Collaborative Research: Targeted Infusion Project: Building STEM Pathways Powered by Data Science Skills Training to Foster Student Persistence through Institutional Partnership

The primary goal of this project is to create a sustainable data science infused educational pathway that prepares undergraduate students at Talladega College (TC) for long-term success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Using an interdisciplinary approach, students majoring in biology, computer science, computer information systems, chemistry, and mathematics will gain practical skills in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by applying carefully designed learning materials developed by researchers from TC and Auburn University (AU). In addition, researchers will collaborate to provide professional development for faculty to adopt the undergraduate data-science course materials at TC, as well as organize mentoring and peer support structures to support participating students and increase student competitiveness for STEM graduate programs at AU. It is anticipated that the project will strengthen the STEM education capacity at TC, particularly in the context of data science, expand the partnership between the two collaborating institutions, and produce an educational model that may be adapted by comparable institutions. The research team will develop and integrate six modular data science training units that address programming foundations, data cleaning and management, statistical analysis, feature engineering, introductory machine learning, and data visualization. TC STEM faculty will engage in professional development workshops that emphasize evidence-based pedagogical practices to support successful integration of the data science units across five science and mathematics undergraduate courses. These curricular enhancements will also be coupled with structured mentoring of participating students by faculty from both Talladega College and Auburn University, together with peer support networks, to promote student persistence, research skill development, and academic resilience. Together, the collaborative approach encompassing research experiences, professional development activities, and cross-institutional guidance, is anticipated to result in an academic pathway for TC undergraduate student competitiveness for and success in graduate STEM programs at Auburn University. Mixed-methods evaluation will measure changes in student self-efficacy, academic performance indicators such as retention and grade point average, participation rates, and graduate school application and enrollment outcomes. The project will produce open educational resources, documented mentoring frameworks, and a scalable partnership model that other historically Black colleges and universities can use when collaborating with research-intensive institutions. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), through Targeted Infusion Projects, supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based, innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. 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.