Education Research Grant: The Use of Creative Problem Solving as Curriculum Enhancement to Improve Cognitive, Behavioral, and Social Transformation in STEM Retention

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The proposed research will investigate how training students in Creative Problem Solving (CPS) can be used as curricular enhancement to improve STEM engagement, integration and retention at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) via cognitive, behavioral, and social transformations. Science 100 is a required course for all freshmen in their first year with all achievement levels in the entering freshman represented and will serve as the environment of the CPS study. The course is designed as an interdisciplinary class with culturally relevant topics--Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis in the Caribbean. With frequent hurricanes, an abundance of volcanoes, many earthquakes, and the occasional tsunami, this topic is of great interest to citizens of the Caribbean. Creative problem solving skills may have the potential of creating a STEM learning culture that produces students who are motivated to pursue careers in STEM. The project has potential for developing cutting-edge methodological assessments, semantic knowledge representations and algorithmic developments. The project will follow a well articulated quasi-experimental design for testing hypotheses relative to the utility of CPS for fostering interest among STEM and Non-STEM students.