Table Of ContentSTEM Models
of Success
Programs, Policies, and Practices
in the Community College
A volume in
Contemporary Perspectives on Race and Ethnic Relations
M. Christopher Brown II and T. Elon Dancy II, Series Editors
STEM Models
of Success
Programs, Policies, and Practices
in the Community College
edited by
J. Luke Wood
San Diego State University
Robert T. Palmer
Binghamton University
INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, INC.
Charlotte, NC • www.infoagepub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
STEM models of success: programs, policies, and practices in the community
college / edited by J. Luke Wood, San Diego State University; Robert T.
Palmer, Binghamton University.
pages cm. -- (Contemporary perspectives on race and ethnic
relations)
ISBN 978-1-62396-481-8 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-62396-482-5 (hardcover) --
ISBN 978-1-62396-483-2 (ebook) 1. Science--Study and teaching
(Higher)--United States. 2. Technology--Study and teaching (Higher)--United
States. 3. Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)--United States. 4.
Mathematics--Study and teaching (Higher)--United States. 5. Science
students--United States. 6. Community college students--United States. 7.
Minority college students--United States. I. Wood, J. Luke, 1982- editor of
compilation. II. Palmer, Robert T., editor of compilation.
Q183.3.A1S74 2014
507.1’173--dc23
2013037692
Copyright © 2014 Information Age Publishing Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Preface ..................................................................................................vii
1 The Role of the Community College in Leveling the Playing
Field: Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math .....................................1
Diane Rodriguez-Kiino
2 Exploring the Relationship of Race and Gender Among
Transfer STEM Students .....................................................................29
Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher, Chiron W. Graves, Cheyenne Luzynski,
and Justin Ford
3 What Can We Learn From the Jack Cooke Kent Foundation?:
Exploring Community Colleges, Foundation Support, and STEM ....49
Pamela Felder and Jenna Tesauro
4 Bridging the Gap Between Community Colleges and Four-Year
Universities to Maximize Effectiveness in STEM Education for
Latino Males ........................................................................................67
Sarah Rodriguez, Victor Saenz, and Charles Lu
5 Community College Pathways in the Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM) Pipeline: National Trends and
Implications for Increasing Representation ......................................91
Felisha Herrera and Sylvia Hurtado
v
vi Contents
6 Upward Bound: Programs That Increase Minority Students’
Completion of Degrees in STEM Fields ...........................................111
Angel Rodriguez and Pilar Mendoza
7 A Synthesis of the Research on Community Colleges and
Universities Regarding STEM Success Among Racial and Ethnic
Minorities ...........................................................................................129
Dimitra Lynette Jackson
8 Exemplary Practice for Seamless Pipeline Transitions Between
Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions ............................147
Román Liera, Shaila Mulholland, and Marian Ross
9 Pathway to the Baccalaureate: Fostering STEM Success ................165
Jaime Lester and Tanneh Kamara
10 Using Research- and Evidence-Based Strategies to Increase
Access and Gender Equity in STEM: The STEM Equity
Pipeline Project .................................................................................185
Ben M. Williams
11 STEM in Career and Technical Education: Using the Flutter
Effect Framework to Increase Underrepresented Minority
Student Success ..................................................................................209
Soko S. Starobin, Linda Serra Hagedorn, and Mary E. Darrow
12 The Role of Community College Faculty in Widening the
STEM Pipeline ...................................................................................233
Christopher J. Nellum and Ignacio Hernández, Jr.
13 Community Colleges and the Education of Women of Color in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Programs ............................................................................................253
Dawn R. Johnson
About the Editors ..............................................................................273
About the Contributors .....................................................................277
PREFACE
For this volume, we (J. Luke Wood and Robert T. Palmer) set out to provide
an intellectual space that would allow scholars and practitioners of STEM
education to discuss innovative models for practice. With this aim in mind,
we invited chapter contributors who could discuss programs, policies, prac-
tices, and research-based recommendations that can impact the success of
STEM students in the community college. This compilation is timely, on
the national landscape; the federal government has placed increasing im-
portance on improving STEM degree production as a strategy for America’s
future stability in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
As the United States focuses on positioning itself to retain and advance
its status as a world leader in technology and scientific innovation, a rec-
ognition that community colleges are a critical site for intervention has
become apparent. Community colleges serve the lion’s share of the nation’s
postsecondary students. In fact, 40% of all undergraduate students are en-
rolled in community colleges, these students account for nearly 30% of all
STEM undergraduate majors in postsecondary institutions. These students
serve as a core element of the STEM pipeline into four-year colleges and
universities via the community college transfer function. Moreover, com-
munity colleges are the primary postsecondary access point for nontradi-
tional students, including students of color, first-generation, low-income,
and adult students. This is a particularly salient point given that these popu-
lations are sordidly underrepresented among STEM graduates and in the
STEM workforce.
STEM Models of Success, pages vii–xi
Copyright © 2014 by Information Age Publishing
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. vii
viii Preface
Therefore, increasing success among these populations can contribute
significantly to advancing the nation’s interests in STEM. As such, the com-
munity college is situated as an important site for innovative practices that
have strong implications for bolstering the nation’s production and sus-
tenance of a STEM labor force. In recognition of this role, the National
Science Foundation and private funding agencies have invested millions of
dollars into research and programs designed to bolster the STEM pipeline.
From this funding and other independently sponsored inquiry, promising
programs, initiatives, and research recommendations have been identified.
These efforts hold great promise for change, with the potential to trans-
form the education and outcome of STEM students at all levels. Therefore,
a comprehensive volume was needed to feature this work for public dis-
course and consumption.
The goal here is to present a data-driven guide for inspiration and future
practice that can assist community colleges and four-year colleges receiving
transfer students in better supporting, retaining, preparing, and graduat-
ing STEM students. Informed by research and theory, each chapter in this
volume blazes new territory in articulating how community colleges can ad-
vance outcomes for students in STEM, particularly those from historically
underrepresented and underserved communities. Below, we highlight the
chapters in this volume and the authors who contributed them.
OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS
In Chapter 1, “The Role of the Community College in Leveling the Playing
Field: Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Science, Technol-
ogy, Engineering and Math,” Diane Rodriguez-Kiino discusses the critical
role that community colleges play in fostering the achievement of racial
and ethnic minority students in STEM disciplines. In particular, she ex-
plores the extent to which racial and ethnic minorities have historically
accessed and persisted in STEM courses at community colleges, setting the
stage for subsequent chapters in the book. The chapter concludes with a
discussion of the ways in which community colleges have served as a viable
pathway to stimulate interest in STEM fields and produce a cadre of edu-
cated and successful racial and ethnic minority students in STEM majors at
4-year colleges and universities.
Eboni Zamani-Gallaher, Chiron Graves, Cheyenne Luzynski, and Justin
Ford focus on the experiences of STEM students transferring from a com-
munity college to a four year institution of higher education in Chapter 2,
“The Road Less Traveled: The Community College Context and Increas-
ing Diverse STEM Majors through Transfer.” This chapter gauges students’
precollege exposure to STEM and perceptions of community college rigor
Preface ix
in the STEM curricula, transfer preparedness, and self-efficacy for a popu-
lation of community college transfer STEM majors over the last two years.
Schlossberg’s Transition Theory and Stereotype Threat Theory serve as
the theoretical perspectives guiding this chapter given the widely known
notion that transfer students are not satisfactorily prepared for study in
high-intensity programs at senior institutions. Drawing on the findings
from surveys and interviews with participants, academic progress, how they
navigate the two-year to four-year pathway along their STEM journey, and
responses to challenges in transitioning are shared. The chapter concludes
with recommendations for policy, practice, and future research to improve
transition and retention of diverse community college transfer students in
STEM fields.
In Chapter 3, “What Can We Learn From the Jack Cooke Kent Founda-
tion? Exploring Community Colleges, Foundation Support, and STEM,”
Pamela Felder and Jenna Tesauro discuss the critical role that outside
support agencies, such as the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JCKF) play
in supporting the success of high achieving, low income students who
major in STEM at the community college level. Specifically, this chapter
explores students’ experiences with the JKCF program and discusses the
impact that this foundation had on their success. This chapter concludes
with recommendations about how partnerships between community col-
leges and similar programs might be used to further the success of minor-
ity students in STEM.
Sarah Rodriguez, Victor Saenz, and Charles Lu discuss how community
colleges and four year institutions could work collectively to create a seam-
less transfer process for Latino males in Chapter 4, “Bridging the Gap be-
tween Community Colleges and Four-year Universities to Maximize Effec-
tiveness in STEM Education for Latino Males.”
In Chapter 5, “Community College Pathways in the Science, Technol-
ogy, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Pipeline: National Trends and Impli-
cations for Increasing Representation,” Felisha Herrera and Sylvia Hurtado
utilize the recent national data on community college students to highlight
the key indicators influencing underrepresented racial minorities in STEM.
A comprehensive understanding of the STEM educational continuum is
provided through an examination of longitudinal student data. Connect-
ing these national data trends to recent policy and national efforts, implica-
tions for higher education administrators, practitioners, and researchers
are discussed.
Angel Rodriguez and Pilar Mendoza focus on the role that Upward
Bound Math and Science Programs (UBMS) play in increasing the suc-
cess minority students in STEM in Chapter 6, “Upward Bound: Programs
that Increase Minority Students’ Completion of Degrees in STEM fields.”
In this chapter, they describe how the UBMS program encourages minority
