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

SENCER是NSF-CCLI传播轨道，以前的经验表明，SENCER课程吸引学生进入STEM领域，并培养对科学和数学的理解。 然而，SENCER的理念很少被应用于个别课程之外，也没有在整个校园范围内或在早期大学课程中进行尝试。该项目在高中和大学之间建立了学术桥梁，并将SENCER公民问题融入非STEM课程。 三个机构正在合作实施SENCER教学法，并通过SENCER学习社区为第一年的非申报专业建立STEM教师专业知识，同时通过创新的教育模式将STEM驱动的公民问题嵌入到整个大学的多个学科中，重新思考STEM。 此外，该项目将SENCERized课程引入早期大学高中课程。 主题课程序列侧重于科学探究，应用数据分析，服务学习和基于项目的学习环境中的信息素养。来自生物学，化学，数学，公共卫生和工程的STEM概念被编织到学生的写作，演讲和团队合作作业中。 该项目的各个相关组成部分可以在多个层面上采用，包括单一课程，早期大学课程或校园范围内的整合模式，这取决于机构资源。 全面的SENCERized模型旨在克服STEM改革的制度障碍，包括学科孤岛，教师对新教学体系的抵制，以及传统课程安排的限制。通过有意的课程设计，学生更好地了解，教育，并能够对追求STEM专业负责任的决定。

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.