Work in Progress: Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM

DeeDee Conway; David Deggs

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Conference: 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Tampa, Florida
Publication Date: June 15, 2019
Start Date: June 15, 2019
End Date: June 19, 2019
Conference Session: ERM Technical Session 24: Studies on Socioeconomic Status
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--33590
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/33590
Download Count: 468

Paper Authors

biography

DeeDee Conway Southern Methodist University

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DeeDee Conway serves as the Associate Dean of Operations at the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University. Prior to joining the Dean’s Office, DeeDee worked in accounting in both University and Corporate settings. DeeDee holds a BBA from American Public University, a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and an EdD in Higher Education from Southern Methodist University. A licensed real estate agent and a notary public in the State of Texas, DeeDee also holds memberships in the American Society for Engineering Education, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

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biography

David Deggs Southern Methodist University

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David Deggs serves as Executive Director of College Access Programs and Research Associate Professor in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University. In this role, he is responsible for leadership and oversight of programs that provide college preparation and transition assistance to students in Dallas area schools and academic support to McNair Scholars at SMU. David has nearly 20 years of experience in higher and adult education. His research interests focus on how social capital is manifested in communities to support or negate educational attainment.

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Abstract

The Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM research project is being developed to investigate and understand how, and to what extent, motivation, determination, self-control, and grit factors into adult learners’ pursuit of a postsecondary STEM certificate/degree program in a high demand occupation (e.g., healthcare, information technology, engineering, and logistics). The program will target adult learners who are active participants in a college access and transition program in a large urban setting in the southwest. A local postsecondary institution is working to provide support to high need, low socioeconomic families to fund college degree completion. The program represents the potential to be scalable and replicable across the United States.

The intellectual merit of the Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM (ALLPS) research project is based upon its primary goal to investigate and understand the impact of situational and dispositional barriers among adult learners. The intellectual merit of this project is further substantiated in the need to better understand the drivers that influence successful postsecondary placement, matriculation, retention, and graduation among adult learners pursuing a STEM based degree program and those who are working to complete remediation through developmental mathematics courses. Understanding these motivators and drivers can serve to further advance prosperity among this growing group of STEM learners and those students who must complete developmental math courses. Proper support of adult learners’ academic and career transition needs which can lead to increased prosperity is contingent upon understanding the levels of individual motivation, determination, self-control, and grit.

The Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM (ALPPS) research project is being divided into three distinct areas of work that will include the following components: 1. Development of an evidenced-based program that supports adult learner transition and success as they pursue degrees in STEM fields, 2. Delivery of direct student services as researchable interventions to support adult learner success in postsecondary STEM fields, and 3. Execution of a rigorous research project that will utilize mixed methods approaches to measure and examine the impact of adult learner motivation, determination, self-control, and grit that will inform evidence-based approaches for improving success of adult learners in STEM degree programs, including success in mathematics courses.

Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM research project will be a mixed-methods study that will begin with qualitative data collection to inform the design of project interventions and creation or adoption of quantitative instruments. This exploratory study will employ case study methodology. Case study methodology is appropriate for this research study where a contemporary problem will be investigated through several sources of data. It is anticipated that the results of this study will inform future research regarding adult learner motivation, determination, self-control, and grit for adult learners seeking STEM credentials in postsecondary education. The evidenced-based practices related to the interventions in this study will be both replicable and scalable to other postsecondary institutions.

Citation
Format

Conway, D., & Deggs, D. (2019, June), Work in Progress: Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33590

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM research project is being developed to investigate and understand how, and to what extent, motivation, determination, self-control, and grit factors into adult learners’ pursuit of a postsecondary STEM certificate/degree program in a high demand occupation (e.g., healthcare, information technology, engineering, and logistics). The program will target adult learners who are active participants in a college access and transition program in a large urban setting in the southwest. A local postsecondary institution is working to provide support to high need, low socioeconomic families to fund college degree completion. The program represents the potential to be scalable and replicable across the United States. 

The intellectual merit of the Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM (ALLPS) research project is based upon its primary goal to investigate and understand the impact of situational and dispositional barriers among adult learners. The intellectual merit of this project is further substantiated in the need to better understand the drivers that influence successful postsecondary placement, matriculation, retention, and graduation among adult learners pursuing a STEM based degree program and those who are working to complete remediation through developmental mathematics courses. Understanding these motivators and drivers can serve to further advance prosperity among this growing group of STEM learners and those students who must complete developmental math courses. Proper support of adult learners’ academic and career transition needs which can lead to increased prosperity is contingent upon understanding the levels of individual motivation, determination, self-control, and grit.

The Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM (ALPPS) research project is being divided into three distinct areas of work that will include the following components: 
1.	Development of an evidenced-based program that supports adult learner transition and success as they pursue degrees in STEM fields, 
2.	Delivery of direct student services as researchable interventions to support adult learner success in postsecondary STEM fields, and 
3.	Execution of a rigorous research project that will utilize mixed methods approaches to measure and examine the impact of adult learner motivation, determination, self-control, and grit that will inform evidence-based approaches for improving success of adult learners in STEM degree programs, including success in mathematics courses. 

Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM research project will be a mixed-methods study that will begin with qualitative data collection to inform the design of project interventions and creation or adoption of quantitative instruments. This exploratory study will employ case study methodology. Case study methodology is appropriate for this research study where a contemporary problem will be investigated through several sources of data. It is anticipated that the results of this study will inform future research regarding adult learner motivation, determination, self-control, and grit for adult learners seeking STEM credentials in postsecondary education. The evidenced-based practices related to the interventions in this study will be both replicable and scalable to other postsecondary institutions. 

AU  - DeeDee Conway
AU  - David Deggs
CY  - Tampa, Florida
DA  - 2019/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: Adult Learner Pathways to Prosperity through STEM
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/33590
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--33590
ER  -