Enhancing the First Year for the STEM Majors

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This project incorporates focused efforts to improve the first-year experience of STEM students and maintain interest and excitement in STEM fields throughout the undergraduate experience. Three new courses are being developed that specifically target the retention of first-year STEM majors by incorporating more active, student-based pedagogies and interdisciplinary laboratories in introductory biology, physics and chemistry courses. Case-based learning strategies are being implemented in introductory biology to introduce students to subject material through the use of relevant real-world problems. The new Studio Physics course is allowing students to learn about physical principles through class discussions and lectures integrated with hands-on laboratory experiences, and is being facilitated by special lab tables fitted with computer-linked data acquisition systems. The integrated chemistry and biology course is emphasizing the connections between biology and chemistry through interdisciplinary laboratory experiments that are providing students with opportunities to confront real-world problems. The project is also developing support activities in the form of mathematics skills review sessions that are targeting students enrolled in introductory chemistry and physics courses, and is also initiating a STEM vocations course to provide career guidance to early-career students. First year students in STEM fields are interacting with faculty mentors and gaining valuable field and lab experiences through the project's summer research program. To help foster a sense of community and to maintain student interest in the STEM fields beyond their first year, the project is also developing a Science Café that is involving speakers who are making informal presentations and leading discussions with students on important current topics in STEM fields. The project is incorporating research on the effectiveness of using peer mentors in a Case-Based Learning classroom, and project outcomes are being monitored and improved by an iterative formative evaluation program. Overall project outcomes are being assessed and disseminated to the larger STEM community. Project activities are increasing the retention of all STEM students and especially, are increasing the number of female STEM majors. This project implements successful pedagogies and programs that are known to be successful, is expanding upon already-strong programs, and is increasing the institutional STEM graduation rate by 18%, thus producing an additional 19 STEM graduates by the end of the award period.