NSF Award
2215084
This project aims to serve the national interest by broadening participation and persistence of women in STEM, especially women from diverse racial populations. The project plans to develop and assess a virtual peer mentoring model. This model is unique both in being virtual and in engaging women in peer mentoring outside the context of STEM research laboratories. Peer mentoring activities will address social, affective, cognitive, and persistence-related challenges experienced by women in STEM. Little is known about the impact of virtual peer mentoring approaches in STEM, and results from the model could be widely relevant and adapted in a variety of institution types and professional settings. <br/><br/>This project at the University of Memphis aims to develop and assess the efficacy of a virtual peer mentoring model with women in residential and online STEM programs. Situated in this urban, public institution, the project plans to to develop and test this mentoring intervention among women students from diverse racial and personal backgrounds. The project will adapt an existing peer mentoring program for women in STEM that has only previously been tested in limited contexts. The current effort should generate knowledge about the efficacy of the model with a more diverse participant population. Additionally, this virtual peer mentoring model will be assessed in two phases. During the first phase, a mixed-methods study using survey and interview methods will guide program content and virtual interface development. During the second phase, a rigorous, randomized controlled trial approach will be used to examine the efficacy of the implementation of the virtual peer mentoring model with BIPOC and White women. Specifically, social, affective, cognitive, and persistence-related outcomes will be compared between virtual peer mentoring participants and a matched control group. Further, the project will use a case study approach to identify differential participant outcomes and to determine how the components of the model facilitated these outcomes. Evaluation of the project will be conducted by the campus’s Center for Research in Educational Policy. Dissemination of developed mentoring materials and research results will be accomplished through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and content sharing via the project’s website and video channel. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
