Fostering Student Success in STEM Disciplines through Engaged Learning Opportunities and Comprehensive Program Development

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AbstractThis proposal is submitted by Fort Belknap College (FBC), a tribally-controlled community college locatedon the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in northcentral Montana. The overall goal of the project is to increasestudent participation and success in FBC.s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degreeprograms. To accomplish this goal the project will provide STEM students with an integrated continuum of learning opportunities in mathematics, science and technology, while, at the same time, strengthening the institution.s STEM programs through curriculum reform, faculty development, and infrastructure enhancement. Student-centered activities include an active outreach and recruiting program, pre-college summer sessions, expanded tutoring and in-class assistance in STEM course offerings, research and internship opportunities, and a bridge program with Montana State University-Northern. At the same time, STEM faculty and staff will participate in a series of activities designed to improve the quality of STEM instruction, increase faculty knowledge in both teaching methods and course content, and enhance institutional resources needed to effectively deliver STEM classroom, laboratoryand field-based instruction. Through the implementation of this comprehensive strategy, the project will achieve five student-centered performance objectives and build the college.s capacity to offer high quality STEM courses and degree programs. Evaluation activities will provide project personnel with the information needed to effectively monitor the project.s progress, improve its ongoing effectiveness, assess its success in achieving project goals and objectives, and communicate its outcomes to a variety of stakeholders. Ms. Mary John Taylor, dean of academic affairs at FBC, will serve as principal investigator for the project. INTELLECTUAL MERITThe project addresses NSF's review criteria of intellectual merit in several ways. Students at FBC willadvance their knowledge and understanding in STEM disciplines through participation in pre-college summerenrichment sessions, reformed STEM course offerings, research and/or internship opportunities, and bridge program activities. Faculty will increase their understanding of effective pedagogy and content knowledge through professional development opportunities and faculty-student research projects. Data gathered through evaluation activities will expand the body of knowledge concerning the effectiveness of project strategies among American Indian students.While the effectiveness of many of the learning/teaching strategies and activities employed in this projecthave been documented in the research-based literature, their modification for use in the unique context of Fort Belknap College is both creative and original. Recruitment and outreach efforts targeting non-traditional students, innovative pre-college STEM enrichment programs, alternative approaches to .remediation,. and integration of GrosVentre and Assiniboine cultures within STEM program offerings represent highly original and creative components of this project.Other factors contributing to the intellectual merit of the project include the qualifications and experience ofproject leadership and the project.s unrestricted access to the institution.s full range of STEM resources. The project was conceived during a two-year planning process, and its multiple components are clearly organized to achieve specific and measurable student-centered goals and objectives.BROADER IMPACTSProject activities will achieve many of the broader impacts described in NSF.s Grant Proposal Guide. Pre-college enrichment sessions and reformed STEM course offerings will employ inquiry-based instruction to energize students with a spirit of discovery that will be reinforced through research and/or internship experiences addressing locally relevant, .real world. issues. The project also will increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, specifically American Indians, in STEM academic programs and professions. To encourage the success of American Indian students (who represent 85% of FBC.s student body), the project will employ instructional methods and learning activities that have proven effective among minority students, especially American Indians. The broader impacts of the project will be felt far beyond Fort Belknap College through the project.s dissemination activities and through the societal impacts of faculty-student research projects and the project.s anticipated impact on the localwork force.