Building Opportunities for STEM Success (BOSS)

Florida State College At Jacksonville, Jacksonville FL

Investigators

Abstract

As the need for qualified individuals to fill STEM jobs rises, community colleges increasingly seek evidence-based, high-impact practices to encourage student retention and graduation in STEM disciplines. Many factors influence a student's choice of a major or career, but some students do not consider STEM options because of a perceived inability to master STEM skills. The Building Opportunities for STEM Success (BOSS) project will implement evidence-based tools, resources, and instructional models that improve instruction in STEM study skills for students at Florida State College at Jacksonville, a community college. BOSS will develop and embed new study skills modules in six key STEM courses (College Algebra, Earth and Space Science, Hardware Configuration, Life in its Biological Environment, Introduction to General Chemistry, and Introduction to Engineering) with the aim of improving students' learning gains and interest in STEM. Research has shown a connection between study skills and academic success. BOSS will generate new evidence regarding the impacts of embedding study skills modules into STEM courses. BOSS faculty will come together in a professional learning community that will develop modules that address STEM skill development. The overall framework for modules will remain consistent across the STEM courses, with flexibility to tailor instruction to the needs of different subject areas. Long-term, the initiative will help broaden the STEM pipeline to include a more diverse population. Evaluation research questions will focus on the relationship between new study skill strategies and STEM self-efficacy, self-regulation, and student success. Partners include the Northeast Florida STEM Hub, the Florida Department of Education, and the JAXUSA Earn Up Initiative, who will support dissemination. This project serves the national interest by educating community college students for the technical and scientific workforce.