STEMing the Flow: Connecting Undergraduates with Applied Science

STEMing the Flow：将本科生与应用科学联系起来

• 批准号: 0525440
• 负责人: Edward Zovinka
• 金额: $ 39.28万
• 依托单位: Saint Francis University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0525440&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STEMing; Flow; Connecting; Undergraduates; Applied

As part of the institution's continuing effort to increase the number of students majoring in STEM fields, a collaborative team is promoting recruitment and retention of STEM majors by using a multi-faceted approach. The goal is to surround the incoming students with support and involve them early in the research efforts of the departments through faculty and peer mentoring. The activities are expected to facilitate an increase in the number of STEM majors incrementally, 10% each year, to reach new highs in STEM retention, ultimately leading to graduation rates of 58%, the institution's average for all majors. The majors most affected are biology, chemistry, and computer science, as differentiated from the mathematics, engineering, and physics disciplines that are mainly service-oriented at the institution.Intellectual MeritUndergraduate research is being enhanced in a variety of disciplines including information assurance, genetics, ecology, analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. Undergraduates become involved in research projects at the very beginning of their university career so that faculty can play an important role in mentoring STEM students. As these students progress, they become peer mentors to assist the following STEM majors. The research experiences along with cooperative learning laboratories are promoting student understanding of how science is conducted. To retain these students, the Supplemental Instructor (SI) method is being integrated into the introductory science classrooms. SI has been successfully used nationwide and on this campus to improve student performance. By providing SI instruction in the introductory science courses, all of the STEM majors are being reached, not just the group involved in the undergraduate research component. The students recruited into the program also gain a broader perspective of science by exploring the careers of successful scientists from a variety of disciplines through discussions of biographies/autobiographies. The reading forum allows for a broader discussion of the science world, ethics, and career guidance not normally allotted time in an undergraduate curriculum.Broader ImpactThe extrinsic merits of the STEM reform are 1) educating the public of the many merits of a science career, 2) providing an opportunity for students to become involved in independent and multidisciplinary research projects and to present their findings; and 3) instilling an understanding of the possibilities that the field of science can provide for STEM majors. A Summer Science Open House encompassing not only the traditional high school juniors but also Saint Francis University admissions counselors and high school guidance counselors is designed to impact STEM recruitment in the geographical area. Exposing and educating high school guidance counselors on the many merits of a science career enables them to pass this knowledge on to students and to better nurture their talents. The hiring of a graduate assistant for STEM recruitment is expected to have a large impact on the ability of the institution to increase the overall number of STEM graduates by 60% (from 45 to 75 STEM students). To broaden the reach across the region, a week-long one-credit summer science course for high school juniors is being implemented.

作为该机构不断努力增加STEM专业学生数量的一部分，一个合作团队正在通过使用多方面的方法促进STEM专业的招聘和保留。我们的目标是围绕新生的支持，并通过教师和同行指导他们参与部门的研究工作的早期。预计这些活动将促进STEM专业数量的增加，每年增加10%，以达到STEM保留率的新高，最终导致58%的毕业率，这是该机构所有专业的平均水平。受影响最大的专业是生物、化学和计算机科学，与该机构主要面向服务的数学、工程和物理学科不同。智力优势包括信息安全、遗传学、生态学、分析化学、无机化学、有机化学和物理化学在内的各种学科的本科研究正在加强。本科生在大学生涯的一开始就参与研究项目，以便教师在指导STEM学生方面发挥重要作用。随着这些学生的进步，他们成为同伴导师，以协助以下STEM专业。合作学习实验室的研究经验沿着正在促进学生对科学如何进行的理解。为了留住这些学生，补充教师（SI）的方法正在整合到入门科学教室。SI已成功地在全国范围内使用，并在这个校园，以提高学生的表现。通过在入门科学课程中提供SI指令，所有STEM专业都可以达到，而不仅仅是参与本科研究部分的群体。被招募到该计划的学生也获得了更广泛的科学视角，通过传记/自传的讨论探索来自各个学科的成功科学家的职业生涯。阅读论坛允许对科学世界、伦理和职业指导进行更广泛的讨论，而这在本科课程中通常是没有时间分配的。更广泛的影响STEM改革的外在优点是：1）教育公众科学职业的许多优点，2）为学生提供参与独立和多学科研究项目并展示他们的发现的机会;以及3）灌输对科学领域可以为STEM专业提供的可能性的理解。 夏季科学开放日不仅包括传统的高中三年级学生，还包括圣弗朗西斯大学招生顾问和高中指导顾问，旨在影响该地区的STEM招聘。暴露和教育高中辅导员的科学生涯的许多优点，使他们能够把这些知识传递给学生，更好地培养他们的才能。 STEM招聘研究生助理的雇用预计将对该机构的能力产生很大影响，使STEM毕业生的总数增加60%（从45到75名STEM学生）。为了扩大整个地区的影响力，正在为高中三年级学生开设为期一周的一学分暑期科学课程。