Collaborative Research: Strengthening the Foundation of STEM Education for Community College Students

该项目正在开发中佛罗里达大学（UCF）和塞米诺尔社区学院（SCC）之间的大学/社区学院合作伙伴关系，旨在加强科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）社区学院学生的数学基础。为实现这一目标，确定了若干重要目标： 1.创建教学策略结合了两年制机构和研究型大学之间的创新合作伙伴关系，通过调整合作研究型大学成功的NSF资助的STEP项目（EXCEL）的基础设施，以更好地适应两年制机构的环境。这是通过开发团队授课，STEM跨学科课程序列来实现的。按此顺序的课程是大学代数的应用，三角学的应用和微积分的应用。 2.通过与EXCEL教师和UCF的教师教学中心（FCTL）合作，在社区学院开发教师专业知识。 3.创建一个学习者和学者的学习社区从SCC和UCF的共同目标是提高大学低年级学生的数学能力，通过强调数学的应用。这是进一步加强了在校园里为这些学生创建一个中心。在该中心，学生在校园里有一个“家庭基地”，他们可以在那里进行小组学习，并接受数学和数学课程应用的辅导。智力优势：合作的努力是为了实施和测试在社区学院的教育实践，仿照EXCEL程序。这种教育模式应用于学习者和学者（SCC和UCF）的不同环境的效果有助于本科STEM教育的知识基础，并促进了对不同学生群体（社区学院和大学生）教授数学应用的最佳实践的确定。更广泛的影响：该项目中建立的大学/社区学院伙伴关系旨在成为未来与邻近社区学院合作在其他大学实施的试点计划，以提高STEM本科生的数学基础。由于美国社区大学的相当一部分学生来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体，因此全国各地社区大学的类似项目将扩大代表性不足群体的STEM参与。

This project is developing a university/community college partnership between the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Seminole Community College (SCC) that is designed to strengthen the mathematical foundations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) community college students. To achieve this goal, a number of important objectives are identified: 1. Creating Teaching Strategies incorporates an innovative partnership between a two-year institution and a research university through adaptation of the infrastructure of a successful NSF funded STEP program (EXCEL) at the partnering research university to better fit a two-year institution's setting. This is being achieved by developing a team-taught, STEM-interdisciplinary course sequence. The courses in this sequence are Applications of College Algebra, Applications of Trigonometry, and Applications of Pre-Calculus. 2. Developing Faculty Expertise at the community college by working jointly with EXCEL faculty and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) at UCF. 3. Creating a Learning Community of Learners and Scholars from SCC and UCF with the common goal of enhancing the mathematics abilities of college underclassmen through emphasizing applications of mathematics. This is further reinforced by the creation of a center on campus for these students. At the center students have a "home base" on campus where they may engage in group study and receive tutoring in their mathematics and applications of mathematics coursework. Intellectual Merit: The collaborative effort is designed to implement and test educational practices at the community college, modeled after the EXCEL program. The effect of this educational model applied to diverse environments of learners and scholars (SCC and UCF) contributes to the knowledge base of undergraduate STEM education and advances identification of best practices in teaching mathematical applications to diverse student populations (community college and university students). Broader Impacts: The university/community college partnership established in this project is intended to be a pilot program for future implementation at other universities in partnership with neighboring community colleges to improve mathematical foundations of STEM undergraduates. Because a significant number of the nation's community college students are from groups underrepresented in STEM fields, similar programs at community colleges all over the nation would broaden STEM participation among underrepresented groups.