A Course Scaffold for Integrating Science and Culture: Exploring Faculty Adaptations Across Disciplines and Institutions

该项目旨在通过开发和测试地球，环境和农业科学课程来服务于国家利益，这些课程使用STEM Futures框架（21世纪的本科教育模式）整合了科学的人文因素。通过了解影响科学的历史和文化因素，本科STEM专业的学生应该对他们的领域以及科学服务于社会的方式有更广泛的理解。南伊利诺伊大学爱德华兹维尔分校、科罗拉多州立大学和得克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校将合作开展这个为期三年的一级学生学习项目。在之前NSF资助的设计工作室研讨会上，项目团队为题为“水的历史和未来”的综合课程创建了课程支架和课程材料示例。该项目计划进一步开发和实施该课程，并扩大课程框架，以创建环境科学和农业生物学方面的新课程。通过这些课程，STEM毕业生应该更好地准备运用他们的知识和技能来解决需要科学专业知识的重要全球挑战。该项目解决了迫切需要提高学生对STEM职业的兴趣和坚持，以满足国家对熟练技术劳动力的需求。该项目是一项设计和开发研究，旨在收集有关将人文视角融入本科STEM教育的有效性的证据。尽管一些实证研究报告了这种教学方法的好处，但研究基础仍然有限。该团队计划在三个不同的机构背景下开发和测试STEM Futures课程设计支架，该支架集成了基础，人文和元知识：公共土地授予大学，公共区域大学和西班牙裔服务机构。教学团队将作为一个实践社区，通过个人反思，学生成果数据和产品以及数字StoryMap组合相互提供反馈。使用定性和定量的方法，项目研究人员将a）检查教师的适应和经验的设计框架和B）确定课程对学生的理解，批判性思维，自我效能和兴趣的影响。三个新的STEM Futures课程旨在通过提高学生的相关性和兴趣来支持扩大STEM的参与，这已被证明可以提高整体的持久性和成功率。此外，妇女，少数民族和残疾学生可能会通过STEM Futures课程设计改善学习成果，该课程设计将整合各种文化观点，包括历史上被边缘化的群体。该项目将通过为21世纪的STEM职业做好准备来造福社会，这需要学生能够应用多个领域的知识来解决复杂的多维问题。为了确保广泛传播，课程材料、评估规则和研究工具将在与国家课程库链接的网站上共享。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。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。

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing and testing earth, environmental, and agricultural science courses that integrate human dimensions of science using the STEM Futures framework, a 21st century model for undergraduate education. By learning about the historical and cultural factors that influence science, undergraduate STEM majors should develop a broader understanding of their field and the ways in which science serves society. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Colorado State University, and the University of Texas at El Paso will partner in this three-year Level 1 Engaged Student Learning project. During a previous NSF-funded design studio workshop, the project team created a course scaffold and examples of course materials for an integrative course entitled “The History and Future of Water.” This project plans to further develop and implement that course, as well as to extend the curriculum framework to create new courses in environmental sciences and agricultural biology. Through these courses, STEM graduates should be better prepared to apply their knowledge and skills to solve important global challenges that require scientific expertise. This project addresses the urgent need to increase student interest and persistence in STEM careers to meet the nation’s need for a skilled technical workforce. This project is a design and development research study to gather evidence about the promise of efficacy of the integration of humanistic perspectives into undergraduate STEM education. Although some empirical studies have reported benefits to this pedagogical approach, the research base is still limited. The team plans to develop and test the STEM Futures course design scaffold, which integrates foundational, humanistic, and meta-knowledge, in three different institutional contexts: a public land grant university, a public regional university, and an Hispanic-serving institution. The instructional team will function as a community of practice, providing feedback to each other informed by personal reflection, student outcome data and products, and digital StoryMap portfolios. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, project researchers will a) examine instructors’ adaptations and experience with the design framework and b) determine course impacts on student understandings, critical thinking, self-efficacy, and interest. The three new STEM Futures courses are intended to support broadening participation in STEM by increasing relevance and interest for students, which has been shown to increase overall persistence and success. Further, women, minorities, and students with disabilities may have improved learning outcomes with the STEM Futures course design, which will integrate a variety of cultural perspectives, including those of historically marginalized groups. The project will benefit society by preparing students for 21st century STEM careers, which require the ability to apply knowledge from several domains to solve complex, multi-dimensional problems. To ensure wide dissemination, the course materials, assessment rubrics, and research instruments will be shared on a website linked to a national curriculum repository. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.