Catalyst Project: Incorporating Inclusive Teaching Practices in the Design of a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Polymer Chemistry

CATALYST项目支持历史悠久的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)致力于建立教职员工的研究能力，以加强科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)本科教育和研究。预计该奖项将进一步提高教职员工的研究能力，改善学院的研究和教学，并让本科生参与研究经验。路易斯安那州泽维尔大学寻求通过以课程为基础的本科生研究经验(CURE)扩大对STEM的参与。具体地说，该项目确定了聚合物化学课程的高级原理，以通过开发一种固化方法来增强实验室组件。此外，确定有必要扩大STEM学科的治疗方法，该项目旨在发展一个实践社区(COP)，以培养讨论并有效地实施额外的课程。在教学方面，学生在教育实验室的传统体验旨在提供一个框架，使学生加强对传统授课期间所涵盖概念的理解。通过引导学生沿着一条线性的智力道路走向一个单一的结论，这种实验室体验将学生的智力投入降至最低，并绕过了科学探究的本质--提出一个可以通过实验解决的问题。以课程为基础的本科生研究体验(CURE)为学生提供了提高他们的科学素养的机会，同时通过教师指导的课堂内发生的研究体验培养基本的实验室技能。该项目的总体目标是通过治疗扩大对STEM的参与。为了实现这一目标，这项建议侧重于以下目标：(1)开发一个CURES课程，重点是利用包容性教学实践改善学生在聚合物结构-性质关系方面的学习成果和进行实验室培训，以及(2)实施一个当地实践社区，与路易斯安那州泽维尔大学的其他教员合作，提供更多跨STEM学科的CURES课程。开设一门以聚合物化学为重点的治疗课程将扩大学生对功能材料开发中有意义的研究经验的参与。此外，通过一个由代表路易斯安那州泽维尔大学不同STEM学科的教师组成的实践社区，该项目具有显著的潜力，可以增加少数族裔服务机构本科生的研究经验。该项目由历史上的黑人学院和大学本科生项目以及促进竞争性研究的既定项目共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. Xavier University of Louisiana seeks to broaden participation in STEM through course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). Specifically, the project identifies the upper-level Principles of Polymer Chemistry course to enhance the laboratory component through the development of a CURE. In addition, there is an identified need to broaden the availability of CUREs across STEM disciplines and the project aims to develop a community of practice (CoP) to cultivate discussion and effectively implement additional CUREs.Pedagogically, the traditional experience for students in educational laboratories are designed to provide a framework where students reinforce their understanding of concepts covered in traditional lecture periods. By leading students down a linear intellectual pathway towards a single conclusion, such laboratory experiences minimize student intellectual engagement, and bypass the essence of scientific inquiry – asking a question that can be addressed through experimentation. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) offer students the opportunity to increase their scientific literacy while building essential laboratory skills through instructor-guided, research experiences that occur within the classroom. The overall goal of this project is to broaden participation in STEM through CUREs. Towards this goal, this proposal focuses on the following objectives: (1) develop a CUREs course that focuses on improving student learning outcomes in polymer structure-property relationships and laboratory training using inclusive teaching practices, and (2) implement a local community of practice to work with other faculty at Xavier University of Louisiana towards offering more CUREs courses across STEM disciplines. Offering a CUREs course that focuses on polymer chemistry will expand student involvement in meaningful research experiences in the development of functional materials. Additionally, through a community of practice that is inclusive of faculty representing a variety of STEM disciplines at Xavier University of Louisiana, this project has significant potential to increase the number of research experiences for undergraduate students at a minority-serving institution.This project is jointly funded by Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.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.