Implementing and Investigating Mathematical Modeling as a Means to Demonstrate the Interdisciplinary Nature of Science and Increase STEM Retention

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With funding from the National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program, this project will address the established and growing national need to increase the quantity and diversity of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate majors as well as improve their preparation to enter the workforce. In particular, the project team at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, will redesign Calculus for Life Sciences by: (i) adopting and adapting evidence-based best practices in the mathematical modeling of biological systems; (ii) developing students' computational skills with respect to real-life problems; and (iii) fostering interdisciplinary and cooperative student interactions and learning. Faculty from biology, computer science, and mathematics will collaborate to design this course, primarily for biology and computer science majors.Goals of the project include: 1) enhancing the attitudes and practices that correlate with success and retention in STEM; 2) improving learning outcomes, academic performance, and first-year STEM retention; 3) and providing STEM faculty development for community college university faculty to integrate mathematical modeling, including computational activities, into additional STEM courses. The project will also embrace the growing diversity of the institution's student population by providing professional development for faculty in cultural competency and culturally sensitive pedagogies. The design of the project's research and evaluation plans are comprehensive and utilize matched comparison cohorts and a mixed methodology for quantitative and qualitative data to assess the impact of activities and pedagogies on student learning, attitudes, and retention, and to determine how to refine and improve the approaches taken. The project will provide a model for improving interdisciplinary STEM learning that will be disseminated through faculty professional development and replicated in other STEM courses and at other institutions, impacting a greater number of students and strengthening the institutions' capacities to retain and graduate more and higher quality STEM majors.