HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Enhancing Student Success in Calculus to Strengthen STEM Pathways at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg TX

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2 project aims to improve the success and persistence rates in Calculus I and II courses and shorten the time to complete calculus sequence by coordinating calculus instruction and together implementing multi-intervention activities across two major Hispanic-Serving Institutions: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and South Texas College (STC). Calculus is a gateway course for students entering STEM fields. Successful completion of calculus courses is essential for students to persist and maintain progress in their STEM program. However, calculus courses remain a bottleneck for student progression in STEM fields. In this program, a team from STC and UTRGV will implement two major activities: (1) increase calculus course coordination across the two institutions; (2) provide a multi-level student support system while paying particular attention to five student groups (i) first-generation college students, (ii) students from low-income families, (iii) students retaking Calculus I or II after a failed first attempt, (iv) students who take calculus with time gap, and (v) non-traditional students. By improving student success in calculus, the program will increase the participation of students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields and the workforce. The implemented support structures will serve as a model for other STEM programs nationwide. The program will provide a pathway for institutions to positively influence student retention, improve time progression through undergraduate STEM programs, increase student self-efficacy and confidence with advanced STEM courses, and develop scientific identity. The project goals are to: 1) enhance the quality of teaching in Calculus I and II, 2) increase pass and persistence rates; 3) better prepare students for subsequent courses; 4) increase students’ sense of belonging in mathematics; and 5) shorten completion time in calculus courses. The content and instruction of Calculus I/II will be realigned and standardized between STC and UTRGV to improve the transition between courses from Pre-Calculus through Calculus II and facilitate the students’ transfer between institutions. Students will be supported in-class with activities and interventions such as early-semester supplemental instruction, in-class peer assistants, and exam retakes. Instructors will be provided professional development focusing on key groups such as first-generation college students, students from low-income families, students repeating Calculus I/II, and students taking a calculus class with long time gaps between prerequisite courses. By the end of this project, the project investigators will determine the extent to which the activities enhance instructors' beliefs and practices, improve student achievement and timely completion of their calculus courses, and foster students' sense of belonging and mathematics identity development. Findings from this project will contribute to the knowledge base on student achievement, persistence in mathematics and other STEM fields, sense of belonging in the mathematics discipline, and mathematics identity. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims. 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.