Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science

培养对数学和科学的热情（GEMS）旨在招收尚未选择专业的一年级有学术天赋的学生，并积极地向他们介绍科学和数学。此外，一年级宣布的STEM专业学生参加许多相同的活动，预计将减少这一群体学生的传统流失。为这些学生提供更好的学术和职业建议和指导，以及第一年的暑期研究经验，旨在增加这些学生被保留的可能性，并在一个或多个STEM学科中取得成功。学生的选拔受到了极大的关注，因此他们代表了性别和种族的多样性。在第一学期，学生们将学习一门创新课程，即科学与技术前沿，这门课程将使他们接触到STEM学科的兴奋之处，同时还将学习微积分预科课程或微积分课程，与同龄人领导的团队学习小组一起学习。在第二学期，学生开始一个科学序列（生物，化学，计算机科学，地质或物理），并继续数学。在夏季，在成功完成第一年课程后，学生有资格在成功完成必修课程后获得有偿的夏季研究经验。预计这些活动将：(1)通过招收更多男女和所有种族背景的学生，扩大STEM专业的人才库；(2)激发未选择专业的一年级学生对数学和科学的热情；(3)提供强化的学术和职业建议，以及STEM教师的指导；(4)减少所有本科STEM专业的人员流失；(5)提高所有学生在关键数学和科学入门课程中的成绩，这些课程可能成为他们在STEM学科中取得成功的障碍；(6)加强一年级理科和数学课程；(7)支持暑期研究经历，引导学生进入科学界，极大地影响他们的专业选择，并产生继续研究的兴趣；(8)为STEM学生提供在职业生涯早期担任助教的机会。这个项目的智力价值在于开发一种本科教育模式，消除STEM职业的障碍，正如广泛的研究机构所确定的那样，同时识别和招募有才华的、犹豫不决的学生来体验这个无障碍的环境。研究结果有望揭示基于发现的跨学科研讨会、数学干预和大学一年级的本科研究在多大程度上对学生参与和坚持STEM学位课程产生了积极影响。在该项目中受影响的GEMS学生群体将作为出版和改进未来STEM招聘和保留工作的数据集。该项目更广泛的影响是该模式对其他本科院校的适用性。GEMS项目成果和科学与技术前沿研讨会产生的课程材料将提供给其他机构。该项目预计每年将使STEM专业毕业生人数增加25%。

Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science (GEMS) aims to recruit first-year academically talented students who have not chosen a major, and to positively introduce them to the sciences and mathematics. In addition, participation of first-year declared STEM majors in many of the same activities is expected to reduce the traditional attrition among this group of students. Providing enhanced academic and career advising and mentoring of these students, along with a first year summer research experience, is intended to increase the probability that these students will be retained and will become successful in one or more of the STEM disciplines. Great attention is being paid to the selection of students so they represent gender and ethnic diversity. In the first semester, students are taking an innovative course, Frontiers in Science and Technology, that exposes them to the excitement of the STEM disciplines, as well as an enhanced pre-calculus or calculus course with peer-lead team learning groups. During the second semester, students begin a science sequence (biology, chemistry, computer science, geology or physics) and continue in math. During the summer, following successful completion of their first year, students are eligible for a paid summer research experience upon successful completion of the required courses. These activities are expected to: (1) Enlarge the talent pool of STEM majors by recruiting more students of both sexes and of all ethnic backgrounds; (2) Generate enthusiasm for math and science in selected first year students who have not chosen a major; (3) Provide enhanced academic and career advising, as well as mentoring by STEM faculty; (4) Reduce the attrition of all undergraduate STEM majors; (5) Improve all students' success in key mathematics and introductory science courses, which can act as barriers to success in the STEM disciplines; (6) Enhance first year-science and math courses; (7) Support a summer research experience that inducts students into the scientific community, greatly influencing their major selection and generating interest in continuing research; (8) Provide opportunities for STEM students to serve as teaching assistants early in their careers. The intellectual merit of this project lies in developing an undergraduate education model that removes barriers to STEM careers, as identified by a wide body of research, while simultaneously identifying and recruiting talented, undecided students to experience this barrier-free environment. The findings are expected to shed light on the extent to which a discovery based interdisciplinary seminar, math intervention, and undergraduate research in the first-year of college positively influence students to engage and to persist in STEM degree programs. The cohort of GEMS students impacted during this project will serve as a dataset for publication and for refinement of future STEM recruiting and retention efforts. The broader impact of the project is the applicability of the model to other undergraduate institutions. The GEMS program results and the course material generated from the Frontiers in Science and Technology seminar will be made available to other institutions. The project expects to increase the number of graduating STEM majors each year by 25%.