Planning Proposal: Planning an HBCU Learning Science Network

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The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provides support to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs. Prompted by challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bethune-Cookman University will conduct planning activities to increase HBCU faculty authorship of online STEM instruction that supports robust learning of STEM content. The aim of this project is to enable the conceptualization, planning and consensus/collaboration building activities regarding robust online learning opportunities in STEM. This planning project aligns with the goals of the HBCU-UP program in its efforts to bolster institutional capacity building for the purpose of enhancing STEM undergraduate education and research endeavors. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic made clear the urgent and ongoing need for undergraduate STEM courses that are optimized for robust learning and long-term achievement of students. The characteristics of robust learning outcomes include long term retention, transfer of learning to new situations, and desire for future learning. The Bethune-Cookman University research team plans to coordinate the creation of a collaborative faculty network on learning science research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The planning project will support the conceptualization, planning and consensus/collaboration-building activities essential to forming the network. In the first phase, the project leadership team will collaborate with an initial core group of HBCU faculty to brainstorm, conceptualize and gain consensus on how an HBCU Science of Learning network would work. In the second phase, a workshop & follow-on events will provide initial participating faculty hands-on use of authoring technologies from Carnegie Mellon University’s LearnLab to collaboratively create online learning activities and pilot their new content with their students. A third phase will involve preparing a proposal for large-scale efforts for an HBCU Science of Learning Network. These activities are envisioned to contribute to efforts at broadening participation in the nation's STEM workforce and deepening HBCU faculty contributions to learning science.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.