with institutional Best Practices data • Graduate school enrollment • Alternative ways of learning in introductory STEM courses • Culminating book for the project

9. Challenges & Lessons Learned • Challenges • Response rates • Mountains of data • Lessons learned/action taken • Increased incentives for classroom survey in spring of 2010 • Maintained contact with longitudinal study participants • Strong team of graduate students, postdocs, and PIs to make sense of all of the data

10. Academic Papers and Reports: 2010-2011 • Gasiewski, J.A., Eagan, M.K., Garcia, G.A., Hurtado, S., & Chang, M.J. (under review). From gatekeeping to engagement: A multicontextual, mixed method study of student academic engagement in introductory STEM courses? Research in Higher Education. • Chang, M.J., Eagan, M.K., Lin, M.L., & Hurtado, S. (in press). First-Year persistence of racial minorities in the biological and behavioral sciences: Implications for stereotype threat. Journal of Higher Education. • Hurtado, S., Eagan, M.K., Tran, M., Newman, C., Chang, M.,J & Velasco, P. (in press).“We do science here”: Underrepresented students’ interactions with faculty in different college contexts. Journal of Social Issues, 67(3). • Eagan, M.K., Sharkness, J.A., Hurtado, S., Mosqueda, C., & Chang, M.J. (2011). Engaging undergraduates in science research: Not just about faculty willingness. Research in Higher Education, 52(2), 151-177. • Espinosa, L. (2011). Pipelines and Pathways: Women of Color in Undergraduate STEM Majors and the College Experiences That Contribute to Persistence. Harvard Educational Review, 81 (2), 209-241.

11. Resources & Project Staff • Papers and reports are available for download from project website • Project email: herinih@ucla.edu • Project web site: www.heri.ucla.edu/nih • RESEARCH STAFF • Sylvia Hurtado, Co-PI • Mitch Chang, Co-PI • Postdoctoral Scholars • Kevin Eagan • Josephine Gasiewski • Graduate Assistants • Tanya Figueroa • Gina Garcia • Juan Garibay • Felisha Herrera • Cynthia Mosqueda • Christopher Newman • Minh Tran