I
I
Cnaprnn 11
Enriching a Culture of Research:
ExpandingOpportunitiesto a
BroaderCommunity
Karen Nordell Pearson,rAssociateProfessorof Chemistry
Directorof the MidstatesConsortiumfor Math and Science
edu
LawrenceUniversity;nodellk@lawrcnce
of Chemistry
Kem€thL. Brown,AssociateProfessor
edu
ti)nk@ioqe,
bft
HoPe College;
Professolol ComputerScience
H€rbertL. Dersh€m,
edu
dershem@hoPe
College;
Hope
of Biology
Professor
Ksthy Winnett.Murray,
edu
rcy@hope
Hope College;trinnelmw
C. Barney,T. Elliot WeierProfessorof Biology
Chdstoph€r
Hope Colle9e;bame!@hoPeedu
MosesN.F. L€e.Deanfor the Divisionof Naturaland AppliedSciences
Professorof Chemistry
edu
Hope Collegeilee@hoPe.
PursuingTargetedInitiatives
the
by doingscience"permeates
The themethat "scientificleamingis bestachieved
r
For
Hope
College
at
culriculumin the Divisionof Natural aad AppliedSciences
approximately85 perc€ntof our scienc€,technology,engineering'and mathematics
with a facultymemberon an originalresearch
lsinu) malors,worfing side-by-side
leamingexperience
patt
and personalized
of
a
challenging
questionis a key
a1 HopeCouege
LKarcnNordellPerrsonis on leavefron Lawren@Unive$ilv,spending2006-2009
(nordellpearson@hope.edu).
; gope iollege iia four-yearlibersl a(s @lleEeBiih an erroumenl of about 3,200iulltime undergndu'
161
I
roT
Pase
l;{#,S;iiir"..,0
SEcroNIII / Chaoter1l
In re€enty6a$, Hope Coll€ge'sfaoulty and admiaistratorshave b€comecollcemed
about enroltnents in s€veralareas.Few of the high school studentsenrolling in our
groups,and we hav€not attmctedmany
STEM progFms are from und€rrePrcsentsd
transfe; studentsinto our STEM Ptogmms.Despitea nationally recognizedteachereducationprognm, thenumb€rsofstudeotsprepa trg to bescienceandmath t€achers
are surprisinglylow.
In ord€r to broaden the participation of studentsin the STEM disciplines,as well
as build on our historic strength of collaborative and productive student_faculty
researchexperienc€s,Hope College has createda suit€ of programs design€dto
attract,retain,and graduatoa morediversegroupof studentswith STEM majors'
Thefour programslistedi! TableI area direotoutgowth ofthe DivisionofNatuml
and ApptiedSciencesVision 2ol20strategicinitiative.sTheycoNtitute Hope Colleg€'s
and connectedapproaohto broadeningparticiPation by providing
"ompre^hensiv"
studentsin high school,two_yeaxcolleges,four_yearcolleges,and prc_serviceteacher
in STEM disciplinesAll four of these
programswith meaningfulresearchexp€riences
Trbl€ 1, ProgramsDesigled to BrosdenPfiticipation in R$€srch
ProgIlm
Prc$am
cIeltion
Tugeted PartlclPanb
Numb€rof studena
prldcip8nts
2005-5scholars
HopeCrlegeundergraduate
2006-6scholars
in
inter€sted
students
2007-8 scholars
K-12
scienc€
or math
2008-5 scholars
teachingcareers
high school 2006-ll students
Project REACH h) Fall2005 Holland-area
2007-12students
stud€nts
2008-13stud€nts
(pilot
STEM-BNCINBS Spride2006 Two-yearcolleg€students 2006-3students
Fall 2004
HHMI Science
EducationScholars
Prognm t
Undergraduate
Research
Collaborative"l
interestedin STEM fields
and possiblyfansferdng to 2007-5 students
2008-4 students
a fow'year college
S-STBMScholars") Fall2007
Two-y€arcollegestudents 2008-7 scholars
whowill trafiferto HoPe
College
a) Kathy Winn€tt-Munay Orologv) snes a3ihc SciEdScholds Coo'dindor'
bl Karcn No.dell PearsD {chdhtrv) sefls as th€ RBACH Dheotor'
cj Ken&ti BroM (chemktry) serv€s!s the URC coordinator'
d)He.b Dershem(c.mputEr science)rcNs as lhe S-STBMscholarsCoordin 'of'
htm
I Fo. more on the Vision 20/20strarcEiciDiliativ€.Fe www hop€€du/&ademic/natsci/tnissionvision
A@$ed Mech, 2008.
168
Page168
faculty,andadrninistrasupportBfstudents,
programs
benefitfromthewidesFead
andinstitutions.
individuals
andalsoby manypartnering
iorJat HopeCollege
Servinghe.senice Teacbers
In the fall of 2004, we launched the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
ScienceEducation (SoiEd)Soholarsprogram We believethat is it critical lor K-12
scienceteachers,who havethe potentialto positivelyimpactlargeanddivers€numbe$
process'
of the investigative
of K-12 students,to havelirst_handknowledge
our approaohis to engag€future K_ 12teaoh€$in a combinationof researchactivities
and siGnce-curriculumd€velopment.The goalsare for sciFd Scholarsto developa
better understandingof how scientificknowledgeis const cted and of the parall€ls
betweent€achingsciencealld doing science(e.g, inquiry, €lementsof investigation,
etc)
learningcycle,evaluationof evideDce.
Recraiti,tgand SeleclittgPartbipants
information is oirculatedto both studentsand faculty m€mbersthroughout
Proslam
-soienc€
and eduoation d€parhnents.Personalinvitations extendedby faculty
the
membgrsteachingG€neral Education ilr Mathematicsand Sciencecourses,which
are t}licaly populatedby youngerstud€ntswith undeolaredmajors,arevery €ffgctiv€
in reoruitin! applicantsfrom a pool of studentswho typically do not perceivesuch
opportunities as beiog relevantor availableto th€m
basedupon career
by the HHMI steeringcommittee,r
SciEdScbota$are select€d
participating
in lhe program
on how
goalsand interests,their written p€rspective
iill pruput" them fo! a t€aohingcareer,a descriptionof the types.of curriculumdev€iopm€ntatrdresearchprojectstheapplicantplaosto engagein during thesumme!'
GPA, and letters of recolEmendation
Co,necti g Rete@cha d Teaching
SupportJ by stipendsfor l0 we€ksduring the surn$er, SciEdScholalsare involved
in ih" r"r"u*h u"iiuiti". occurringitr their mento$' groupsand deparhnentsScholars
regularlyinteract with other summerresearchstud€ntsand makesholt plesentations
to d€partnental r$earch groups.
Starting itr 2006,someof the SoiEdScholarshavebeeoinvolved in teachingHope
ColleeersSummerScienc€Campsfor K-8 ohildren.Thesestudentsdevelopsp€cific
about children'sscienceleatninga[d collectdata to help answerthose
ouesti--ons
with
campsOtherSciEd5"661a6655i51
questions
during the courseof lhe science
'The HHM I sl€€dngcomnille iscoDpdedof lhe HH M I Programdielcfs andJeulrv reprcsrLdrive!
Divisionond th€ Pstthorogvanq Muanon
'n th€ Naluralerd APPIi€dScience!
lrom rhedepaflmenLs
169
Page169
SEc[oN III / Chapter 11
local schoolprogramsand/or soienceactivitieshostedby Hope Collegefaculty memb€rsfor K 12 studentsand teachers.Oftetr theseactivitieshave beenco"developed
by the Hope Collegefaculty mentor, tle K 12 teachen,and the SciEd Scholars.
Although it is not required, many of the SciEd Scholarscombine their research
proj€ctswith curriculum-development
components.For example,one studentstudied
th€ comp€tition for pollilation in autumn olive shrubs and developedcurricular
activitieson plant life cycles.Another student studiedthe toxicity of copper in the
sediment
oflocal suburbanpondsanddeveloped
relatedactivitieson pondpollution.
A few SciEdScholarsworkedon the development
of interdisciplinary
casestudies
to be implementedat tle high school and collegelevels.The projects of the SciEd
Scholarswho haveworked with the sciencecampshaveincludedstudyingthe perceptions of children and parents concerning scienceleaning and tho a$essmentof
children'slearningstyles.By pafticipating in and thinking critically about both doing
and teaching scietrceand math, SciEd Schola$ are becomingbette! equipped fo
understandand articulate the connectionsamons the STEM fi€lds.
Engagingwith the TeachittgCommunit!
Perhapsthemostimportant aspectofour SciEdScholarsprogramis that it encourages
pre-sefliceteachers
to becomeprofe$ionallyinvolv€dwith otherscience'education
professionalsduring very early stag€sof their caree$ in scienceeducation. The
programwas developedand implemented
with significantinput from areaK-12
teaohels.Thoy hav€enhanc€dand extendedthe program by being involved in ways
rangingfrom co-directingth€ entiresummerprogramto leadingmentoringmeetings
and oonductingwolkshops.The in-servioeteachelsr€oeivehonoraria lor their
participation.
m€etw€eklyfor discusSciEdScholarsandat leasloneof theK-12 teacher-mento$
siors o! workshopson topics related to teaohing,Typically, thesemeetingsinvolve
an informal lunoh followed by a discussio! with, or workshop ptesentationby, the
guestt€acheron topics iooluding writing in scieoce,interviewing,and understanding
th€ Michigan State SoienoeStandards.Theseworkshopshave involved nine guest
K 8 teacherslrom nine differeot schools or organizatio[s in western Michigan,
Stud€ntsneve! run out of questionsto ask of these"r€al life models" about their
own prospectivecare€rs.Basedon tle scholars'evaluations,being part of a communhy with current t€aching professionahplays an important role in their summor
experiences
and their decisionsabout car€ers.
Fandiry SciErl Scholats
The SciEd Scholarsprogmm has beed fully funded througtr the HHMI award to
Hope Collegein 2004.The four-year grant covorsstipends,sDpplies,and tmvel for
th€ scholars,stip€ndsfor the coordinator, a.ndhonoraria for the in_serviceteachers
170
Page170
Opportuniti€s
to a Bmad€rCommunity
Expanding
Enrichinga Cuture of R€search:
who cometo presentworkshops.With the demonstratedearly successof the SciEd
Scholarsprogam, we anticipate suppoding an expandedprogam for four more
yea$ as palt of our 2008 HHMI award, which has an even stronger focus on
science€ducation.
Denn Brttotittg Oatcomes
Of th€ 10scholarswho havegraduated,sevenarc ill teachingpositions.Post-program
evaluatlonsreveal that stud€ntsgained confid€ncein their teaching and research
cources.Nearly every
in previousscience-methods
skills far beyondtheir experiences
participant describedhow vatuable the combination of researchand curnculumvvasto their futurc teachi[g caree$.Thlee studentpublicadevelopmentexperiences
tions are in prcparation, and 16of th€ 19scholarshavepresentedto other educato$
at professionalme€tings.
A siglificant, but unanticipated,ben€fit of the SciEd Scholarprogam has boenthe
increasedawarenessanong faculty memb€rsand studentsin the Division ofNatural
and Applied Soiencesof the value of putting pre-serviceteachers"into the resealch
spotlight." Not otrly has this enhancedthe self-confidenceof the SciEdScholars,but
ia hasvisibly includedthem in one of the most distinctiveaspectsol Hope College's
to the entireHope CollegecommuSTEM progam. This s€ndsan important messag€
is
eduoation
prcpaJing
in
soienoe
"on a par" with prepaxingpreloaders
rity that
pre-graduate
etc.
stud€nts,
medicalstud€nts,
Reachiq Out to High SchoolStud€nts
Informedand inspiredby our partioipationin the HHMl-initiated Symposiaon
Diver$ity in th€ Sciencesiin th€ fall of 2005,we launcheda prognm called Project
AclossCulturosat Hope).The goal is to provide
Experienc€
REACH (Research
for high school studentswho plan to study one of
meaningfulresearchexperieooes
th€ STEM disciplinesin college.ProjectREACH is looselymodeledafter the HHMIsupportedMeyerhoff ScbolarshipProgam at the Unive$ity of Maryland, Baltimore
from Hollald-areahighschoolsto cometo HopeCollege
County.6Itinvitesstudents
paid
five-weeksulnmerresearchexperience.
fo! a
Reuait tg and SelectingPatticipa s
AJeahigh schoolstudents,usuallyising jutrion and senio$,apply to ProjectREACH
by submitting answersto a short questionnate,a one_pag€essay'a letter of recommendatioo from a teacheror counselor,and thoir curent hanscript. Brief project
descriptionsfrom faculty mentols are postedon the REACH Web site, and students
indicate their intelest in up to three researchprojects.
I Symposiao! Div€sity in the ScicD@swas held at EoNard UDivesitv. Cambridge,Mds&husetts,
November18and 19,2005.
6For morc information, visit ww umbc.edl/meyerhor'
111
Page171
s.-,^ffi
Sinc6one of the goals of Proje{t REACH is to provide rcsearchopportuniti€s for
students,at leastfifty p€rcentof the positionsare allocatedaccordutrdeffepresented
ingly. Despite being a majodty Caucasiancornmunity, Holland_arcaschoolshave
many African-American,Latino/Latina, and Asiarl-Americanstudents.For the pur_
is consideredunderposesof this program, any studentwho is non_Caucasian
r€present€d.
We arc most interestedin studentswho expr€ssan interest in STEM rcsearchand
who arc rccommendedby th€t teachersas hardworking, well_prepared,and €ager
for this opportunity. While there is no minimum GPA requirement,most applicants
have GPASabove 3.00.Although we are interestedin high-achievingstudents,we
have found that this €xperienc€can be inspiring aod tmnsformativ€ for students
with a variety of €ducational experiencesand expectations.This makes selection
challenging,but we balanc€what the studentswrit€ in their essayswith their GPAS
and thJrecommendationsof their teachers,in orde! to selectstudentswho are well_
suited for the opportunities and challengesof oachresearohproject.
Studentsare selectedby an advisorycommitteeoomposedof the program direotor,
a memberofthe admissions
thedeanof theDivisionofNatural andAppliedSciences,
Offlce, and the faoulty
Education
the
Multicultural
staff
of
of
the
a
mehber
staff,
Hope College'smost
Many
of
mentors
be
research
to
who
have
ag€ed
memb€rs
studentseventhough
mentol
those
choose
to
r€searche$
productive
faculty
actrveand
recruitedby the
Mentors
aft
compensation
they do n;t receiveany additional
REACH Progam Director.
Taki ga Holittic Appoach
ProjectREACH studentsbecomemembe$ofthei! faculty_m€ntor'ssummerresearch
go;p, with thefuown o! sharedprojects to foous oo during the five-weeksulnioer
opP9rtYsession.ProjectREACH alsoprovid€sparticipantswith career'developmenJ
busi
to
local
field
trips
utrdergraduates,
oulrent
alongside
working
inclu'ding
nities,
on
applying
sessions
ethics,
and
and
commwioation
on
soi€ntific
nessei,workshops
to callegeand seouringfmancial aid
I1laddition to inviting th€ studentsto participate'weengageth€ir parentsor guardians
them to an openingluncheon,wherethey me€t the faoulty m€ntorsand
by inviting-STEM
facilitie;. Parents or guardiansalso are invited to a Celeblation
tour ou.
Luncheonat the end of the five we€ks.At this event,studentspresentshort seminars
on th€ir researahprojects. Teachers,principals, oth€r high school administrators,
and civic and businessleadersare also invited to the luncheon'
FuddittgPrciect REACH
Th€ commitmdrt to this program has beensharedacrosscampus To date, Project
REACH has beensupport€dby a combinationof sources,obtaining funds ftom the
t'l2
Page172
[o a BroaderCommunity
Opportunities
Expanding
Enrichinga Cultureof R€s€arch:
provost'sand dean'soffices,extemalawardsol supplementsto individual ilvestigaiors or departments,and departmentalr€searchand discretionarybudggts For the
next four years Project REACH will be supported though Hope Coll€ge's2008
HHMI award.
Demonstrattig Oatcomes
ProjectREACH is fostering6tud€nts'pursuit ofhigher education,aswell ascofltributions to the literature. All 18 studentswho participatedin 2006and 2007curently
areor areplanningto attendcollege.Sixstudentshavecontributedto five manuscdpts
Of the l8 students, l0 are from under€presentedgrouPs.ln their Post-prognm
€valuatiols, sevenof the 10 $aid that theii resealohexpedenoehad signifioantly
impactedtheir int€rcst in pusuing a ca&er in soience.Five of thesel0 participants
thut th"it t"t"n."h expedencehad significantlyimpactedtheir decisionto
"uid
att€nd oollege.
Al1five of th€ Proj€otREACH participantsfrom undeneplesentedgroupswho have
sinc€gaduated from high school are enrolled in ootlegeand at least four of them
aremajoring in scienoo.We are deligbtedthat lour of thesefive studentsare onrolled
at Hope College.
The word aboutProjectREACH is gettingout. ln 2008,we receiveda record59
Ngarlyhalf of the applicantsaro female'2l of the applicantsarefrom
applioations.
unierrepresentedgroups, and five of the aPplicantsparticipated in the program in
13studentsto participatein ProjectREACH dudng the surnmer
2007.we seleoted
of 2008.
Collaboratingwith Two-YesrColleges
In early 2006, Hope Collegejoined with a group of mole than 10 two-year-and
four-year oollegesto crgatea National SoienceFoundation-fundedUtrdergraduate
ReseirohCollaborative (URC). The Science,Technology,Enginee ng, and Mathematios-Engagingthe N€xt Cerclation IN Exploring Scienc€(STBM-ENGINES)
URC aims to inoreasethe number of studentsobtaining baccalaureated€greesor
advarc€dgaduate degre$ in STEM disciplines(seeInsight B) This proc99 spegiflcally targetsstudentsftom two_yearcollegesto participate in res€archduring -their
lusi or sicond yearsasboth motivatioD and preparationfor matriculating to a foury€ar college.Thomas Higgins at Harold WashingtonCollege'a two-y€ar collegein
Chicago,sewesas principal investigator.
Pilating the Concept
In earty2006,six monthsbeforethe proposalwassubmittedto NSF, faculty memtlers
from Hope, Harold WashingtoD,and HarPer Collegesdiscussedstudent research
Page173
SEcroN III / Chapter I I
opportunities. Tbr€€ two-year collegestudentsapplied for and were acceptedto
for Undergaduates
participatein Hope College's2006surnnerResearchExperienc€s
participatedin
College
REU
student
(REID program. That samesunmer, a Hope
researchat Harold washington College.we weredelightedby the successof these
URC pilot projectsand movedforward with the collaborations.The rcsearchproje€ts
are still active at all three coll€ges,and two manuscriptsfrom thesecollabolations
are in preparation.
Recmitingand SeleclingPafiicipa ts
The summerof 2OO7marked the official beginningof Hope College'sSTEMENGINES URC involvement,with five summerstudents.A secondset of summ€r
URC
to participatein 2008.The directorof Hope College's
stud€ntswasscheduled
p!ogl,!m works closely with faculty membersat the two-year oolleg€sto rcview
applicationsand seleotstudentswho showpotentlal for successin research
On€importantfeatureof our STEM-ENGINESURC activitiesis a visitationweekend eachspringfunded by Hope College,The selectedstudentstour the oampusand
th€ researchfacilities and Ineet with their researchmentors During this weekend,
the researchmentorswork one-on-onewith studentsto provide backgroundinforma_
projectsOur hopeis that though the visits'
tion and literatureabouttheirresearoh
the participantswill be better preparedand more comfortablewhen they ar ve early
in th€ summer.
otherunderwork alongside
URC students
experienc€,
Duringthe l0-weekresearoh
The URC participantstake an
graduatgand high schoolstudentsdoing researoh.
onlin€ ethics ooursg,padicipate in safety training, participate in a scientific-ethics
workshop, and give a short presentationabout their researchto faoulty membe$
a[d studentsin thet department.
FandingTwo-year CollegeStadanls
A supplementto the chemistrydepartment'sNSF-RBU $ant ptovided muohof the
lunding lor the pilot sulo.merin 2006,while Hope Colleg€futrded the student and
faculty visits to campusand coveredthe housing costsfor thr€e swnmer rgsearch
students.The NSF award begancoveriogmost of the costsfor the surnrnerprogram
in 2007.The exceptionis the weeketrdvisit in the spring, for which studentscover
their own &avel costsand Hope Collegeprovidesthe meals
Derrnns atiig Oatcomes
On their evaluations.STEM-ENGINBS URC studentscommentedthat the research
experiencessolidified their desirc to pursue a four_yeatdegreeand, ir1 somecases,
to pursuean advanceddegre€in a STEM discipline Of the three studentswho did
researchat Hope Collegedurilg the pilot programin 2006,on€ has fansitioned into
medicalsohool,atrotheris working iD the chemicalindustry, and the thtd traNferred
t74
Page174
ro a Broader
Cornrnunily
Opportunili€s
Eipaod;ng
hnching a Cullureof Research:
to Hope Coll€ge in January 2007,wherc she is one of the top chemisty majors.
Three out of the five 2007URC participantsappliedfor admissionto Hope College,
and two of thesestudentsare now enrolled as scienc€majols The oth€r two 2007
participants have been acceptedinto other baccalaureat€plograms Additionally,
one of the STEM-ENCINESURC studentswho conductedresearchat aDother
institutlon tansferred to Hope Collegein the fall oi 2007.
All five ofthe 200?participantshavecontinuedtheir involvementwith undergaduate
research.Two manuscnptshave beelrpublishedwith three studentco_authors,and
more than l0 presentationshavebeenmadeat conferenc€s.
As we had hoped, the relationshipsthat havedev€lopedamongfaculty memben at
Hope, Harold washingto!, and HarperCollegeshave€nhancedthe sTEMENGINES URC by maintainingresearchconnectionsbetweenthe collegesthroughout the academioyeat and by helping reoruit participants for the surllner research
progams. Cu$ently, threefaculty membersat Hop€ Collegeand onefaculty member
each at Harold Washington and Harper Collegesmaintain ongoing lesearch
collabolations.
appliedto HopeCollege'sURC summer
In 2008,15studentsfrom two-y€arcolleges
Of thesefour, thrceare non_
wereselected.
program,and four partioipants
res€arch
traditionalstudents,inoludinga marriedcouple.
SupportingTransferStud€nts
In 2OO?,Hope College receivedfunding from the NSF Scholarshipsin Science'
Technology,Engircoring, and Mathematios(S-STEM) Scholarsprogram The goal
is to further diversify the national STBM workforceby providing scholarships,m€ntoring, and r€searchopportuniti€s for studentstransfering from two_yearcolleges
to H;pe Coll€geto complet€their ba.calauroatedegeesin a STEM disciplirc. Having
spert mucb of 2007 and early 2008 developingrelationshipswith faculty mombers
and studentsat six regional two-year coueges,we are hoping to attract as many as
eight transfer studentsper year for the next tbree years.
Recruiting and SelectirrgPdrticipads
Like the URC pro$am, the S-STBM Scholarsare studentsfrom two-yezlroolleges,
studentsHowever,the studentsselectedas Smatly of whom arc non_traditional
Hope Collegeand awardedtwo-y€arscholaraccepted
to
STEM scholarshavebeen
recipientsmust be adequat€ly
year,
While scholarship
shipsof up to $10,000per
program,
the deteEEnationof the
prepared6 transfer into a Hope Collegescienc€
sch;hrship recipi€Dtsis not solelybasedon academiomerit. Rather, the cnteria for
selectiooincludethe diflerenceth€ schola$hipwill makein the ability of th€ student
to pursuea degre€and a car€e(in a STEM field and the pot€ntial the student lus
t75
Page175
SEcnoNlll / ChapterI I
to inoease the diversity of the STEM workforce, either dir€ctly as a memberof an
group or indirectly asa STEM educatorwho will reachunderepreund€rr€prcsented
sent€dpopulations.
Focusingot Research
An important foaturc of the S-STEM Scholarsproject is that each participant is
offereda paid surnm€rres€archposition in tle student'schosenSTEM disciplinelor
tie summerpdor to enrolling at Hope college. Most of them will live on campus,
they will get to know many studentsand severalprofessorsthrough their research
experiences,and they will have the opportunity to fom a cohofi goup with the
other S-STEM Scholars.By being part of ou! summer (esearchprogram, the SSTEM Scholarswill becomepalt of the conununity of more than 200 studentsand
faculty memberson Hope College'scampuseaohsummerwho areconductingresearch
in a STEM fi€ld. We hope that this will help the transferstudelts make a successful
transition to our academicand stud€nt-lif€environments.
Ptoridiry OngoingMentoing
After S-STEM Scholars begin their studios at Hope College, they will be given
extensivementodng from faculty m€mbersand peels. This mentoring will assist
environin dealingwith ohallenges
suohas adjustingto a residential-college
students
ment,beingunfamiliarwith the oampusculture,or beinga non-traditionalstudent.
The cohot of S-STEM Scholarswill meet regularly to talk about their experiences
and support €ach other. Current studentswho transf€rredto Hope Collegefrom
to be part of thes€m€ntoringgroups.
two-yearcoll€gpshavealreadyvolunteered
Fuadhg SSTEM Scholan
The NSF S-STEM award provides the scholarshipsand a portion of the suruner
supportfor eaohS-STEMSoholar,aswellasa stipendfor the cooldinator,
research
Through the dean'sand provost'soffio€s,Hope Collegeis cornmittedto $oviding the
remainingfutrding fo! the summerres€archstip€nds,summerhousing,and additional
academioadvisingand mentoring support during th€ academicyear.
Derio tttotittg Outcomes
In the prog.ram'sfirst year, we have aheady€nhancedthe diversity of our studetrt
body in STEM disciplines.Of the seve! 2008S-STBMScholars,six ate femalesand
four are non-traditional studentswho did not pu$ue full-lime college education
directty after high school.We have also built bridgesbetweenprogams, with one
participant in the 2007 URC program becominga 2008 S-STEM Scholar. This
programis also fosteringrelationshipswith faculty membersand studentsat regional
two-year colleges.
Programs
andStrengthening
Connecting
Dedicatedfaculty members,admioistlativecommitment,and support from various
ageocieshave led to this suite of proglams.They are the beginningof a long-tem
1t6
Page176
to a Broader
Community
Erpanding
Opponupities
a Cr tureof Res€arch:
Enncbing
and evolvingplan to stlategicallyattract, r€cruit, retain, and graduatea morc diverse
pool of STEM students.Oul next stepsare to sharestEtegies,leveragercsourcas,
and developa culture to sustainour effofis.
CootdhtatirrgA ctititie s
We hope that sometimeduring the 2008-2009acaderucyear, we can hire a STEM
Di&ctor for Div€$ity Plogams who will help conneotand strengthenall four of
th€seprograms.This pe$on will strengthenfaculty_and peer-mentoing,professional
development,and othe! transitional support aspectsof theseprograms so that all
the participants are ready for successbeyond theseresearchexperiences.
Ineeasing the Ellectiteress of Menaring
A11four ofth€s€programsinvolvefaoulty_ftentoredrcsearchoppoitunitiesfor partici'
pants.While all of our faculty membershaveexperiencein m€ntoringundergraduate
andperspecparticipants
in thissuit€ofprogamshavevaryingbackgrounds
students,
tives.Faoulty membersrec€ivetraining on cultural sensitivitythrough best-practices
workshopssponsoredby the oflice of Multicultural Life Sincemany of the students'
especiallythose stifl in high school or from two-year collegeshave not had a Iich
baokgroundin scienceand math, researchprojectsneedto be tailored to their l€vsl
of preparation,and faoultymernbersmay needto commit additional time to providilg
Sinoea singlefaculty
contextandtrainingin theconductof exporiments.
background
mentoris often not lamiliar witl both researchand curriculum development,we need
to find mentorsfor the SciEdScholarsin both theSTEM and ttreeducationprogmms'
Extendingthe Netwotk of FuttdingSouces
Gelerous funding ftom external agenciesand foundations, along with significant
fhaDoial contributioN from flope College,supportseach of th€sefour progams'
To datewe havebe€nableto find tbe resourcesto supportstudentresearohstipends,
small budgetsfor suppliesfo! the reseatchprojects,and the "extra" program costs
suoh as visits, meals, and workshopsassociatedwith th€se programs Effotts arc
uidor way to provide support for faculty mento$, as well as fot the oontinuationof
thes€programsafter the grant pe ods are oompleted.
Fostetingthe ltttegation of ResearchPtogruml
We are using a multi-pronged approachto addlessconcerDsabout low enrollm€nts
in key areas.Due to the relative newnessof tlese programs,they are not yel fully
integratedinto th€ structur€ and culture of our collective undelgraduateresearch
aotivities.Most faculty membersstill considerworking with participants in these
programs as somethingextra or otr top of their work wit! other stud€ntsilt their
resedch groups.By secruingthe funding to continue theseplograms, bowever,we
anticipatethat they wil1be wovennore tightly and seamlesslyinto the fabric ofour
scieotifrccornmunity.
\7',1
Page177
R€latedContributions
Chapters
lnsights
rype ol rrrsEtunons
Primarily undergraduate
institutions
5 , t 0 ,t r , 1 2 ,1 4 2, 0
F,J,K,N,O
Two-year collegeprograms
6, 7, 8, ll
B,C,G,L,M
Tffg€ted recruihnetrt
Underrepresented
ethnicand
5, 10,11,16,17,18,
racialgroups
19,20,21
First- and second-year
students 6, 7, 8, 9, l l, 13,15,
t6, t7
Transferstudents
6 , 7 , 8 , l l , 1 5 ,1 6
High schoolstudents
l t , 1 2 , 1 4 ,1 7 , 2 0
Pre- and in-serviceteachers
I I 12,
E ,F ,I , N , P
A, B, C, D, E, G, J,
L,M,O,P,Q
B,M,P
Otherdeslgnprinciples
Continuousevaluation
5 , 9 , l l , r 4 , 1 5 ,1 6 ,
t8,19,21
A,J,O,Q
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all of the Hope Collegeadministralors,
facultymembers,
and stall who hav€mentoredand supportedstudenlsin all of theseprograms.We
acknowledge
the NationalScience
Foundation)forfundingthe S-STEMand URC
programs,aswell asadditioaalsupportthroughREU and MRI suppleinents
which,
in additioi to the H€rmanMiller Foundationand HopeCollege,supportedProject
REACH. The SciBdScholarsProgramwassupportedby a grant to Hope College
lrom the HowardHughesMedicalInstitutethroughits UndergEduate
Sci€nce
EducationProgram.We thanktheadministrators,
facultymembers,
and staflat the 1woyearcollegesin Chicagoand Michiganfor aheircommitmenls10the URC and SSTEM programs.Lastly, we appreciaiethe commitmentsof the administrators,
facultymombers,
andstaffmembenin thepublicschoolsystems
in westernMichigan
who haveparticipatedin theseprograms.
' Any opinions,findirgs, and conclusionsor re@mm€ndalions
oxprc$cd in thh nal€rial are rhoseof the
autho(t anddo not n@essarily
refecl thevi6wsof the NarionalSdene Foundation.
178
Page178