Preparing Engineering Students for Three Gateway Courses

阿拉巴马大学塔斯卡卢萨分校（UA）名为“为工程专业学生准备三门门户课程”的项目利用S-STEM奖学金，通过一种称为提前学习（LIA）的方法，增加选定工程学科的毕业生人数。在LIA方法中，为选定的课程（门户课程）提供特殊的预备课程，这些课程被确定为工程项目中的关键摩擦点。每门预备课程在相应的入门课程前一个学期进行。成功完成预科课程的一部分学生将被选中，根据学术潜力和证明的经济需求获得奖学金。该机构确定的门户课程包括：电路分析，数据结构/算法和静力学。LIA介绍了针对常见误解的关键概念，以免它们成为学习的障碍。LIA项目体现了三个原则：(1)在大一之后与学生合作；(2)在学生入读关键门户课程之前为学生做好准备；(3)在这些关键课程及其他课程中指导学生。该项目的智力价值在于开发和实施三门预备课程，以提高学生在一系列STEM领域的保留率：电气，计算机，航空航天，土木，建筑，机械工程以及计算机科学。该项目潜在的更广泛的影响包括每年增加目标专业的毕业生人数35人，并为40名表现出学术天赋和经济需求的不同学生提供奖学金。在嵌入性理论的框架内，将实施一项社会科学研究，以调查项目组成部分和学生对工程的坚持之间的联系因素。

The University of Alabama (UA) Tuscaloosa project titled "Preparing Engineering Students for Three Gateway Courses" leverages S-STEM scholarships to increase the number of graduates in selected engineering disciplines using an approach referred to as Learning in Advance (LIA). In the LIA approach, special preparatory courses are offered for selected courses (gateway courses) identified as key attrition points in engineering programs. Each preparatory course is taken the semester before the corresponding gateway course. A subset of the students who successfully complete the preparatory course will be selected to receive a scholarship based on academic potential and demonstrated financial need.The gateway courses identified at the institution include: Circuit Analysis, Data Structures /Algorithms and Statics. LIA introduces key concepts targeting common misconceptions before they become impediments to learning. The LIA program embodies three principles: (1) partnership with students after their freshman year; (2) preparation of students for critical gateway courses prior to their enrollment in those courses; and (3) mentoring of students during those critical courses and beyond. The intellectual merit of the project lies in the development and implementation of three preparatory courses to improve student retention in an array of STEM fields: Electrical, Computer, Aerospace, Civil, Construction, and Mechanical Engineering as well as Computer Science. The potential broader impacts of the project include increasing the number of graduates in targeted majors by a total of 35 per year and providing scholarships to 40 diverse students who demonstrate academic talent and financial need. A social science study set within the framework of the theory of embeddedness will be implemented in order to investigate the factors linking program components and student persistence in engineering.