Collaborative Research: Transformative Model of STEM Education for First-year Students at an Urban-Commuter Campus

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Prior experience with SENCER, an NSF-CCLI dissemination track, shows that the SENCERizing of courses attracts students to STEM fields and cultivates an understanding of science and mathematics. However, SENCER ideals have rarely been applied beyond individual courses and have not been attempted on a campus-wide scale or within Early College programs.This project establishes an academic bridge between high school and college and integrates SENCER civic issues into non-STEM courses. Three institutions are collaborating to implement SENCER pedagogy and build STEM faculty expertise via a SENCER learning community for first-year non-declared majors while simultaneously embedding the STEM-driven civic issue into multiple disciplines across the university via an innovative educational model, Rethinking STEM. Additionally, this project introduces SENCERized courses into an Early College high school program. The thematic course sequence focuses on science inquiry, applied data analysis, service learning, and information literacy within a project-based learning environment. STEM concepts from biology, chemistry, mathematics, public health, and engineering are woven into student writing, speaking, and teamwork assignments. The various linked components of the project can be adopted at multiple levels including into a single course, an Early College program, or a campus-wide integration model, depending on institutional resources. The comprehensive SENCERized model is designed to overcome institutional barriers to STEM reform including disciplinary silos, faculty resistance to novel teaching pedagogies, and constrictions of traditional course scheduling. Through intentional curriculum design, students are better informed, educated, and able to make responsible decisions about pursuing a STEM major.