Preza Receives National Science Foundation Grant

Understanding the role of undergraduate research and mentoring in the self-efficacy, identity, and success of engineering undergraduate students

With funding from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE): Education and Human Resources - Engaged Student Learning: Level I program, the “UofM-VIP Program” project, led by principal investigator Dr. Chrysanthe Preza, professor and chair in Electrical Computer Engineering, will increase undergraduate research as part of the curriculum, be accessible to all students, and promote diversity and inclusion within engineering at the University of Memphis (UofM). 

The project team, which includes co-PIs Dr. Stephanie Ivey, professor of Civil Engineering, and Dr. Craig Steward, associate professor in the College of Communication Fine Arts, will adapt, implement, research, and evaluate the Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) model (which has been implemented for over 20 years and has been adopted by more than 30 Universities of different size and diversity in the USA and abroad) at the UofM. The VIP model, based on active learning, allows students to engage in research while earning credit towards their degrees and enables tiered mentoring from students at all academic years, thereby providing the opportunity of role modeling from upper-level undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty. By engaging students as early as the freshman year in team-based research and exposing them to initiatives designed to promote diversity and inclusion, the proposed project opens up opportunities to all engineering students, but particularly to women and other underrepresented minorities, to experience engineering in an inclusive culture. Results from the proposed project are expected to contribute to new knowledge about the development of STEM identity through self-efficacy gained from research experience and tiered mentoring and about the impact of an inclusive culture on engineering student retention. Dissemination of the adapted VIP model will be made available through the VIP Consortium to all its university members as well as other interested institutions. Project results will be disseminated through conference presentations and journal publications as well as through a dedicated UofM-VIP website. 

The project goals are to: improve academic success, retention, diversity, and inclusion in engineering at the UofM by integrating educational interventions such as active learning (through project-based research opportunities) and peer mentoring (with networking and role modeling) designed to foster the development of engineering/STEM identity and self-efficacy in undergraduate students. The UofM-VIP program will include activities to foster an inclusive culture in engineering, such as training units, diversity workshops, innovation seminars, and mentoring.  The successful implementation of the UofM-VIP program will create awareness and interest in engineering majors and provide a new approach to recruiting students with diverse backgrounds, including women and underrepresented minorities, in engineering. The project initiatives are designed to promote diversity and inclusion within engineering and will also engage faculty to participate in the UofM-VIP program to contribute in return to achieving and maintaining an inclusive culture. Important outcomes of the project will be: 1) improved retention of all students in engineering; 2) making engineering majors at the UofM more accessible to undecided freshmen, and particularly to women and minoritized students; and 3) supporting STEM identity growth and a sense of belonging. The UofM-VIP program will generate new knowledge in STEM education by investigating a variety of mechanisms for supporting a diverse set of students in their development of a STEM identity. In addition, TLSAMP community college students and high school students will be exposed to the UofM-VIP program through 1-day summer summits and information sessions in existing outreach programs at the UofM. Establishing an engineering/STEM identity and awareness of engineering research among TLSAMP community college students and high school students can increase the number of students selecting engineering majors.

For more information on this award or the research project, contact Preza at cpreza@memphis.edu.