Targeted Infusion Project: Enhancing Undergraduate Research Experience in the Chemistry Curriculum at WSSU

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The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Targeted Infusion Projects supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. The project at Winston-Salem State University seeks to enhance the quality of the undergraduate research experience in the Chemistry undergraduate degree program by laying the foundation for effective research skills that will ultimately promote student success. This project explores foundational research skill-building as an intervention to enhance learning and professional identification, which are two important determinants for increasing student retention and success in STEM fields. The mediation also seeks to incorporate high-impact practices to increase underrepresented student achievement in the chemical sciences, and thereby to promote student diversity in STEM. Student retention and achievement will be assessed by adapting previously established evaluation tools. The project activities to support this goal are: (i) to implement two research foundation courses (Introduction to Research Methods and Computational Analysis Lab), and a capstone interdisciplinary research-oriented upper-level laboratory course; (ii) to adapt and infuse short guided research-oriented projects into laboratory courses; and (iii) to provide instrumentation to support the research-oriented laboratory experiments and research efforts toward preparing students to be more perceptive to modern instrumentation used in current scientific research and industry. Effective laboratory instruction and learning approaches will also be adapted or developed to motivate higher-level critical thinking skills and to improve student understanding of the research process.The expected outcomes of this project are: (i) increased student retention and achievement in the chemistry degree program; (ii) improved preparation of undergraduate students for graduate programs and/or chemical careers; and (iii) increased undergraduate research presentation and publication with faculty. Measurable outcomes include: (i) an increase in student retention and achievement, including underrepresented students, in the chemistry program, and ii) a resultant increase in graduates who will enter advanced degree programs or join the workforce in research or industry. These expected project outcomes support WSSU's vision to produce graduates of distinction who will lead and compete successfully in the global economy. By integrating modern instrumentation into laboratory instruction and undergraduate research projects, it is anticipated that students will have hands-on experiences and training on state-of-the-art equipment that better prepares them for the workforce. The project activities and outcomes will be published in appropriate journals, disseminated at local and national meetings, and made available via websites to promote teaching, training, and learning.