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

在改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构(HSI计划)的支持下，这个Track 1项目旨在提高本科生对生物科学的兴趣、留存和成功。这一在波多黎各美洲大学巴兰基塔斯和瓜亚马校区的合作项目将在波多黎各经济困难的农村地区推进人类安全倡议计划的目标。该项目将针对学术管道上代表学生最有可能转到非STEM专业或从大学辍学的关键过渡阶段的点，并将通过STEM教与学的创新变革来实现这一点。波多黎各是一个岛屿，从研究和工业应用的角度来看，在海洋生物技术方面提供了大量机会。然而，在这方面取得的进展很小，主要是因为波多黎各的高等教育机构严重缺乏生物技术领域的教育，这反过来又意味着缺乏这一领域的训练有素的人员。通过在本科阶段开设海洋生物技术辅修课程和蓝色化学选修课，该项目旨在重振本科生生物学课程，并培养本科生在学术界、政策制定和行业中发挥作用。该项目的具体目标是：(1)通过利用新课程和修订课程的关键过渡，增加拉美裔学生获得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以及包括教学博物馆在内的现代实验室活动，改善拉美裔学生的STEM学习体验。该项目将产生新的知识，即本科阶段注重研究的学习经验，加上辅导服务和接受过现代科学工具和技术培训的教职员工的支持，如何有助于提高STEM的保留率和学位获得率。此外，它还将产生关于在应用的、以工作为导向的研究领域引入辅修对选择STEM专业的学生数量的影响的知识。此外，该项目将评估像海洋博物馆这样的社区科学中心是否以及如何能够鼓励高中生在大学注册STEM课程。这些干预措施的有效性将通过混合方法评价，将包括前后研究设计以及定量和定性方法的结合，为形成性和终结性评价提供数据。该项目的成果将通过研讨会、出版物和专门的网站广泛传播。HSI计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育和HSI的能力建设。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智力优势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.