STEPping Up Undergraduate Research

Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of the STEPMT program is to improve retention and graduation rates in the science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines at Middle Tennessee State University through the use of undergraduate research as a broad defining theme. Three strategies are being implemented to realize these goals: (1) curriculum reform that emphasizes discovery-based learning and introduces elements of research, (2) creation of an undergraduate research community, and (3) partnerships with area high schools, universities, and industry. This three pronged approach provides a broad cross-section of STEM students beginning in their freshman year with an appreciation of the role of research in STEM disciplines, a peer support structure, and direct interaction with faculty and upperclassmen involved in research. The program impacts large numbers of students through the curricular reform efforts while offering focused attention to the diverse core of students in the undergraduate research community. The success of STEPMT is based on two premises: first, that incorporation of discovery-based learning can considerably reduce student dropout and failure rates, and second, that the one-on-one contact between a faculty mentor and an undergraduate research student has a significant impact on student retention. Both of these premises are supported by the literature and local experience.