Targeted Infusion Project: Ensuring the Vitality and Sustainability of the Virginia Union University Physics and Pre-Engineering Program

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

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. Virginia Union University will implement a comprehensive set of student-centered strategies to improve the learning experience for physics and pre-engineering students and ensure the vitality of a program that is well-poised to contribute to efforts to broaden the participation of Black and African American students and low-income students in physics and engineering fields.The project will increase the number of physics and engineering graduates and ensure they are well-prepared to enter physics and engineering graduate programs and/or careers. The project will also make a broad impact at VUU by revising a general education physics course that serves all VUU students and provide project-based learning workshops and other resources for implementing research-based instructional strategies to all VUU STEM faculty. Finally, the project will contribute to the community's understanding of the effectiveness of common high-impact teaching practices within the context of small physics departments at teaching-focused liberal arts institutions. A rigorous mixed-methods evaluation plan will examine the impact of project activities on student performance and psychosocial constructs typically associated with retention in STEM higher education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.