Increasing Student Engagement and Retention in STEM through advancing Research Experience and Knowledge in Marine Biotechnology

在改善本科生STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）的支持下，这个轨道1项目旨在提高本科生对生物科学的兴趣，保留和成功。在波多黎各美洲大学的巴兰基塔斯和瓜亚马校区开展的这一合作项目将在波多黎各经济落后的农村地区推进人类住区倡议方案的目标。该项目将针对那些点沿着学术管道，代表学生最有可能切换到非STEM专业或辍学的关键过渡，并将通过STEM教学和学习的创新变化来实现。波多黎各是一个岛屿，从研究和工业应用的角度来看，它为海洋生物技术提供了大量的机会。然而，这方面的进展甚微，主要原因是波多黎各高等教育机构严重缺乏海洋生物技术领域的教育课程，这反过来又导致缺乏这一领域训练有素的人员。通过在本科阶段引入海洋生物技术的次要浓度，沿着蓝色化学的选修课程，该项目旨在振兴本科生物学课程，以及培养本科生承担学术界，决策和工业的角色。该项目的具体目标是（1）通过利用新课程和课程修订的关键过渡，提高西班牙裔学生获得STEM教育学位的机会;以及2）通过研究/基于问题的学习，两个校区之间的合作和现代实验室活动，包括教学博物馆，改善西班牙裔学生的STEM学习体验。该项目将产生新的知识，了解本科阶段以研究为重点的学习经验，结合辅导服务和受过现代科学工具和技术培训的教师的支持，可以有助于提高STEM的保留率和学位获得率。此外，它将产生有关在应用，以就业为导向的研究领域，如海洋生物技术，对选择STEM专业的学生人数的影响的知识。此外，该项目还将评估海洋博物馆等社区科学中心是否以及如何鼓励高中生在大学就读STEM课程。这些干预措施的有效性将通过混合方法评价进行评价，将包括前后研究设计以及定量和定性方法的组合，为形成性和总结性评价提供数据。将通过专题讨论会、出版物和一个专门网站广泛传播该项目的调查结果。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，并建立HSI的能力。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

ABSTRACTWith support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to increase undergraduate student interest, retention and success in Biological Sciences. This collaborative project at the Barranquitas and Guayama campuses of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico will carry forward the goals of the HSI Program in economically disadvantaged, rural areas of Puerto Rico. The project will target those points along the academic pipeline that represent critical transitions at which students are most likely to switch to non-STEM major or drop-out of college and will do so through innovative changes in STEM teaching and learning. Puerto Rico being an island offers a plethora of opportunities in Marine Biotechnology from the standpoint of research as well as industrial applications. However, there has been very little progress in this direction, chiefly due to a serious lack of educational offerings in the area of marine biotechnology at institutions of higher education in Puerto Rico, which in turn translates into lack of trained personnel in this area. By introducing a minor concentration in Marine Biotechnology, along with an elective course in Blue Chemistry at the undergraduate level, this project aims to revitalize the undergraduate biology program, as well as train undergraduates to assume roles in academia, policy-making and industry. The specific goals of this project are (1) enhancing Hispanic student opportunities attaining degrees in STEM education through critical transition utilizing new courses and curriculum revision; and 2) improving the Hispanic students' STEM learning experience by research/problem-based learning, collaboration between two campuses and modern laboratory activities including a teaching museum. The project will generate new knowledge about how a research-focused learning experience at the undergraduate level combined with the support from tutorial services and faculty trained in modern scientific tools and techniques can contribute to higher retention and degree attainment in STEM. Further, it will generate knowledge about the impact of introducing a minor in an applied, job-oriented area of study, such as Marine Biotechnology, on the number of students choosing a STEM major. In addition, the project will assess if and how a community science center such as a marine museum can encourage high school students to enroll in STEM courses in college. The effectiveness of these interventions will be evaluated through a mixed-methods evaluation and will include a combination of the before-and-after study design and both quantitative and qualitative methods providing data for both formative and summative evaluation. The findings of this project will be disseminated widely through symposia, publications and through a dedicated website. 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.