IINSPIRE LSAMP: Thriving in STEM Disciplines
Iowa State leads the $5 million Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Iowa-Illinois-Nebraska STEM Partnership for Research and Education (IINSPIRE) project that aims to increase the number and improve the experience of underrepresented students completing STEM degrees in the Midwest.
IINSPIRE offers students evidence- based academic, professional and social support, including mentoring, hands-on research experiences, transfer partnerships between two- and four-year institutions, and other programming.
Researchers, guided by social cognitive career theory, are studying both micro- and macro-level influences to understand how IINSPIRE students thrive and persistinSTEM disciplines. Sixteen public and private colleges and universities and community colleges across three states are participating in IINSPIRE
, providing a rich collaboration to study shared challenges alliance-wide.
IINSPIRE is led by principal investigator Jonathan Wickert, Iowa State senior vice president and provost and professor of mechanical engineering, and alliance director Diane Rover, University Professor of electrical and computer engineering. IINSPIRE is funded by the National Science Foundation.
RIDE: Collaborative, Inclusive Instructional Models
An interdisciplinary team of Iowa State researchers are developing new instructional models for course design in electrical and computer engineering, with a goal of better preparing the next generation of engineers for working in ever complex systems and broadening the participation of underrepresented students, especially women.
The Reinventing the Instructional and Departmental Enterprise (RIDE) project is funded by $2 million from the NSF to develop new approaches to teaching and learning in electrical and computer engineering, especially in relation to design and systems thinking, professional skills, such as leadership
and inclusion, contextual concepts and creative technologies. Researchers are developing and evaluating human-centered, collaborative and interactive teaching practices in new courses each semester, continually evaluating and improving strategies.
RIDE co-principal investigators are Diane Rover, University Professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Joe Zambreno, professor of electrical and computer engineering.
ECSEL: Ecosystems of Support
Cyclone Engineers, together with colleagues at two community colleges, are examining the entire process of earning electrical, computer and software engineering degrees to help improve diversity and inclusion in the fields.
The Electrical, Computer and Software Engineers as Leaders (ECSEL) project research team, led by professor of electrical and computer engineering Joe
Zambreno, is adapting, implementing and studying an evidence-based student experience model that forms an entire ecosystem of supports, ranging from scholarships for low-income, high-potential students, to professional development activities and study abroad opportunities – all with a goal of doubling the number of women enrolled in the degree programs.
Research questions address how women and other diverse students develop and sustain their engineering identities and what motivates underrepresented students to persist and thrive in electrical, computer and software engineering degree programs. ECSEL is funded by the NSF.
