Empowering Underrepresented Minority Students: a STEM-Focused Research Internship Program Bridging the Path to Graduate and Professional Success.

IF 3.3 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Innovative Higher Education Pub Date : 2025-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-04-12 DOI:10.1007/s10755-025-09797-x

Ihsan Elkhider, Nishika T Edwards, Richard L Goodwin, Renee J Chosed, Larry Lenard Lowe, Steffani Driggins, Randall H Harris, Kimberly Shorter, Zhi Gao, Stephen Ojo, Olukayode Karunwi, Nnenna Igwe, Thomas I Nathaniel

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Abstract

The goal of this Research Education Program (REP) is to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) fields. However, few programs include research internship opportunities and summer education programs for student participants. In our REP we integrated a research internship program into the summer curriculum and provided stipends aimed to alleviate the financial stress for underrepresented minority (URM) students, allowing them to focus on research, academics, and professional development. More than 90% of research mentors were satisfied with interns' ability in various aspects of STEM research, including integrating research with academic work, developing research skills, engaging in research, formulating scientific hypotheses, implementing constructive feedback, and their readiness to become independent researchers. Over 80% of student interns reported satisfaction with the positive impact of the internship program on their professional development in scientific research, oral presentation, and written communication skills. This improvement was attributed to experiences such as preparing posters and manuscripts, collaborating in teams, working independently, and engaging in overall program activities. There was a significant positive association (r(9) = .60, P < 0.05) between student satisfaction and research mentors' evaluation of their satisfaction with students' performance during the research internship program.

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赋予少数族裔学生权力：一个以stem为重点的研究实习项目，为毕业和职业成功架起桥梁。

这项研究教育计划（REP）的目标是增加科学、技术、工程、数学和医学（STEMM）领域的多样性。然而，很少有项目为学生参与者提供研究实习机会和暑期教育项目。在我们的REP中，我们将研究实习计划整合到暑期课程中，并提供津贴，旨在减轻代表性不足的少数民族（URM）学生的经济压力，使他们能够专注于研究、学术和专业发展。超过90%的研究导师对实习生在STEM研究的各个方面的能力表示满意，包括将研究与学术工作相结合、发展研究技能、从事研究、制定科学假设、实施建设性反馈以及成为独立研究人员的准备。超过80%的实习生对实习计划在科研、口头表达和书面沟通技能方面的专业发展产生的积极影响表示满意。这一进步归功于诸如准备海报和手稿、团队合作、独立工作以及参与整体项目活动等经验。有显著的正相关(r(9) =。60 P

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来源期刊

Innovative Higher Education EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Innovative Higher Education is a refereed scholarly journal that strives to package fresh ideas in higher education in a straightforward and readable fashion. The four main purposes of Innovative Higher Education are: (1) to present descriptions and evaluations of current innovations and provocative new ideas with relevance for action beyond the immediate context in higher education; (2) to focus on the effect of such innovations on teaching and students; (3) to be open to diverse forms of scholarship and research methods by maintaining flexibility in the selection of topics deemed appropriate for the journal; and (4) to strike a balance between practice and theory by presenting manuscripts in a readable and scholarly manner to both faculty and administrators in the academic community.