IAFOR Journal of Education

Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019

The Effects of Student Success Workshops on Undergraduate Hispanic STEM Students
on the U.S.-Mexico Border
J. Elizabeth Casey
The University of Texas Permian Basin, USA
Runchang Lin
Texas A&M International University, USA
Selina V. Mireles
The University of Texas Permian Basin, USA
Rohitha Goonatilake
Texas A&M International University, USA

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Abstract
The goal of the College of Arts & Sciences Community-aid (CASC-aid) project, a National
Science Foundation grant funded study (2016-2021), is to develop, implement, and evaluate a
program that fosters a community of academic success for Hispanic STEM students. This
Hispanic Serving Institute continues to provide a variety of supports to safeguard success for
Hispanic CASC-aid scholars through effective communication. Along with scholarships,
Project CASC-aid delivers mentoring and intervention strategies related to non-cognitive
behavioral practices to ensure scholars are motivated and empowered, and to support thepostsecondary educational success of Hispanic students (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck,2007). Embedded within the research is a Formative Experiment (Reinking & Bradley,2008), which allowed researchers to gather data on one facet of the project. CASC-aid
scholars responded to surveys after Student Success Workshops held across the 2017-2019
academic years. Analysis of results demonstrated that workshops were effective in supporting
students’ long-term goals, career major decisions, and overall knowledge of a wider STEM
field.
Keywords: Hispanic, undergraduate, STEM, supports, workshops

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Introduction
Hispanic students are often disproportionately underprepared, underrepresented, andunderserved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. Data froma variety of sources indicate that Hispanic students are often far below their whitecounterparts in reading and STEM areas on national and international assessments (DeSilver,
2017; NAEP, 2017). Likewise, a report in New Scientist, citing the United States Departmentof Education, revealed that: “Hispanics occupy only 2% of the STEM workforce in the
United States. Additionally, only 10% of college and university degrees awarded in the
STEM field are given to Hispanics” (2016, para. 4). The goal of the College of Arts &Sciences Community-aid (CASC-aid) project, a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant
funded study, is to develop, implement, and evaluate a program that fosters a community ofacademic success for Hispanic students majoring in a STEM field. Students selected forinclusion as CASC-aid scholars receive academic and student mentoring services during
mathematics courses. The purpose of this project is to support Hispanic students with avariety of interventions to ensure they can successfully navigate towards an undergraduate
degree in a STEM field.
Project CASC-aid provides scholars by: (a) enhancing the first courses in the mathematics
sequence, to include college algebra and calculus 1-3; (b) incorporating Learning Support incoursework, which is an alternative to traditional recitation in that learners engage in realworld applications and anticipate common misconceptions; (c) offering professor-led
Community Tutoring for scholars; (d) providing Success Workshops that cultivate mentoringand yield research and service learning opportunities; and, (e) providing extensive
educational experiences, events, and resources (e.g., career guidance, advising, and field
trips) to all participants. In this manuscript, researchers will describe the findings of one of
the support mechanisms put into place to enhance CASC-aid students’ awareness of career
trajectories available post-graduation. Success Workshops allow for communication andconnections between CASC-aid student scholars, faculty, and invited speakers across a rangeof topics directly related to career paths.
The project team designed these provisions to support and foster a community of Hispanic
STEM students as they enter and exit college, completing an undergraduate degree in a
STEM field. Many CASC-aid scholars are first generation college students, thus it is vital toensure they receive effective communication about support opportunities available to them.
Project CASC-aid scholars all receive sustained attention beyond that provided by theuniversity, and key in this is the inclusion of communication at all levels to build acommunity of practice for scholars (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Tinto & Goodsell-Love, 1998).
The first author and co-principal investigator (co-PI) developed a survey instrument to assess
the effectiveness of Success Workshops in supporting students in the CASC-aid program.
The second author and Principal Investigator (PI) invited guest speakers/scholars working in
STEM fields to make presentations in a series of lectures across three semesters between the
2017-2019 academic years. The project team collected data on students’ perceptions of theseworkshops after multiple presentations. Likewise, the PI developed Success Workshops toinclude presenters who are intellectuals in their respective fields. Results from data analysis
revealed that the workshops had a positive impact on CASC-aid scholars’ major, job
knowledge, job prospects, and career fields. Likewise, respondents demonstrated a highdegree of belief in the workshops and Project CASC-aid in supporting their needs as STEM
students.

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Area of Concern
The percentage of Hispanic students graduating with college degrees from undergraduate
programs is lower than their white counterparts for a variety of reasons (Baylor, 2016; Kao &Thompson, 2003; Viadero & Johnston, 2000), but when considering minority students’attainment of a STEM undergraduate degree, there is cause for concern (Carpi, Ronan,
Falconer, & Lents, 2017; ed.gov, 2012; Leonard, 2016). In a report on Hispanics and STEM
education, it was determined that “Hispanic students are more likely to be taught science byteachers who did not major in that field or by inexperienced teachers” (Crisp & Nora, 2012,p. 5). Based on empirical data, Hispanic students along the South Texas border region aredisproportionately underprepared, underrepresented, and underserved in STEM fields. This
under-preparation begins early in students’ educational endeavors in K-12 settings. Recent
data from NAEP (2017) indicated that from “1992 through 2017, the average reading score
for White 8th-graders was higher than the scores of their Black and Hispanic peers” (p.7) The
Committee on STEM Education noted that on international mathematics and scienceassessments, “Hispanic U.S. eighth graders had scores equivalent to those of students incountries ranked in the bottom third of the 45 countries that participated in the 8th grade
science assessment” (2013, p.2), while white U.S. eighth graders ranked fourth behind
Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Korea.
Hispanic students entering college are already behind their white, college bound peers. As
noted previously, Hispanic students lag behind their eighth-grade peers across the globe oninternational science assessments (Committee on STEM Education). Furthermore, on the2015 Program for International Student Assessment, in science and reading, U.S. 15-yearolds ranked 24th, and in math, U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 39th (DeSilver, 2017). Thus, it isessential to ensure that positive outcomes at the college level are possible for minorities andfemales, two underrepresented groups in STEM careers; and these outcomes include
undergraduate graduation from a STEM field. In addition to under-preparation, Baylor (2016)noted 21% of black students and 16% of Hispanic students have an undergraduate degree,
while 43% of their white peers have graduate from college. Likewise, some universities haveclosed door policies for minorities (Baylor, 2016). These factors all pose additional barriersfor Hispanic students seeking a STEM degree.
Along with under-preparation in K-12 schooling, acquiring an undergraduate degree, andpotential difficulty getting into college, there are other general roadblocks to STEM retention
and completion for Hispanic students in undergraduate bachelor’s programs. One roadblockincludes mathematics. Researchers have demonstrated that mathematics attainment is acornerstone to college access, degree completion, and specifically to successful STEM
pursuit (Kredell, 2017; uschamberfoundation.org). Likewise, a strong academic mathprogram through completion of higher-level math in high school is important to success incollege (Adelman, 2006). McCormick and Lucas (2011) noted that mathematics preparation
at the high school level plays a prominent role in students’ “hopes and dreams for a college
degree” (p. 1). However, researchers are unsure of the added benefit pre-Calculus and otherdevelopmental math courses at the college level have on students’ later success in collegelevel Calculus (Bressoud, 2016). Additionally, girls’ self-efficacy in math is a strong
predictor of declaring a STEM major (Brookshire, 2017).
In addition, an important barrier to enhanced college graduation rates from underrepresented
students in STEM fields is a lack of college knowledge (Brooks-Terry, 1988; Horn & Nuñez,
2000; Ishanti & DesJardins, 2002; Ishanti, 2006; Moschetti & Hudley, 2014). There is a highcorrelation between low socioeconomic status and college graduation, and this has led

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019researchers to extend beyond content knowledge in search of obstacles to college graduation(Estep, 2016; Rheinschmidt & Mendoza-Denton, 2014). One common area identified was the
misunderstanding of college readiness. Conley (2007) defines college readiness as consistingof four concentric ideas: (a) key cognitive strategies, (b) key content, (c) academic behaviors,and (d) contextual skills and awareness. This underscores the idea that students need morethan content knowledge to be successful in college. Research conducted through theAmerican College Testing (ACT) agency revealed that underserved students, that is, first
generation college students, often fail to achieve benchmarks, and this can lead to“progressively lower college and career readiness rates” 2018, p. 9). In addition, there is anaffective component related to a student’s STEM college identity and high-achieving highschool STEM students do not identify with: (a) feelings of low self-confidence and/or selfefficacy, (b) a lack time management and test taking skills, or, (c) ideas of low motivationand determination (Huguenin, 2014). This is often not the case for their underpreparedminority counterparts.
Hispanic students may lack college knowledge, but they may also lack an understanding of
job opportunities that align with specific STEM degrees. The Student Success workshops
provided through Project CASC-aid may support student understanding and learning, as wellas fill a knowledge gap for scholars.
Potential Solution: Supports for CASC-aid Scholars
In our ever-changing technological society, there is a growing need for a substantive call toincreasing the number of Hispanic and other minority students graduating fromundergraduate STEM programs. Multiple studies have determined that undergraduate
research opportunities can support and increase retention of minority students in STEM
majors (Carpi & Lents, 2013; Junge, Quinones, Kakietek, Teodorescu, & Marsteller, 2010;
Kardash, 2000; Nagda, Gregerman, Jonides, von Hippel, & Lerner, 1998). However, not allcolleges and universities offer research opportunities at the undergraduate level. Thus, it isimperative to provide interventions that ensure Hispanic and other minority students are
successful in completing undergraduate degrees, particularly STEM degrees.
Notably, a Report from the Committee on STEM Education National Science andTechnology Council (2013), and the follow-up progress report from the Office of Scienceand Technology Policy (OSTP, 2016), highlighted the following need: “Increase the numberof underrepresented groups that graduate with STEM degrees in the next 10 years andimprove women’s participation in areas of STEM where they are significantly
underrepresented” (2016, p. 12). As new technologies advance daily, it is important tosupport Hispanic STEM students in graduating with an undergraduate STEM degree,
particularly female students.
Additionally, the House of Representatives (H.R.) Bill 2653: STEM Opportunities Act(2017) noted that “In 2015, underrepresented minority groups comprised 39 percent of thecollege-age population of the United States, but only 17 percent of students earning
bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields” (p. 3, lines 1-4). The STEM Opportunities Act (II.c.1)
aims to increase “implementation or expansion of innovative, research-based approaches tobroaden participation of underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields” (p. 32, lines 6-9).
Project CASC-aid is an innovative, NSF grant funded study that aims to increase
underrepresented students into STEM fields. The Student Success Workshops are just one
support provided for Hispanic students, many of whom are first-generation college students;

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and these workshops showcased an invited speaker to provide information about different
career choices students might consider upon graduation.
Project CASC-aid.
This project addresses two general issues interfering with our nation’s STEM progress. First,
the project team developed multiple elements to support Hispanic students toward a college
degree in a STEM field, including a variety of success mechanisms, one of which is theaforementioned Student Success Workshops. The outcomes of the Student SuccessWorkshops will be addressed in this paper. However, there are a host of other supports
provided to CASC-aid scholars. To address support for students’ lack of college knowledge,
student mentoring is key.
Enriquez (2011) noted that first-generation Hispanic college students need to know aboutcollege readiness and attainability. Presently, first-generation college students remain far
behind their peers in college readiness (act.org, 2016; NAEP, 2016; Viadero & Johnston,2000). Hispanic students face many barriers when considering college, including difficulties
in: (a) navigating through college applications, (b) filling out financial aid packets, and (c)overcoming cultural barriers. Individuals who have lived those experiences can best addressthese complications. The South Texas borderland region is rich in mentoring potential.
Successful college graduates who reside in the area can often be the best mentors for firstgeneration college students (Enriquez, 2011). CASC-aid experts in the field have enlisted a
network of mentors who will guide students into post-secondary, academic success.
Next, a strategic directive at retaining students was also key for Project CASC-aid. Retention
strategies for CASC-aid scholars are holistic and layered. Primarily, the project will build
community among and across each cohort of scholars. Research on Residential Colleges
supports the potential success of the College Algebra Course (Tinto, 2012). And, thisparticular aspect has been proven successful under the direction of the third author/co-PI in
2011, with a central Texas high school group. In addition, cohorts will be defined by themathematics courses, as enrollment in a CASC-aid mathematics course is a requirement ofscholars. Other aspects of Project CASC-aid rely on Communities of Practice (Lave &Wenger, 1991) that are built by Community Tutoring and Success Workshops. All CASC-aid
scholars, regardless of which mathematics course they are in, will be able to attend
Community Tutoring, which includes regularly scheduled tutoring time facilitated by the PI
and fourth-author/co-PI.
Finally, the project team designed the Student Success Workshops to support college
knowledge (Conley, 2007) and STEM job knowledge for CASC-aid scholars. Examples ofworkshop topics supplying students with college knowledge included: (a) “Building andWriting a Resume”; (b) “Understanding the GRE”; and, (c) “Panel: Hispanics in STEM
Professions”. University and CASC-aid representatives were on hand to provide updates onadvising, internships, and financial aid deadlines to further support scholars. To enhance
students’ job knowledge in STEM fields, the PI invited STEM Researchers/Intellectuals intheir respective fields to present career opportunities that students may be unaware of as along-term job goal. These workshops focused on a variety of strategies to support scholars,
and all workshops included mentoring activities and opportunities.
The elements of Project CASC-aid have cultivated a positive, synergistic STEM community
with clear lines of communication to ensure CASC-aid scholars are supported in all

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019endeavors they undertake. Communication is a key function of this project, and it isnecessary to ensure CASC-aids scholars receive full benefit of the supports available to them.
Literature Review
In a search of the ERIC (EBSCO) database using the keywords Hispanic, undergraduate,
STEM, and supports, 14 articles were retrieved. The number dropped to seven articles when acriterion for peer reviewed manuscripts was entered. Of those seven, several articles
described successful programs with targeted interventions to retain Hispanic students towarddegree completion. First, Carpi, Ronan, Falconer, Boyd, and Lents (2013) described a seriesof targeted supports for retaining students at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Supports
included: (a) a math and science resource center; (b) paced science courses; (c) faculty
development seminars; (d) math/science curricular alignment; and, (e) department student
science awards. Efforts led to increased graduation rates for Hispanic students in Forensic
Science (Carpi et al., 2013).
Slovacek, Whittinghill, Flenoury, and Wiseman (2012) examined “programs funded by the
National Institutes of Health Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE)” (p. 199) anddetermined that students supported by the MORE program graduated more quickly withhigher GPAs, and many more entered a graduate program. Slovacek et al. (2012) reviewed
eight years of student data from participants in MORE and non-MORE schools, comparing
several models, including Tinto’s (1975) and Swail’s (2003) Model. Students in the MORE
program were highly successful. In their discussion, Slovacek et al. (2012) noted that “resultsof the study then lend credence to the hypothesis that an institution, through a range ofinterventions aimed at supporting different aspects of the student experience, can have adramatic impact on the outcomes of students traditionally underrepresented in the scienceswith respect to graduation and the pursuit of advanced degrees” (p. 213).
Notably, a phenomenological case study by Sriram and Diaz (2016) collected data on 13
minority students’ perceptions of their STEM identity as part of a Living-Learning program
while attending a predominantly white university. Students’ responses were positive andstudents felt that they were part of a family. Surprisingly, “all participants agreed that theyfelt more of a minority as a STEM major on campus as a whole than they did as a student ofcolor” (Sriram & Diaz, 2016, p.14). Authors suggested more qualitative research to delve intominority students’ as STEM majors. Flower (2014) described how HSI’s support students in
STEM areas. Likewise, Jackson, Starobin, and Laanan (2013) noted that women andunderrepresented minorities must have support from colleges and universities to be
successful in STEM areas, a traditionally white, male field.
Minority students often need support to be successful in college; and when considering firstgeneration Hispanic students majoring in a STEM field, support mechanisms to ensure
successful degree completion is vital. Project CASC-aid provides multiple supports forscholars, and the Student Success Workshops provided a layer of support to ensure students
were familiar with a variety of options, post-graduation, for career fields.
MethodWith Internal Review Board (IRB) approval, the PI and co-PIs conducted an exploratory
study from October, 2017 through October, 2018 utilizing a formative experiment (Reinking& Bradley, 2008) to determine the effects of Student Success Workshops on CASC-aid

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019scholars’ awareness of prospective jobs, post-graduation. Formative experiments align withdesign-based research (Van den Akker, Gravemeijer, McKenney, & Nieveen, 2006). The firstauthor/co-PI selected a framework outlined by Reinking and Bradley (2008) that included six
components to guide the project team toward achieving the selected goal of increasing
CASC-aid scholars’ knowledge of jobs in STEM fields prior to graduation through SuccessWorkshops. The project team followed these six components when beginning this exploratory
study:(1) select an important goal undergirded with theory and prior research;(2) identify research and theory to assist with achieving the goal;(3) collect data on aspects that enhance and/or diminish achievement of the goal;(4) modify the intervention to make it more appealing to all stakeholders;(5) anticipate positive and negative changes that the intervention produces; and,(6) identify changes that have occurred as a result of the intervention.
The goal identified in this formative experiment was to increase STEM majors’
understanding of career opportunities, post-graduation, through Student Success Workshops.
Unlike other methodologies, which identify a research question or hypothesis, a formative
experiment sets a desired goal that if achieved, will have consequential validity (Gravemeijer& Cobb, 2006). It was important to the project team that future job prospects were clearlyand effectively articulated to CASC-aid scholars while still enrolled in college. In thismanner, students might choose to: (a) streamline a degree; (b) change a major fromengineering to math, or math to science, and other; and/or, (c) intern with a professor or
employer in an area that interests them as a future job.
To determine the effectiveness of the Student Success Workshops geared toward job
knowledge, the first author developed a Likert survey (Figure 1) consisting of 18 questions.
Students had five options when responding to survey statements: strongly agree (SA), agree(A), neutral (N), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD). After analysis of survey
instruments, it was determined that the Student Success Workshops were well-received byscholars and are an effective support for students as they move closer toward their goal of
graduating with an undergraduate degree in a STEM field.

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Figure 1: Researcher-developed survey instrument
Participants and Setting
Across 2017-2019 academic years, CASC-aid scholars attended multiple Success Workshops
to hear guest speakers describe their STEM research and/or area of expertise. CASC-aid
scholars attended workshops on campus in rooms where they regularly attend STEM classes.
The number of participants attending each of the workshop varied in size, with a range from
6 participants to 32 participants. Student participants’ gender, major, class standing, andanticipated graduation date varied with each workshop (Table 1).
Table 1: Information on workshop participants
Date
Participants in
attendance
Male
FemaleFreshman
Sophomore
JuniorSeniorEngineeringMathScience
Hispanic
participation

October,
2017
32

November,
2017
14

January,
201816

February,
2018
12

October
3, 2018
6

October 18,
2018
8

80%
20%
0%
6%
19%
75%
81%
12%
6%
100%

78%
22%
7%
29%
43%
21%
64%
14.3%
21.4%
100%

80%
20%
0%
18%
32%
50%
75%
25%
0%
93.8%

75%
25%
0%
0%
30%
70%
63.6%
36.4%
0%
91.7%

66.7%
33.3%
0%
16.7%
0%
83.3%
100%
0%
0%
100%

50%
50%
0%
25%
12.5%
62.5%
50%
50%
0%
100%

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The six Student Success Workshops were entitled: (1) "System Dynamics Simulation
Modeling"; (2) "Drilling Optimization and Drill Stem Vibration Modeling"; (3) "Vectorborne
Diseases and Prevalence in South Texas Region"; (4) "The Action of the Kauffman Bracket
Skein Algebra of the Torus on the Skein Module of the 3-twist Knot Complement"; (5)“Current Memory Technology Trends; and, (6) “Weak Galerkin Finite Element Method with
Mixed Boundary Conditions”. Sessions lasted approximately one hour and included aquestion and answer session at the end to support effective communication for scholars.
Students filled out Likert-scale surveys based on their experience with the speakers and/or
content of workshop.
At all workshops, 100% of students identified as Hispanic/Latino except for the third andfourth workshops, with one student identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander at each session.
Materials and Procedure
The PI and co-PIs working on this project are committed to ensuring that scholars attainmaximum benefit from all supports provided through Project CASC-aid and the survey
instrument developed by the first author was an attempt to better understand whether
information provided by invited speakers at Student Success Workshops was helpful andmeaningful for scholars as they move forward in the program. The PI/second author wanted
to ensure students learned about a variety of career fields that might be unfamiliar at thisstage in their academic careers and the first author/co-PI wanted to determine if scholars
were, in fact, unfamiliar with a potential career option. CASC-aid scholars received
information, handouts, and contacts to further support effective communication. At the end ofeach workshop, scholars received a survey to fill out. All surveys were anonymous, and no
identifying markers to match a particular student with the information he/she provided wasavailable during analysis of data. The first author was not present at workshops or when
students filled out surveys. The PI handed out and collected all surveys, and subsequently
sent them to the co-PI after they had been completed. Surveys were developed by the firstauthor, and validity and reliability of the survey instrument is ongoing. Controlling variables
such as location, length or workshop, and presentation style of workshops is one component
used to increase validity. Increasing randomization of sample of CASC-aid participants isdone through changing the time of the workshop to ensure participants’ schedules don’tinterfere with their ability to participate in workshop.
Results
After data analysis from six sets of surveys, researchers determined that Student SuccessWorkshops provided an effective support to build job knowledge for CASC-aid scholars.
Responses to survey items were positive (Table 2), although there was some confusion
among scholars as to whether the workshops were mandatory.
Table 2: Student-participants’ responses to survey items one, two, and three
Survey Question One: This workshop was beneficial.
Strongly
Agree
Neither
Disagree
Agree
Agree nor
DisagreeWorkshop One: System Dynamics
29%
39%
19%
9%
Simulation ModelingWorkshop Two: Drilling
57%
36%
0%
0%
Optimization and Drill Stem
Vibration Modeling

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Strongly
Disagree
3%
7%

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Workshop Three: Vectorborne
50%
31%
0%
0%
Diseases and Prevalence in South
Texas Region
Workshop Four: The Action of the
25%
33.3%
33.3%
0%
Kauffman Bracket Skein Algebra of
the Torus on the Skein Module ofthe 3-twist Knot Complement
Workshop Five: Current Memory
50%
50%
0%
0%
Technology Trends
Workshop Six: Weak Galerkin
50%
37.5%
12.5%
0%
Finite Element Method with Mixed
Boundary Conditions
Survey Question Two: The speaker was motivating
Strongly
Agree
Neither
Disagree
Agree
Agree nor
DisagreeWorkshop One: System Dynamics
34%
19%
31%
13%
Simulation ModelingWorkshop Two: Drilling
36%
50%
7%
7%
Optimization and Drill Stem
Vibration ModelingWorkshop Three: Vectorborne
25%
56%
12%
6%
Diseases and Prevalence in South
Texas Region
Workshop Four: The Action of the
50%
16.7%
33.3%
0%
Kauffman Bracket Skein Algebra of
the Torus on the Skein Module ofthe 3-twist Knot Complement
Workshop Five: Current Memory
66.7%
33.3%
0%
0%
Technology Trends
Workshop Six: Weak Galerkin
25%
50%
25%
0%
Finite Element Method with Mixed
Boundary Conditions
Survey Question Three: I learned about a new career option
Strongly
Agree
Neither
Disagree
Agree
Agree nor
DisagreeWorkshop One: System Dynamics
16%
34%
25%
20%
Simulation ModelingWorkshop Two: Drilling
29%
64%
0%
0%
Optimization and Drill Stem
Vibration ModelingWorkshop Three: Vectorborne
12%
25%
31%
19%
Diseases and Prevalence in South
Texas Region
Workshop Four: The Action of the
16.7%
41.7%
25%
8/3%
Kauffman Bracket Skein Algebra of
the Torus on the Skein Module ofthe 3-twist Knot Complement
Workshop Five: Current Memory
33.3%
33.3%
33.3%
0%
Technology Trends
Workshop Six: Weak Galerkin
25%
12.5%
50%
0%
Finite Element Method with Mixed
Boundary Conditions

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19%
8.3%

0%
0%

Strongly
Disagree
3%
7%
0%
0%

0%
0%

Strongly
Disagree
6%
7%
13%
8.3%

0%
12.5%

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Survey results based on question one demonstrate that most students believed workshops
were beneficial, with more than half of scholars selecting agree or strongly agree across all
speakers. The second, third, and fifth workshops had the highest percent of students being
motivated by the speaker. As a result, the PI and co-PIs would recommend speakers withknowledge on Drilling Optimization, Vectorborne Diseases, and Technology Trends as more
beneficial for STEM students. The third item, “I learned about a new career option” provided
an immediate response for the research team. This survey item, in particular, will aid the
project team in identifying STEM scholars to speak at workshops.
When students’ responses on the first three questions were compared, the most successful
workshop in terms of guest speaker was the second workshop, in which students wereintroduced to “Drilling Optimization and Drill Stem Vibration Modeling”. Likewise, thesecond workshop introduced 93% of CASC-aid scholars to a new career option. This study
took place in south Texas, and oil is a big industry in the state so this guest speakereffectively communicated potential career options to students that they may not have beenaware of and/or considering. However, question eight, “After this workshop, I am thinking
about other career options”, provided mixed results. Students across all six workshops wereconsidering other career options after listening to invited speakers (Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7);
but, it was after the fourth and fifth workshops that the largest percentage of students
attending the presentation were considering a career change.

Figures 2 and 3: Students considered a career path change-Workshops one and two.

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Figures 4 and 5: Students considered a career path change -Workshops three and four.

Figures 6 and 7: Students considered a career path change-Workshops five and six.

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Questions five through seven (Figure 1) were developed to determine students’ beliefs about
supports CASC-aid scholars received from workshops. Students’ responses on statements
five through seven were higher for some workshops. For example, for the statement “I wantmore workshops like this one”, workshops two and five received the strongest number ofstudents selecting A or SA: 56.3%, 92.8%, 87.6%, 54.6%, 100%, & 62.5% with scores acrossall six workshops mostly positive respectively. On the statement “other CASC-aid scholars
would benefit from workshops”, students again responded SA or A in moderate to highpercentages: 75%, 78.5%, 81.3%, 58.3%. 83.4%, & 62.5%. Finally, on the statement“workshops support my learning as a STEM student”, students who selected A or SA washigh across all six workshops respectively: 81.3%, 78.6%, 75.1%, 91.7%, 100%, & 100%.
Students selected A or SA that the “CASC-aid program is supportive” (90%, 78.6%, 100%,
83.4%, 100%, & 100%) and that they are “being prepared for a career in a STEM field as a
CASC-aid scholar” (65.7%, 50%, 93.6%, 91.6%, 100%, & 87.5%) across the six workshops
respectively. Notably, after workshop two, half of students did not believe they were being
prepared for a STEM career; this might be explained because the guest speaker and topic
were new for the majority of students. Furthermore, students may have felt underpreparedafter listening to a speaker talk about a career with which they were unfamiliar. Students mayneed additional support to ensure they feel they are being prepared for a career in a STEM
field, especially if speakers are presenting new and possibly challenging career options that
overwhelm undergraduate students.
Discussion and Recommendations
The use of Student Success Workshops to support Hispanic students majoring in a STEM
area at the undergraduate level demonstrated a positive effect on student participants’learning. This formative experiment (Reinking and Bradley, 2008) was an exploratory study
that is part of a larger research study to determine the effectiveness of interventions provided
by Project CASC-aid to support Hispanic students majoring in STEM fields. During successworkshops, students: (a) learned new information, (b) considered new career options they
were unfamiliar with prior to invited speakers, and (c) received effective communication andsupports from researchers/intellectuals in STEM career fields.
Recommendations include replication of Student Success Workshops to add to theknowledge base. More qualitative data would be beneficial; and data should include
interviews with students before they have attended any workshops, and interviews after they
have attended three or more workshops. Interviews might provide more relevant data about
students’ responses to workshops and benefits they believed they received by attending.
Similarly, students might provide researchers with their thoughts on drawbacks of theworkshops or provide input for future speakers/topics. Overall, the workshops were seen tobe beneficial.
Conclusions
Analysis of results were encouraging, but there are several limitations in this study. First, thesurvey instrument itself is a limitation. The instrument was developed by the first author andmultiple CASC-aid scholars were taking the survey on one, two, or more occasions. A second
limitation was time involved. This data was collected via researcher-developed surveys, andalthough data collection and analysis took place over twelve months, the cumulative time
students spent in workshops was approximately six hours. A third limitation was the50

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Volume 7 – Issue 1 – Summer 2019difference in the number of students attending and/or taking the survey after each workshop.
The first workshop was heavily attended. Several of the other workshops were not so wellattended. Nevertheless, collecting data on students’ attitude toward speakers and topics isrelevant. Overall, results demonstrated a level of success that was desired; and the positive
outcomes brought about by the workshops as demonstrated by students’ responses on the
instrument is important. Students felt that they were being supported by the workshops.
Likewise, data analysis determined that multiple students were exposed to career choices thatthey were unfamiliar with prior to listening to invited speakers.
For this investigation, students’ responses to the developed Likert survey provided the project
team with vital information in planning for future workshops, including: (a) guest speakers’
area of expertise, (b) when to offer workshops, and (c) supporting students’ long-term career
choices. Furthermore, the goal of this formative experiment, to “Increase STEM majors’
understanding of career opportunities, post-graduation, through Student Success Workshops”
was achieved; and many of the workshops provided CASC-aid scholars with new knowledge
for a potential career choice. Furthermore, the developed survey instrument provided
information that will guide the project team in selecting speakers for future workshops.
Although these workshops were one of multiple, on-going support mechanisms provided to
Hispanic students majoring in a STEM field, results demonstrated that the Student SuccessWorkshops were largely successful. PI and co-PIs on Project CASC-aid will continue togather data from all support services to ascertain which supports are most beneficial in
supporting first-generation, Hispanic students in completing an undergraduate degree in a
STEM field. This is especially important for this student population. Overall, it is vital toidentify speakers for success workshops who will effectively communicate and engage
college students considering career options post-graduation from a STEM field.

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Corresponding author: J. Elizabeth Casey
Contact email: casey_j@utpb.edu

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