DCL:HSI Course Based Research Experiences in STEM Education at a two-year HSI College

Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will support changes in science teaching for all students at Santa Rosa Junior College. The investigators will incorporate student-centered teaching practices that increase student motivation and interest in learning and improve laboratory instruction in biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, math, and physics. These improvements will leverage the CUREnet project, which was previously funded by the NSF, therefore increasing the impact of that investment. The project will improve instruction for non-science majors, increasing the scientific literacy of the general population. Because the college is a Hispanic-Serving institution, the project will also promote the broader participation of Hispanic students majoring in the sciences. The goals of this project are to shift from traditional, faculty-centered instruction to evidence-based, student-centered practices. The focus on courses that serve both STEM majors and non-STEM majors will broaden the STEM workforce and improve STEM literacy for all students. Project evaluation will examine the development of students' scientific self-identity and impacts on students' academic performance. This project will generate evidence regarding the impacts on student learning due to a research-rich, student-centered, problem-based learning STEM curriculum; how students develop scientific self-identity; the factors that convince non-STEM students to switch to STEM majors; and how faculty members from multiple disciplines form a cohesive professional learning community that collaborates productively at a Hispanic-serving community college.