Award Abstract # 1644007
Collaborative Research: Making to Advance Knowledge, Excellence, and Recognition in STEM (MAKERS)

NSF Org: DUE
Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient: AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: September 19, 2016
Latest Amendment Date: May 8, 2025
Award Number: 1644007
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Thomas Kim
tkim@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4458
DUE
 Division Of Undergraduate Education
EDU
 Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date: October 1, 2016
End Date: December 31, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $2,034,382.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $2,099,650.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2016 = $2,034,382.00
FY 2021 = $65,268.00
History of Investigator:
  • Mark Liles (Principal Investigator)
    lilesma@auburn.edu
  • Asheber Abebe (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Alan Wilson (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Overtoun Jenda (Former Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Auburn University
321-A INGRAM HALL
AUBURN
AL  US  36849
(334)844-4438
Sponsor Congressional District: 03
Primary Place of Performance: Auburn University
310 Samford Hall
Auburn University
AL  US  36849-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
03
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): DMQNDJDHTDG4
Parent UEI: DMQNDJDHTDG4
NSF Program(s): S-STEM-Schlr Sci Tech Eng&Math
Primary Program Source: 1300XXXXDB H-1B FUND, EDU, NSF
Program Reference Code(s): SMET, 9178, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 153600
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

Tuskegee University is leading a team of Alabama institutions, which includes Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, Auburn University Montgomery, Southern Union State Junior College, and Lawson State Community College, with support from Oakland University to implement a collaborative S-STEM project titled "Making to Advance Knowledge, Excellence, and Recognition in STEM" (MAKERS). The MAKERS project will provide scholarships to up to 158 students majoring in the biological, physical, mathematical, geological, and computer and information sciences; engineering; and associated technology areas. The MAKERS team will implement and assess a comprehensive list of hierarchical, evidence-based interventions designed to facilitate transfer, increase persistence and retention, and prepare Scholars for graduation and future careers in STEM fields. The MAKERS S-STEM model is designed to attenuate the potential factors that decrease persistence of low-income students in STEM degree programs by integrating STEM enrichment, research, and peripheral activities. The nature of many of the MAKERS project components and the wide range of institutional contexts show promise for improving outcomes for students at other institutions with similar demographics while capitalizing on their existing resources. MAKERS' hallmark intervention will be "Learning by Making," which will involve interdisciplinary Scholar clusters identifying and investigating problems affecting their local communities, and applying their STEM knowledge to "make" a product that has the potential to solve those problems.

The major objectives of MAKERS are to: (1) increase student retention and graduation rates; (2) prepare students with the STEM academic foundation, professional skills and experiences needed to enter the STEM workforce or graduate school in STEM disciplines; and (3) investigate the MAKERS model's impact on recruitment, retention, success, and graduation of students in the target population and majors. The MAKERS project is innovative because, rather than focusing solely on developing the students' academic potential or restructuring institutional variables, it will empower students as active agents in their education by creating connections between their majors and the local community, mitigating potential inhibiting factors in the students' social context. Three unique aspects of the project - immersion of scholars in the "Learning by Making" process; strong cross-institutional social and professional networks; and the use of online platforms for support and collaboration - have the potential to transform the learning process for these students, helping them develop a STEM identity, fostering agency, and persisting to degree completion. A team of evaluation experts will continuously assess its interventions using mixed methods and provide feedback to the investigators to identify new best practices that will be added to the extant knowledge base on broadening participation of low-income groups in STEM fields.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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McDonald, Melissa M. and Zeigler-Hill, Virgil and Vrabel, Jennifer K. and Escobar, Martha "A Single-Item Measure for Assessing STEM Identity" Frontiers in Education , v.4 , 2019 10.3389/feduc.2019.00078 Citation Details

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