Flying With Swallows: A Project to Improve STEM Education at Moreno Valley College and Beyond

河滨社区学院区的莫雷诺山谷学院因一个名为“与燕子一起飞”的项目获得了NSF改善本科生STEM教育：教育和人力资源设计与开发级别奖，该项目将把本科生的研究经验和活动纳入该学院的生物和化学课程。多学科研究的对象将是从南美洲或中美洲迁徙到该地区繁殖的悬崖燕子(Petrochelidon Pyrhonota)。在繁殖季节，校园里燕子的数量很多，这会引起学生群体的兴趣。《与燕子同行》将遵循两条调查路线。生态系统调查将监测所有鸟类的存在，重点是悬崖上的燕子，以及校园里的哺乳动物、爬行动物和昆虫。这一全年的数据收集将生成一张可在学院网站上使用的动态“生活”地图。生态系统调查将研究人类活动对燕子种群的环境影响。这些燕子将被用作生物放大研究中的监测生物。学生将对各种样本进行污染物和潜在致病微生物的分析。《燕子飞》的研究文献表明，本科生的研究经历对STEM学生毕业的坚持性有积极影响。FWS的研究经验将与生物和化学课程的预期学生学习结果保持一致，以确保学生获得必要的学科内容知识，同时增强他们的全球意识以及批判性思维和沟通技能。项目评估将包括监测学生的进度，以及调查和面试程序，以告知项目的未来发展。这些评估的结果将扩大关于将本科生研究纳入全国高校课程的最佳做法的知识，但对于将本科生研究纳入社区学院、西班牙裔服务机构和其他少数民族服务机构的课程尤其相关。

Moreno Valley College of the Riverside Community College District has received an NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources Design and Development tier award for a project entitled Flying With Swallows, which will integrate undergraduate research experiences and activities into the curricula of Biology and Chemistry courses at the institution. The subject of the multi-disciplinary research studies will be cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) that migrate to the area from South or Central America to breed. The abundance of the swallows on campus during the breeding season will engage the interest of the student community. Flying With Swallows will follow two lines of investigation. The Ecosystem Survey will monitor the presence of all birds, with an emphasis on cliff swallows, as well as mammals, reptiles, and insects on the campus. This year-round data collection will generate a dynamic "living" map available on the college website. The Ecosystem Investigation will study the environmental impact of human activity on the swallow population. The swallows will be used as monitoring organisms in biological magnification studies. Students will conduct analyses of a variety of samples for the presence of pollutants and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Flying With Swallows is based on the research literature demonstrating that undergraduate research experiences have a positive impact on the persistence of STEM students to graduation. The FWS research experience will be aligned with the expected student learning outcomes for the biology and chemistry courses to ensure that students are acquiring the necessary disciplinary content knowledge, while enhancing their global awareness and critical thinking and communication skills. Project evaluation will include monitoring student progress, as well as surveys and interview procedures to inform future development of the project. The results of these evaluations will expand knowledge of best practices for the infusion of undergraduate research into the curricula of colleges and universities nationwide, but will be particularly relevant for the integration of undergraduate research into the curricula of community colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other Minority Serving Institutions.