Collaborative Research:Transformative Model of STEM Education for First-year Students at an Urban-Commuter Campus

NSF-CCLI传播途径SENCER的先前经验表明，课程的SENCERI化吸引了学生进入STEM领域，并培养了他们对科学和数学的理解。然而，Sencer理念很少被应用到个别课程之外，也没有在校园范围内或大学早期课程中尝试过。这个项目在高中和大学之间建立了一座学术桥梁，并将Sencer公民问题整合到非STEM课程中。三所院校正在合作实施Sencer教学法，并通过Sencer学习社区为一年级非申报专业的STEM教师培养专业知识，同时通过创新的教育模式Reink STEM将STEM驱动的公民问题嵌入整个大学的多个学科。此外，该项目将SENCERIZ化课程引入大学早期高中课程。主题课程序列侧重于基于项目的学习环境中的科学探究、应用数据分析、服务学习和信息素养。来自生物、化学、数学、公共卫生和工程学的概念被编织到学生的写作、演讲和团队合作作业中。该项目的各种相互关联的组成部分可以在多个层面上采用，包括纳入单一课程、大学早期课程或校园范围内的整合模式，具体取决于机构资源。全面的SENCERIZED模式旨在克服STEM改革的体制障碍，包括学科竖井、教师对新教学方法的抵制以及传统课程安排的限制。通过有目的的课程设计，学生能够更好地了解情况、接受教育，并能够就攻读STEM专业做出负责任的决定。

Prior experience with SENCER, an NSF-CCLI dissemination track, shows that the SENCERizing of courses attracts students to STEM fields and cultivates an understanding of science and mathematics. However, SENCER ideals have rarely been applied beyond individual courses and have not been attempted on a campus-wide scale or within Early College programs.This project establishes an academic bridge between high school and college and integrates SENCER civic issues into non-STEM courses. Three institutions are collaborating to implement SENCER pedagogy and build STEM faculty expertise via a SENCER learning community for first-year non-declared majors while simultaneously embedding the STEM-driven civic issue into multiple disciplines across the university via an innovative educational model, Rethinking STEM. Additionally, this project introduces SENCERized courses into an Early College high school program. The thematic course sequence focuses on science inquiry, applied data analysis, service learning, and information literacy within a project-based learning environment. STEM concepts from biology, chemistry, mathematics, public health, and engineering are woven into student writing, speaking, and teamwork assignments. The various linked components of the project can be adopted at multiple levels including into a single course, an Early College program, or a campus-wide integration model, depending on institutional resources. The comprehensive SENCERized model is designed to overcome institutional barriers to STEM reform including disciplinary silos, faculty resistance to novel teaching pedagogies, and constrictions of traditional course scheduling. Through intentional curriculum design, students are better informed, educated, and able to make responsible decisions about pursuing a STEM major.