Transcript A Culture of Success”

San Diego City College
Academy for STEM Success
- A Model Summer Bridge Program
Rafael Alvarez
San Diego City College MESA Program Director
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Engage, Educate, Empower
Female Academy: Circle of Sisters
A Power Community @ City College
Male Academy: Circle of Brothers
“A Conversation”

Background

“How to”:
A 3-Day “STEM Culture” Model

Evaluation & Results
Background
Need
STEM
Academy
Culture
Student Interest in STEM
Hurtado, S. and Chang, M. (2010). Degrees of Success: Bachelor’s Degree Completion
Rates among Initial STEM Majors. Higher Education Institute at UCLA.
Degree Completion
Hurtado, S. and Chang, M. (2010). Degrees of Success: Bachelor’s Degree Completion
Rates among Initial STEM Majors. Higher Education Institute at UCLA.
“New” American Dilemma
28.5% - Percentage of underrepresented minority groups
in national population (2006)
9.1% - Percentage of underrepresented minority groups
among college-educated Americans in science
and engineering occupations (academic and
non-academic)
Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology
Talent at the Crossroads (2010). National Academy of Sciences.
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)
8%
- Percentage of HSIs among all U.S.
postsecondary institutions
>50% - Percentage of Latinos enrolled in HSIs among the
over 2 million Latinos enrolled in college
25% - Minimum percentage of Latino fulltime equivalent
(FTE) enrollment required for HSI status
Malcom, L.E. et. al. (2010). (Re)Constructing Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Moving
Beyond Numbers Toward Student Success.
“Color of the sky”: Student Realities

Graduates of high schools with low API scores

First generation college students

Economically disadvantaged

Placement into basic skills courses

Lack of necessary social and cultural capital
What is Culture?

"the customary beliefs, social forms, and
material traits of a racial, religious, or social group"

"the characteristic features of everyday existence
shared by people in a place or time <popular culture>"

"the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and
practices that characterizes an institution or
organization <a corporate culture>"
 Model academic support program in STEM, including:
• Academic support and social integration
• Professional and leadership development
 Established in California in 1970
 Currently 68 MESA Programs statewide serve K-12,
community college and university students
 Thirteen states have adopted MESA model
San Diego City College MESA Program
STEM Academy: Collaborators
Rafael Alvarez
Director
Dr. S. Starobin
Principal
Evaluator
Dr. M. Spradley
Dean
Dr. F. Santos Laanan
Co-Principal
Evaluator
Dr. L. Perez
Counselor
Joyce Lui
Graduate
Research Assoc.
Veronica Navallez
Counselor
Carlos Lopez
Graduate
Research Assoc.
STEM Academy: Mentors
3-Day Schedule
A.M.
Training
Networking
Lunch
P.M.
Training
Industry
Exposure
Day 1:
Culture
Day 2:
Learning Strategies
Day 3:
Strengths/Campus
Day 1: Commitment
Victims …
Creators …






Accept responsibility
Take actions
Seek solutions
Do something new
“Choose to” do things
Own their problems
Commit & follow through
Take control of their choices & their
lives!
Blame others
Complain
Make excuses
Repeat ineffective behavior
“Have to” do things
Pretend their problems belong
to others
 “Try”
 Give up
FAILURE
SUCCESS
Victims seldom achieve goals
Creators often achieve goals
Downing, S. (2009). Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life.
Wadsworth, Boston, MA, 6th Edition.
Cultural Beliefs
 Secret to Success (a.k.a. African Village story):
“When you find something in life that you want as
much as you want to breathe, then you will find
the secret to success!”
 Capstone for life: The purpose for the learning
 Skills
 Knowledge
 Wisdom
 FREEDOM!
Networking Lunch - Daily
Industry Exposure - Daily
Other Day 2 Training
 Learning styles
 Test taking strategies
Other Day 3 Training
 Time management
 Test taking strategies
 Campus tour: Scavenger hunt led by mentors
Mission Accomplished!
Evaluation Plan
 Formative evaluation for program improvement was
conducted by Iowa State University research team
 Methodology: Use of quantitative and qualitative
assessment tools
 Questionnaire, with Likert scale, completed daily
to determine:
 Degree of understanding
 Likelihood for applying the training
 A focus group was conducted following each
STEM Academy
Evaluation Results
 Students were very satisfied with the program and the
rewarding learning experience in such a short period of
time
 Interactions with professionals from STEM fields and
City College professors helped students to gain a clear
vision about their goal and career path
 For the majority of students, the Academy experience
confirmed their interest in pursuing a career in STEM
fields
Evaluation Results (continued)
 Some of the students would like to interact more
closely with their peers during the 3 day program
 All students concluded by saying that they would
definitely recommend this program to other recent high
school graduates with aspirations to go to college and
pursue a career in STEM field
Recommendations
 Programmatic – provide shared experience for
females and males
 Participation – emphasize Academy experience to
improve outreach and recruitment
 Personalize learning experience – provide opportunities
for self-reflection and discussion
 Mentors – increase the opportunities for mentors to
share their experiences
 Evaluation tools – revisit survey design to provide a
more refined assessment, and tailor a survey instrument
for mentors
Fall 2011 Results – Units Earned
14
12
Average Units
10
8
All Students
"3/4+" Time Students
6
4
2
0
Males
Females
All
Fall 2011 Results – GPA
4.00
3.50
3.00
AVerage GPA
2.50
All Students
2.00
"3/4+" Time Students
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Males
Females
All
Special thanks to the
STEM Academy teams at
San Diego City College
and Iowa State University
Comments are appreciated. Please forward to
Rafael Alvarez ([email protected])
Detailed information for the STEM Academy,
including related materials, can be found on the
City College website:
www.sdcity.edu (Search “stem academy”)
“Following an informed approach”:
References
1.
Dowd, A.C., Malcom, L.E. & Macias, E.E. (2010). Improving Transfer
Access to STEM, Bachelor’s Degrees at Hispanic Serving
Institutions through the America COMPETES Act. Los Angeles,
CA: University of Southern California.
2.
Frehill, L., DiFabio, N. & Hill, S. (2008). Confronting the "New"
American Dilemma - Underrepresented Minorities in Engineering:
A Data-Based Look at Diversity. National Action Council for
Minorities in Engineering.
3.
Henderson, P., Psalmonds, E. & Bissell, R. (2010). Expanding
Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and
Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press.
“Following an informed approach”:
References (continued)
4.
Hoffman, E., Starobin, S.S., Santos Laanan, F. & Rivera, M.
(2010). Role of Community Colleges in STEM Education:
Thoughts on Implications for Policy, Practice and Future
Research. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and
Engineering,Volume 16/Issue 1. DOI:
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v16.i1
5.
Hurtado, S., Chang, M., Eagan, K. & Gasiewski, J. (2010). Degrees of
Success: Bachelor’s Degree Completion Rates among Initial STEM
Majors. Los Angeles, CA: University of California, Los Angeles.
6.
Malcom, L.E., Bensimon, E.M. & Dávila, B. (2010). (Re)Constructing
Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Moving Beyond Numbers Toward
Student Success. Ames, IA: Iowa State University