"Enhancing STEM Student Success by Connecting Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences to the Local Ecology and Community"

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Abstract for 1928405With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to transform STEM courses by engaging students as researchers. Specifically, the students will do research to determine the impacts of grazing on local, rural, public lands. The project seeks to transform first- and second-year STEM courses, including biology, chemistry, geosciences, and statistics by adding hands-on research projects into the course curricula. Such research experiences are often called ?course-based undergraduate research experiences,? or CUREs. To enhance the project?s relevance to the community, representatives from the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area will collaborate with the project by engaging with the faculty and the students. Through this engagement, the project will bring the heritage and traditional land use practices of the San Luis Valley into the STEM courses. By connecting STEM with the local area, training faculty in culturally responsive teaching, and developing student led peer-mentoring, this project seeks to enhance student engagement, which is known to increase persistence, retention, and graduation rates in STEM.The project will develop place-based CUREs by engaging students as researchers in an apprenticeship model. The CURES will examine the ecological impacts of grazing on public lands to enhance the student experience and motivation in STEM. The project will provide faculty development in culturally relevant teaching practices as well as coaching for peer-mentors to help build students? sense of belonging and efficacy in STEM via an asset-based approach. The project will investigate: 1) the effectiveness of an apprenticeship model of place-based CUREs at a rural Hispanic-serving Institution; and 2) the impacts of peer-mentoring and culturally responsive teaching practices. Located at the center of a geographically and culturally distinct region designated as the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, the project will engage with local non-profit agencies, governmental representatives, and community members whose families have lived on the land for generations. Connecting STEM content with the local area may enhance student motivation in STEM as well as broaden awareness of the local heritage among students and faculty. The project's quasi-experimental study includes analyzing longitudinal data in enrollment, pass rates, retention, and degree completion, as well as psychological factors, across comparison groups in STEM disciplines. The project will share new knowledge of effective strategies on developing place-based CUREs in a culturally responsive teaching environment through presentations at regional and national conferences. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these goals.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.