UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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University System of Georgia (USG) STEM Initiative
Annual Report Form for FY2013 (2012-2013)
I.
STEM Initiative Program Overview
Throughout this report, the University of West Georgia BOR STEM Initiative will be referred to as UWise
(University of West Georgia Institutional STEM Excellence).
A. Program Implementation and Operation – This section covers the operation of your institution’s
STEM Initiative Program:
1. Identify and explain the key programs and projects (i.e. mini-grant program, FOCUS-derived project,
etc.) that comprise the STEM Initiative at your institution. (You will be asked more detailed questions
about these later.)
The UWise project has six major components. Each are identified and explained in this section.
 Summer Bridge Program
 UWG 1101 The University First-Year Experience
 XIDS 2002: Courses to Enhance STEM Career Awareness and STEM Major Selection
 Peer Mentoring Embedded in Undergraduate Research
 Faculty Development
 Service Learning
Summer Bridge Program
The UWise Summer Bridge Program was a residential academic program scheduled for the last session
of the Summer 2012 term. The UWise faculty designed the program to support the academic success of
incoming freshmen who intend to major in a STEM field. The 27 UWise Summer Bridge students took
credit-bearing classes (5 or 6 credit hours), attended structured study halls or guest lectures in the
evenings, and participated in three weekend excursions.
All students registered for:
1. XIDS 2100 Arts and Ideas: UWise. This 3-credit hour course, which met for 2 ½ hours each
morning, addressed critical reading and writing within the STEM disciplines. The course
contributed to Area C2 of the Core.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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2. XIDS 2002 What Do you Know About UWise?. This 2-credit hour course met for three hours each
afternoon and included instruction in mathematics, science, education, and cognitive coaching.
The course fits within Area B2 of the Core.
3. If students needed a sixth credit hour in order to be eligible for financial aid, they registered for
a 1-credit hour activity course (PWLA: Personal Wellness and Leisure Activity).
Weekend excursions included visits to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta; U.S. Space and Rocket Center in
Huntsville, Alabama; and a local organic farm in Carrollton, Georgia. Faculty linked the weekend
excursions to content in both XIDS courses to help students understand how science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics is applied in real-world settings.
The UWise program provided all expenses associated with housing and meals; further, the project paid
students a stipend for their participatory engagement with the evaluation to help answer questions
about the program’s effectiveness.
UWG 1101 The University First-Year Experience
Lessons learned from Year 1 (2011-2012) led the UWise faculty to redesign the fall course that followed
the Summer Bridge program. Whereas Cohort 1 students participated in a Fall 2011 XIDS course taught
by rotating instructors who presented a wide array of content, 27 students from Cohort 2 enrolled in
UWG 1101 The University First-Year Experience in Fall 2012. The change was precipitated by evaluation
findings, as Cohort 1 students noted the unwieldy nature of the XIDS content that seemed to lack
connectedness between and among the rotating instructors. Thus, the first cohort recommended that a
follow-up fall course be developed with a single instructor and more focused curriculum. The result,
UWG 1101 The University First-Year Experience: UWise, which was taught by a single instructor
(Gaquere), introduced students to a variety of topics designed to increase their academic success in
their freshman year.
XIDS 2002: Courses to Enhance STEM Career Awareness and STEM Major Selection
The UWise faculty wanted to expand the influence of the STEM initiative beyond the targeted group of
students who participated in the Summer Bridge program. Thus, four faculty developed new XIDS
courses to attract students who might be interested in STEM professions, or who had already decided to
major in a STEM discipline. These courses used a problem-based learning format to study interesting,
real-world problems (i.e., problems and professions related to the Nipah virus and robotics), with the
goal of increasing students’ awareness of exciting career possibilities. Additionally, each course
integrated a writing component worth 30% of the grade, with collaborating English faculty supervising
the writing assignments .
Three sections of these newly developed XIDS courses were offered in Spring 2013:
 XIDS 2002: What Do You Know about Health Professions? (2 concurrent sections, Khan,
Mruthinti, N = 50 students total)
 XIDS 2002: What Do You Know about STEM Professions – Robotics? (1 section co-taught by
Remshagen and Rolka, N = 20 students)
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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Peer Mentoring Embedded in Undergraduate Research
Lessons learned from Cohort 1’s Peer Mentoring experience led to the redesign of this component for
Cohort 2 (2012-2013). The revised component embedded peer-mentoring in faculty-directed
undergraduate research. In this model, one or two UWise students were paired with a junior or senior
STEM major who mentored the beginning student/s within faculty-directed undergraduate research
projects. A total of 12 grants (six in chemistry, three in physics, and one each in biology, computer
science, and mathematics) were funded, with 13 student mentors (juniors and seniors) working with 17
UWise mentees.
The students who conducted undergraduate research through the peer mentoring model presented
their learning at a poster session “conference” in mid-July, 2013,for the benefit of incoming Cohort 3
(2013-2014) students in order to introduce the new freshmen to research very early in their college
careers. These presentations were so well received that the session will be recreated for UWG’s new
president in order to showcase the high value that science and mathematics faculty place on facultydirected undergraduate research.
Of further interest is the fact that four of the 13 peer mentors are beginning graduate programs or
professional school in Fall 2013, with another one or two likely to be future applicants. These high
achieving mentors have served, or will continue to serve, as role models to two cohorts of UWise
students (2012-2013 and 2013-2014), not only in the area of research, but also in the planning that is so
necessary to gain admission to graduate and professional schools.
Faculty Development
Building instructional capacity through faculty development is a notable outcome of the UWise program.
These capacity-building activities encouraged STEM faculty to “try out” new instructional practices (new
for them) and study their effectiveness for improving student learning. The work was supported through
mini-grants awarded to faculty members who developed proposals that fit the stringent criteria outlined
in the UWise Mini-grant RFP. Faculty indicated in their proposals how they hoped to investigate
evidence-based teaching practices in their STEM courses, with the understanding that they would
develop essential expertise to engage in this work through the support provided by an external
consultant.
The consultant led faculty members through the SoTL process: At the beginning of Year 2, as a large
group, the faculty members developed research questions, data collection strategies, an
implementation plan, and a timeline for their research studies. Then, throughout the fall and spring
semesters, the consultant worked individually with these faculty members to develop assessments and
instruments, analyze data, and write final reports describing student outcomes. This approach was
successful, as Year 2 results indicated increased student learning and engagement in most of the courses
involving the FY13 mini-grant projects. (See Table 20 for a description of the projects and their findings).
Service Learning
UTeach West Georgia is an innovative and highly successfully teacher preparation program for students
majoring in science and mathematics and is one of three UTeach institutions in the state selected to
replicate the UTeach model. The national replication program was specifically created to attract the
widest range of bright science and mathematics majors into secondary teaching careers, to prepare
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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them with an advanced, field-intensive curriculum, and to promote field retention through induction
support and ongoing professional development.
FY13 UWise students were invited to participate in “service learning” through enrollment in UTeach
courses that allowed students to “try out” teaching in actual K-12 classrooms. Whereas 20 UWise
students sought out the UTeach experience in FY12, only one student from the FY13 cohort did so. The
decrease is likely due to revisions in the program in Year 2 (2012-2013) that changed the “workshop”
format of the Summer Bridge Program to a credit-bearing, academic experience. These purposeful
changes were the result of solid data that identified challenges associated with the potpourri of science
and mathematics content in the XIDS course in Fall 2011. However, the portion of the XIDS course that
was successful (i.e., learning about K-12 teaching as a career) was not a good fit in the new creditbearing mathematics course. Alternatively, faculty attempted to incorporate exposure to K-12 teaching
through several guest lectures during the 2012 Summer Bridge evenings. However, the dramatically
decreased participation of UWise students in the UTeach “try out” courses in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
make clear that this approach was not successful. This issue will be revisited as the UWise faculty refine
the program for the 2013-2014 academic year. Parenthetically, we note that the XIDS course scheduled
for Fall 2013 (Khan and Mruthinti, two concurrent sessions, N = 36) What do you know about STEM
professions? – per the writing of this annual report – has been revised to explicitly incorporate two
sessions taught by COE colleagues, as well as a service learning component worth 10% of the grade.
2. Identify key personnel associated with your institution’s STEM Initiative program and briefly describe
each person’s role. Be certain to include all personnel whose salaries have been paid, either fully or
partially, by STEM Initiative funds. Include any faculty or staff receiving course release time or some
comparable form of compensation to participate.
Table 1: UWise Participants with no STEM Initiative Funding
Name
Position
Gantner, Myrna
Mruthinti,
Swamy
Hendricks,
Cher
Associate Vice President
for Academic Affairs,
Associate Professor of
Educational Leadership
Associate Dean, Professor
of Biology
External Evaluator
(subcontract)
Adams, Sonya
Budget Analyst
Affiliation
Office of the Provost and
Vice President for
Academic Affairs
College of Science and
Mathematics
CEISMC, Georgia Tech
College of Science and
Mathematics
In-Kind
UWG
Match
X
X
X
X
Tables 2 – 9 indicate program personnel paid with STEM Initiative funds. An X in a column indicates
participation in that activity. Acronyms used include COSM, the College of Science and Mathematics;
COE, the College of Education; and UG Research, Undergraduate Faculty-Directed Research. Two RFPs
for mini-grants were run, with the first request awarded in Fall 2012 and the second in Spring 2013.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
Table 2: Biology Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 5)
Name
Edelman,
Andrew
Hullender,
Melissa
Mitra, Mautusi
Pencoe, Nancy
SwamyMruthinti
Department
Program
Planning
Summer
Bridge
XIDSUWG
Biology
Minigrants 1
Minigrants 2
UG
Research
X
Biology
Biology
Biology
Biology,
Dean's
office
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 3: Chemistry Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 8)
Name
Dutt,
Sharmistha
Fujita, Megumi
Gaquere, Anne
Claudine
Geisler,
Victoria
Hansen, John
Khan, Farooq
Ray, Partha
Stuart, Douglas
Department
Program
Planning
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Summer
Bridge
XIDSUWG
Minigrants 1
Minigrants 2
X
X
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry,
Dean's
Office
Chemistry
Chemistry
UG
Research
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 4: Computer Science Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 3)
Name
Department
Orsega,
Michael
Remshagen,
Anja
Computer
Science
Computer
Science
Computer
Science
Rolka, Christine
Program
Planning
Summer
Bridge
XIDSUWG
Minigrants
1
Minigrants
2
UG
Research
X
X
Minigrants
2
UG
Research
X
X
X
X
X
Table 5: Geosciences Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 4)
Name
Deline, Bradley
Hollabaugh,
Curtis
Rose, Shea
Tefend, Karen
Department
Geosciences
Geosciences
Geosciences
Geosciences
Program
Planning
Summer
Bridge
X
XIDSUWG
Minigrants
1
X
X
X
5
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
Table 6: Mathematics Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 7)
Name
Bellon, James
Jett,
Christopher
Khodkar,
Abdollah
Leach, Charles
Sykes, Scott
Thielemier,
Carrie
Yazdani,
Mohammed
Department
Mathematics
Program
Planning
Summer
Bridge
XIDSUWG
Minigrants
1
X
Mathematics
X
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
X
Minigrants
2
UG
Research
X
X
X
Mathematics
X
Mathematics
X
Table 7: Physics Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 5)
Name
Chesnut,Gary
De Silva,
Landewatte
Hasbun,Javier
Powell,Bob
Talbot,Julie
Department
Physics
Program
Planning
Physics
Physics
Physics
Physics
Summer
Bridge
XIDSUWG
X
X
Minigrants
1
Minigrants
2
X
X
X
X
UG
Research
X
X
X
X
Table 8: College of Education Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 3)
Name
Baylen, Danilo
Cox, Judy
Marshall, Gail
Departm
ent
College of
Education
College of
Education
College of
Education
Program
Planning
Summe
r Bridge
XIDS
Minigrants
1
Minigrants
2
UG
Researc
h
X
x
x
Table 9: College of Arts and Humanities Personnel Paid through FY13 STEM Initiative Funds (n = 3)
Program
Planning
Summer
Bridge
Name
Department
Ellison, Amy
College of
Arts and
Humanities
X
Parks,
Brooke
College of
Arts and
Humanities
X
Harrison,
Rebecca
College of
Arts and
Humanities
X
XIDS
Minigrants
1
Minigrants
2
UG
Research
6
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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Students listed in Tables 10 - 15 received STEM Initiative funding for services within UWise program
components such as undergraduate research, faculty mini-grants, video/web production for UWise
student recruitment, or as student assistants for the Summer Bridge Program.
Table 10: Biology Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 6)
Faculty
UG
Summer Mini Video/Web
Student
Department
Mentor
Research Bridge Grant Production
Smith, Mindy
Fleming, Shelby
Haye, Tashana
Biology
Biology
Biology
Edelman
Mruthinti
Mitra
Smith, Katherine
Smith, Megan
Wilson, Darryel
Biology
Biology
Biology
Mitra
Edelman
Mitra
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 11: Chemistry Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 17 projects, 16 students)
UG
Summer Mini Video/Web
Research Bridge Grant Production
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Student
Brazil, Mari
Contractor, Alisha
Contractor, Alisha
Clark, Nora
Covington, Kayla
Dimkpah, Onyeka
Dixon, Crawford
Department
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Faculty Mentor
Khan
Fujita
Basu-Dutt
Basu-Dutt
Basu-Dutt
Basu-Dutt
Khan
Duncan, Zachary
English, Stephen
Gonzalez,
Luisalberto
Jewett, Tyler
Kim, Hahninae
Kimbrell, Jacob
Obeng, Samed
Rittgers, Brandon
Rivera, Jadzia
Vinyard, Warren
Chemistry
Chemistry
Basu-Dutt
Khan
X
X
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry
Ray
Stuart
Fujita
Khan
Geisler
Stuart
Basu-Dutt
Geisler/Hansen
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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Table 12: Computer Science Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 6)
Student
Department
Cahill, William
Computer Science
Cofer, Daryl
Counts, Ashley
Computer Science
Computer Science
Hood, Rebecca
Mapel, Drake
West, Brian
Computer Science
Computer Science
Computer Science
Faculty
Mentor
Remshagen
and Rolka
Remshagen
and Rolka
Remshagen
Harrison
(English tutor)
Remshagen
Orsega
UG
Summer Mini Video/Web
Research Bridge Grant Production
X
X
X
X
X
Table 13: Mathematics Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 13)
Student
Carter, Kyle
Collins, Dana N
Cook, Amanda L
Eubanks, DeShun
Griffin, Amy
Gromoll, Tessa
Hartman, Daniel
Nguyen, Luan
Rimmer, Hilary
Saltiel, Sarah C
Wagner, Alexis D
Wright, Randall L
Young, James C
Department
Mathematics
Mathematics
UWise Program
(Recruitment)
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Faculty
Mentor
Bellon
Khodkar
Sykes
Mruthinti
Bellon
Khodkar
Khodkar
Bellon
Leach
Thielemier
Bellon
Khan
Thielemier
Summer Mini Video/Web
UG
Research Bridge Grant Production
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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Table 14: Physics Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 8)
Student
Department
Coley, Ethan
Hartman, Daniel
Physics
Physics
Hogan, Benjamin
Machado, Esther
Mashburn,
Amanda
Nuckolls, Haden
Roper, Christopher
Landry, Ryan
Faculty
Mentor
UG
Summer Mini Video/Web
Research Bridge Grant Production
X
X
Physics
Physics
Powell
Powell
DeSilva and
Hasbun
Khan
Physics
Physics
Physics
Powell
Talbot
Hasbun
X
Physics (DD Engr)
DeSilva
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 15: Miscellaneous Students Paid by FY13 UWise Program (n = 2)
Faculty
UG
Summer Mini Video/Web
Student
Department
Mentor
Research Bridge Grant Production
Alton Jr., Marcus
Undeclared
Mruthinti
X
Robertson, Sarah
English
Harrison
(English tutor)
3. Identify partnering departments, offices, or centers participating in the STEM Initiative at your
institution. Briefly discuss their relationship with the STEM Initiative and note any relevant
contributions.
UWise operates as a collaborative initiative among the College of Science and Mathematics, the College
of Arts and Humanities, and the College of Education, with oversight from the Office of the Provost and
Vice President for Academic Affairs. Faculty from all six departments within the College of Science and
Mathematics participated in one project component or more. The College of Arts and Humanities
participated via XIDS 2100 and ENGL 1101 and 1102 courses, which were designed with a STEM writing
focus. The College of Education participation came from the two science educators and one
mathematics educator with faculty appointments in that college.
Additionally, the University of West Georgia benefits in numerous ways from the strong working
relationships among the three divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Business and Finance.
This collaboration was evident in the successful planning and implementation of the 2012 Summer
Bridge Program. The Office of First Year Experiences facilitated academic advising; Residence Life
handled logistical arrangements for the dormitories and provided Residence Assistants (RAs) who
supervised the UWise students after hours; and Auxiliary Services, through Food Services, ensured
smooth coordination with all meals. Although these partnerships did not contribute directly to the
academic mission, the UWise Summer Bridge Program would not have been successful without the
support of these units.
The UWise and UTeach connection continues as a significant partnership that influences our STEM work.
UWise program faculty members promote the UTeach program to the Summer Bridge students and
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UWise’s service learning component leverages the UTeach Step One and Step Two educator exploration
courses (UTCH 2001 and 2002) as vehicles to introduce science and mathematics majors to K-12
teaching as a career possibility.
B. Program Successes – This section covers the key accomplishments of your institution’s STEM
Initiative program during FY2013:
Explain how your program has made progress toward Goal 1, improving the readiness of P-12 students
for STEM in college. (You may wish to draw upon service learning programs, among other efforts. You
also may wish to describe bridge programs or similar efforts directed at incoming freshmen.)
2012 SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAM
In late Spring 2012, a formal letter of invitation to attend the 2012 Summer Bridge program was sent to
approximately 650 incoming freshman to University of West Georgia who had expressed an interest in
majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline. Faculty also gave a
presentation about the program at UWG orientation sessions for incoming students and their parents.
These presentations occurred at the Spring and Summer orientations for Summer 2012 or Fall 2012
entry.
Of the 40 students who indicated interest in the UWise Summer Bridge Program, 35 students met the
minimum math SAT score (450) and were invited to participate. Twenty-nine students chose to attend
the program, which was scheduled for July 1 - 27, 2012, on UWG’s Carrollton campus. Students paid
tuition and fees; the UWise program paid for housing and meals. Over the course of the 4-week
program, students took two courses for academic credit:


XIDS 2100 (English). This 3-hour course explored concepts such as sustainability, the
environment, and the “logical writer” (framed within STEM disciplines).
XIDS 2002 (Mathematics/Science). In this 2-hour course, students explored curriculum, careers,
and skills for science and mathematics majors.
Students in need of financial aid were able to take a physical education course (PWLA 1634) for 1 credit
hour, which created a 6-hour course load and made them eligible for financial aid. Eleven students took
the PWLA course.
Students’ daily schedule was:
9:00 am – 11:30 am: XIDS 2100
11:45 am – 12:45 pm: Lunch/lectures
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: XIDS 2002
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: PWLA 1634
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Dinner/mandatory study hall
Program activities included three weekend excursions/field trips. The first was to the Georgia Aquarium
in Atlanta. The second was to the Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the last was to a local
organic farm.
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Students entered the Fall 2012 semester as a learning community, taking the following courses
together:
 ENGL 1101 (3 credit hours): English Composition I
 CHEM 1211K (4 credit hours): Principles of Chemistry I
 MATH 1111 (3 credit hours): College Algebra or 1113 (4 credit hours): Precalculus
 UWG 1101 (2 credit hours): The University First Year Experience - UWise
 POLS 1101 (3 credit hours) : American Government
2012 Summer Bridge Student Demographics
Fifteen female and 14 male students attended the program; 16 were African-American, 11 were
Caucasian, 1 was biracial, and 1 was Asian. As illustrated in Figure 1, there were equal numbers of male
and female African-American students in the cohort (8). There were fewer Caucasian students in the
cohort, but almost equal male (6) and female (5) students in this ethnic group. Two females are listed in
the “other” category; one listed herself as biracial, and the other as Asian.
10
8
6
Female
8
Male
8
4
Male
6
Female
5
2
Male
0
Female
2
0
African-American
White
Other
Students’ admissions data included their high
school grade point average (GPA) as well as
either their SAT or ACT scores. The average
high school GPA for all UWise Bridge students
was 3.19 (compared to non-UWise STEM
majors at 3.09). Caucasian students’ high
school GPA was higher (3.42) than their
African-American counterparts’ GPA, and
females’ was slightly higher (3.45) than males’
high school GPA (3.40). As shown in Figure 2,
African-American males had the lowest high
school GPA (3.02), and Caucasian females had
the highest admissions GPA (3.45).
High School GPA
Figure 1. Number of Summer Bridge 2012 Participants (Gender & Race)
3.40
3.18
4.00
3.00
2.00
3.02
3.45
3.19
3.14
1.00
0.00
Caucasian
Average
African-American
Male
Female
Figure 2. Summer Bridge Students’ High School GPA by
Gender and Race
The average scores for the 25 UWise students who took the SAT were 509.2 (55th percentile) on critical
reading, 521.6 (52nd percentile) on mathematics, and 477.2 (48th percentile) on writing. Males
outperformed females on each subtest, and Caucasians outperformed African-Americans. As illustrated
in Figure 3, Caucasian males had the highest average score on each test, followed by Caucasian females,
African-American males, and African-American females. The only exception was on the SAT critical
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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reading test, where African-American females outperformed both African-American males and
Caucasian females. This compares to non-UWise STEM majors whose SAT scores were 493.6 on critical
reading, 493.8 on mathematics, and 473.2 on writing.
800
556
SAT Score
700
500
600
500
400
590
482
507
500
507
Male Caucasian
463
499
444
300
200
SAT-V
522
532
Female Caucasian
Male African-American
Female African-American
SAT-M
SAT-W
SAT Test: V (Critical Reading), Mathematics, Writing
Figure 3. Summer Bridge Students’ Admissions SAT Scores by Gender and Race
Student Suggestions to Improve Summer Bridge
The majority of students who attended the 2012 Summer Bridge program found the experience to be
positive, felt like they were able to get a head start on college, and did well in their academic courses.
African-American females had the most difficult time in their courses and earned lower grades than
their Bridge peers, suggesting they may need additional supports during the summer as well as well as
the academic year. Students were most satisfied with their English course experiences and were least
satisfied with their physics course activities. Bridge students suggested the summer program could be
improved by providing more free time in the schedule, improving the excursions, and changing study
hall policies.
PROGRESS TOWARD STEM GOAL 1
1. The Fall-Spring retention rate for 2012 Summer Bridge students was 89.7%. All but three
students returned for the Spring semester of their Freshman year. Non-returning students were
two females (one African-American and one multi-racial student) and one African-American
male whose first semester GPAs ranged from 0.16 to 1.70 (M=1.08). The Fall semester GPA for
returning students was 2.87. Their average Spring GPA was 2.82.
2. Bridge students outperformed their non-Bridge peers in ENGL 1101, MATH 1113, MATH 1634,
and UWG 1101.
 In ENGL 1101, Bridge students’ average GPA was 2.48 compared to 2.11 for their non-Bridge
peers. The DFW rate was 3.7% for Bridge students and 28% for non-Bridge students.
 In MATH 1113, Bridge students’ average GPA was 2.61 compared to 2.10 for their nonBridge peers. The DFW rate was 26.1% for Bridge students and 29.6% for non-Bridge
students.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
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
In MATH 1634, Bridge students’ average GPA was 3.00 compared to 2.55 for their nonBridge peers. The DFW rate was 0% for Bridge students and 35.2% for non-Bridge students.
 In UWG 1101, Bridge students’ average GPA was 3.57 compared to 3.02 for their non-Bridge
peers. The DFW rate was 7.1% for Bridge students and 7.7% for non-Bridge students.
3. Upon entering Summer Bridge, 28% of students planned to major in engineering, 24% planned
to major in biology, 12% planned to major in chemistry, and 8% planned to major in computer
science. At the end of Summer Bridge, 16 students (70%) said they had not changed their minds
about their major, and 7 (30%) said they were thinking about different majors. No students
changed their major during the Summer Bridge experience, though one student explained that,
“I have become aware of the benefits of other majors, but am not convinced to change mine.”
During their freshman year, 2 Bridge students (6.9%) changed from a STEM to non-STEM
major, compared to 16.3% of the comparison group (N = 467) that consisted of freshmen who
entered Fall 2012 with a declared STEM major. Thus, participation in the UWise Summer Bridge
Program is associated with improved retention in the STEM major during the freshman year.
Of the 7 students who indicated they were thinking about new majors, 1 was an
intended computer science major who became interested in majoring in math education. He
described how Summer Bridge had influenced this, explaining “While involving myself in the
community here, I began holding math tutoring sessions for the content covered in the program
and realized that I enjoy a college level teaching environment.”
4. Between Fall and Spring semesters, 6.8% of Bridge students changed from a STEM to a nonSTEM major compared to 15.9% of their non-Bridge counterparts. A Bridge student who had
been a biology major changed to special education, and a computer science major changed to
economics.
We also reviewed data from 2011 Summer Bridge students who were sophomores during the 20122013 academic year. Of the 98 students in the 2011 Bridge program (Cohort 1), 96 entered UWG as
Freshman in Fall 2011. Of those 96 students, 86 returned Spring 2012 (1st year retention rate = 88%,
compared with 70% for all UWG students), 73 returned Fall 2012, and 64 returned Spring 2013 (2nd year
retention rate = 65% compared to 57% for all UWG students). Across this time period, cumulative GPA
rose from 2.49 in Fall 2011 to 2.77 by the end of the sophomore year. Figure 4 shows the retention rate
for Cohort 1 students’ freshman and sophomore years as well as their cumulative GPAs.
n=88
GPA=2.49
Fall 2011
n=87
GPA=2.49
Spring 2012
n=73
GPA=2.57
Fall 2012
n=64
GPA=2.70
Spring 2013
Figure 4. Summer Bridge Cohort 1 Retention Rate and Cumulative GPA, by Semester
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
14
Of the 15 students who completed their freshman year but did not return for their sophomore year, 5
were biology majors, 4 were chemistry majors, and 2 were chemistry (BA) majors. Other non-returning
students were chemistry/secondary education, chemistry/engineering, and computer science majors (1
from each major). Another had an undeclared major. Of the 5 students who had not declared a major,
two completed their sophomore year. One chose pre-accounting as a major during the Spring 2013
semester and had a 2.66 cumulative GPA that semester. The other student had still not declared a
major by Spring 2013 but was able to increase her GPA steadily from a 0.38 in Fall 2011 to a 3.10
cumulative GPA for Spring 2013.
Of the 64 Cohort 1 students who completed their sophomore year, eleven (17.2%) changed from a STEM
to a non-STEM major. Three biology majors switched to nursing and another changed to psychology.
Two chemistry majors switched to nursing and a third to sociology. One chemistry/dual degree
engineering major switched to philosophy. Two computer science majors changed to a management
information systems major. One mathematics major changed his major to accounting.
The range of cumulative GPA for non-returning students was 0.00 to 3.36, with an average of 1.57.
Table 16 provides average GPA by major for returning and non-returning students. Non-returning
students were mostly female (60%); 46.7% were African-American and 40% were Caucasian.
Table 16. GPA Comparisons for Returning and Non-Returning Students, by Major
Major
Biology
Chemistry
Chemistry (BA)
Chemistry/ Engineering
Chemistry/ Secondary
Ed.
Computer Science
Undeclared
Status
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
Returning
Non-Returning
N
26
5
6
4
14
2
3
1
na
1
4
1
4
1
Spring 2012
Cumulative GPA
2.97
1.57
2.46
0.89
2.37
1.49
2.94
1.51
na
3.36
2.52
1.37
1.80
3.00
2. Explain how your program has made progress toward Goal 2, improving student success and
completion rates, by discussing how your program, a) increased STEM majors, b) supported student
retention and progression in STEM, and c) increased STEM degree completion.
UWise activities in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 supported student retention and progression in STEM
through the following activities:
 Fall 2012 Learning Community. The cohort structure of the learning community allowed UWise
students to deepen their relationships with each other, building on the informal support groups
they formed on their own during the Summer Bridge Program.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)


15
Fall 2012 UWG 1101 The University First Year Experience: UWise. This course, taught by a single
instructor (Gaquere) helped students understand how to be a successful college student.
Undergraduate Research. Those students who chose to participate in undergraduate research (n
= 17) benefitted not only from their introduction to real-world research, but also from the peer
mentoring provided by successful junior and senior STEM majors.
1. There was a slight decrease in the number of STEM majors between AY 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
STEM majors decreased from 1961 to 1937 (-24). However, the number of STEM education majors
increased from 236 to 256 (+20). Areas of growth across all STEM fields included:
 Mathematics (from 45 to 52 majors)
 Engineering (from 81 to 87 majors)
 MAT in Science Education (from 9 to 22 majors)
2. Total number of STEM degrees awarded rose from 212 in AY 2011-2012 to 248 in AY 2012-2013, a
17% increase. Increases were in the following disciplines:
 Chemistry (from 16 to 27 graduates, a 69% increase )
 Computer Science (from 16 to 21 graduates, a 31% increase)
 Mathematics (from 5 to 9 graduates, an 80% increase)
 Physics (from 4 to 5 graduates)
 MAT in Science Education (from 0 to 2 graduates)
3. DFW rates improved for some STEM courses and worsened for others. 2012-2013 DFW rates
decreased from 2011-2012 rates in the following areas:
 BIOL 1108 (from 25.5% to 22.6%)
 BIOL 2108 (from 16.8% to 14.4%)
 MATH 1111 (from 38.1% to 37.9%)
 MATH 1634 (from 46.1% to 38.9%)
 PHYS 1112 (from 17.9% to 13.2%)
 PHYS 2212 (from 22.7% to 19.3%)
DFW rates rose by about 4% for CHEM 1211 and CHEM 1212 and by about 6.5% for MATH 1113.
3. Explain how your program has made progress toward Goal 3, improving the pre-service P-12 STEM
teacher preparation and production.
UWise students were recruited by the UTeach program to explore K-12 science and/or mathematics
teaching through the UTeach Step 1 (UTCH 2001) and Step 2 (UTCH 2002) courses. These courses (1
credit hour each) allow students to “try out” teaching in elementary and middle schools, using
structured lessons developed by master teachers and practiced in the UTCH 2001/2002 classes prior to
students executing them in real classrooms. Students who successfully complete UTCH 2001 are
reimbursed for their tuition; this is also true for successful completion of UTCH 2002.
Twenty FY12 UWise students enrolled in UTCH 2001 and eight of those enrolled in UTCH 2002. One FY12
UWise students has continued in the UTeach program after completing UTCH 2002, meaning that this
person has selected K-12 science and mathematics teaching as a career option.
Only one FY13 UWise student enrolled in UTCH 2001; this person also continued in UTCH 2002. The
decrease in UTeach participation is associated with UWise program revisions that changed the
“workshop” format of the Summer Bridge Program to a credit-bearing, academic experience. Although
these changes were data-driven and achieved their purpose to strengthen students’ mathematics
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
16
knowledge and skills prior to enrolling in gateway math courses in Fall 2012, the program’s alternative
approach to introducing UWise students to K-12 science and mathematics teaching did not work well
(i.e., guest lectures in the evening sessions of the Summer Bridge Program). This issue will be revisited as
the UWise faculty refine the program for the 2013-2014 academic year. Parenthetically, we note that
the XIDS course scheduled for Fall 2013 (Khan and Mruthinti, two concurrent sessions, N = 36) What do
you know about STEM professions? – per the writing of the annual report – has been revised to
explicitly incorporate two sessions taught by COE colleagues, as well as a service learning component
worth 10% of the grade.
4. Discuss other key successes of your institution’s STEM Initiative program.
In addition to the activities discussed in other sections of this report, two additional successes
associated with UWG’s UWise program are noteworthy. The first derived from outstanding results from
a physics mini-grant. The second emerged from our deliberate programmatic change to add English
writing with a STEM focus to the 2012 Summer Bridge Program; results from this change are equally
outstanding to those achieved by the physics workshops.
Physics Mini-Grant Workshops. The Principles of Physics I and II Workshops were piloted through a
UWise mini-grant awarded to physics faculty member Julie Talbot. These workshops, designed to
support students’ problem-solving capacity, have been so successful that the Physics Department will
institutionalize the strategy in Spring 2014, making attendance in the workshop mandatory for students
enrolled in PHYS 2211 and PHYS 2212. Three semesters of PHYS 2211 data (through Fall 2012) produced
consistent findings from term to term. Students who attended at least two-thirds of the workshop
sessions outperformed those who did not participate: 25% DFW rates (N=69) for workshop participants
vs. 75% DFW rates (N=53) for non-participants.
English Writing with a STEM Focus (XIDS 2100). As the UWise faculty continued to examine barriers to
students’ success in earning STEM degrees, they recognized that the ability to express one’s ideas in
writing is an essential skill for successful STEM students and graduates. This understanding led to the
beginning of a wonderful collaborative partnership with faculty in the English Department. Rebecca
Harrison, an instrumental faculty member in the first year writing program in the College of Arts and
Humanities, joined the UWise faculty in their planning meetings as preparations began for the 2012
Summer Bridge Program. She led the development of the XIDS 2100 course and coordinated the
curriculum delivery with two additional English faculty members. She also trained and supervised the
three graduate assistants (English MA Program) who worked with UWise students in structured writing
support sessions scheduled for two evenings a week throughout the four weeks of the 2012 Summer
Bridge Program.
Performance in the Summer 2012 XIDS 2100 course was impressive, particularly when compared to the
performance of these same students in their Fall 2012 ENGL 1101 class, a required Core Area A1 course.
The DFW rate (grade of D, F, or Withdrawal) for all UWG students enrolled in ENGL 1101 in Fall 2012 was
28.8%, a figure that the English Department is working hard to reduce. However, the UWise students did
much better than their non-UWise peers, with DFW rates of only 3.8%. This phenomenal improvement
has led the English Department to consider changes to their entire first year writing program – changes
that will mirror many of the pedagogies and course redesign work used in the XIDS 2100 course that was
developed specifically for UWise. (Note that the SAT-Writing scores for UWise students averaged 477.2.
Non-UWise students averaged a score of 473.2 in the SAT-Writing exam).
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
17
C. Program Challenges – This section covers challenges that continue to face your institution’s STEM
Initiative program:
1. What challenges has your program encountered in increasing the number of STEM majors?
As noted in the FY12 annual report, the challenges UWG faces with attempts to increase the number of
STEM majors are no different from those faced by many institutions. First, our incoming freshmen, for
the most part, are underprepared in science and mathematics. Further, they struggle with the Core Area
A1 requirements (i.e., two freshman writing composition courses). University students who do not
successfully complete the freshman “gateway” courses in mathematics and English have no chance of
earning a STEM degree.
In FY13, the UWise faculty tackled this problem through changes in the 2012 Summer Bridge Program.
Instead of the 2-week “workshop” format, Bridge participants enrolled in credit bearing courses that
were designed by UWise faculty to fill gaps in students’ preparation – most particularly in mathematics
and STEM writing. We also placed our FY13 UWise students in a learning community for the Fall 2013
term, which provided additional support. This “cohort model” (i.e., learning community) was conducive
to strengthening the relationships students formed in the Summer Bridge Program. Further, instructors
were selected for the Fall courses who understood the UWise program goals and tailored their
instruction to support those goals.
2. What challenges has your program encountered in increasing STEM degree production?
The FY13 UWise program was in its second year of implementation in 2012-2013, which was too early to
impact STEM degree production. However, interim indicators of student progress suggest that the
program will affect STEM degree production.
One of the most poignant “lessons learned” from the FY12 UWise program was that science and
mathematics faculty could benefit greatly from instruction and guidance in social science research
methods. Without this body of knowledge and skills, COSM faculty are – for the most part – unable to
design research investigations that will help them determine the effectiveness of their own teaching and
their students’ learning. Again, it is important to remind readers that science and mathematics faculty
employ a research paradigm and methods that differ significantly from those used in the social sciences.
It is the social sciences research paradigm and methods that are most effective in studying the
effectiveness of teaching for improving student learning in the classroom.
With that said, the UWise program has struggled to provide consistent, embedded, ongoing faculty
development to support our STEM faculty in this area. To address this challenge, the FY13 UWise
program hired an external consultant to work with the UWise mini-grant awardees through a series of
workshops and one-on-one support sessions designed as a “faculty learning community.” This approach
has been quite successful. See Table 20 for a list of the FY13 faculty mini-grants and their findings.
On an exciting note, UWG received permanent funding in our FY14 state allocations to develop a new
Center for Teaching and Learning. Our institution is most appreciative of this decision by the Board of
Regents, as the new center will substantively help us address the faculty development challenge
described in this annual report.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
18
3. Are there any program-specific (i.e. mini-grants, service learning opportunities) challenges that your
program has encountered?
As noted earlier, the data-driven decision to schedule UWise students in credit bearing courses in the
Summer Bridge Program interfered – unexpectedly – with recruiting UWise students in the UTeach
program. The FY14 UWise leadership team and faculty will examine this issue immediately.
4. Are there any other challenges that your program has encountered that you have not described (i.e.
departmental buy-in, personnel issues)
Our FY12 report discussed issues with science and mathematics department chair buy-in. This situation
continued in 2012-2013, but improved somewhat. Indeed, faculty from each of the six College of Science
and Mathematics departments participated in the FY13 UWise program.
D. Did you implement the STEM Initiative program at your institution as described in your project
proposal for FY2013? Please describe any notable changes from the proposal that you made
(additional project components, project deletions).
For the most part, the FY13 UWise program followed its plans, as noted in the original proposal and
proposed modifications noted in the FY12 UWise Annual Report. However, changes to the 2012 Summer
Bridge XIDS 2001 course were associated with decreased participation in the UTCH 2001 and 2002
courses, as explained earlier. Again, these changes were unexpected and will be addressed by the FY14
UWise faculty.
The XIDS 2001 Summer Bridge Program writing class (STEM focus) was highly successful, although this
program component developed after the submission of the original UWise proposal. These evolving
events, precipitated by formative evaluation findings as well as increasing UWise faculty sophistication
with regard to those factors that act as barriers to STEM student success are normal outcomes of
program evaluation, when it is designed well and implemented effectively. It is a testament to UWG’s
commitment to learning as much as possible about what works well and what is not effective that the
institution devoted a significant portion of its required institutional matching funds to hire a highly
competent external evaluator who could help the UWise team make sense of its ongoing work.
Data Sheet Addendum
A. If you reported engineering majors in FY2013 (Row 12), please identify relevant subfields
(mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, engineering technology, etc.) and specify the
number of majors in each.
Chemistry-2 year Engineering Transfer: 2 majors
Chemistry/Dual Degree Engineering: 19 majors
Geology/Dual Degree Engineering: 1 major
Physics-2 year Engineering transfer: 5 majors
Physics/Dual Degree Engineering: 60 majors
Additional data are provided in the table below.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
19
Table 17: Engineering Majors
Race
Degree
Chemistry - 2 yr
Engineer Transfer
Chemistry/Dual
Degr Engineer
Geology/Dual
Degr Engineer
Physics-2 yr
Engineer Transfer
Physics/Dual Degr
Engineering
Totals
TOTAL
Majors
Amer.
Indian
2
1
19
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Gender
Pacific
Islander
MultiRacial
White
2
6
1
1
1
60
1
3
2
M
2
9
5
1
5
F
1
1
87
Unknown
14
1
2
5
18
4
1
4
30
3
4
56
26
5
1
5
42
4
10
77
B. If you reported majors in the field “Other” (Row 13), please identify those degree programs and
specify the number of majors in each.
Not Applicable.
C. If you reported engineering degrees awarded (Row 73), please identify the specific degrees (i.e. BS
in mechanical engineering, BS in electrical engineering, etc.) and specify the number of awardees for
each.
B.S. in Chemistry, Dual Degree Engineering: 1 graduate
B.S. in Physics/Dual Degree Engineering: 2 graduates
D. If you reported degrees in the category “Other” (Row 74), please identify the specific degrees and
specify the number of awardees for each.
Not Applicable.
E. If you have any additional notes to offer relevant for the data sheet, please enter those here.
Regarding teacher production, we had program completers in 5 STEM Post-baccalaureate programs.
Data are provided in the tables below. Note that the Race totals for Broad Field Science in Table 18 do
not match the Gender totals; the discrepancy exists because not all students reported their race.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
20
Table 18: Post-Baccalaureate Program Enrollees 2012-2013
Post-Baccalaureate Program Enrollees 2012-2013
Race
Post-Bac
Program
Broad Field
Science
Biology
TOTAL
Enrolled
Amer.
Indian
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Pacific
Islander
Gender
MultiRacial
White
Unknown
F
M
1
5
2
4
2
7
3
2
6
4
2
Chemistry
1
1
Earth Science
1
1
1
7
9
2
4
1
K-5 Math
Endorsement
Math
9
1
1
1
5
3
Middle Grades
Math
18
4
1
1
12
10
8
Middle Grades
Science
13
4
1
1
7
10
3
Physics
1
Totals
1
61
19
2
3
35
1
1
43
18
Table 19: Post-Baccalaureate Program Completers 2012-2013
Post-Baccalaureate Program Completers 2012-2013
Post-Bac
Program
Broad Field
Science
Biology
TOTAL
Completers
Race
Amer.
Indian
Asian
Black
1
2
1
1
Middle Grades
Math
Middle Grades
Science
12
2
9
4
25
7
Totals
Pacific
Islander
MultiRacial
White
Unknown
F
1
Chemistry
II.
Hispanic
Gender
1
1
2
1
1
1
M
1
9
6
6
5
6
3
17
14
11
Programmatic Components
A. Faculty Mini-grants
In late Summer 2012, faculty were invited to submit a proposal to receive a mini-grant that could be used
to improve instruction and enhance the success of students in science and mathematics courses. Projects
supported faculty in the development and implementation of innovative instructional strategies to
improve student learning. All full-time faculty members from the College of Science and Mathematics
(COSM) and the College of Education (COE) were eligible to apply. For faculty in the COSM, proposals
could be submitted by an individual faculty member, a group of faculty members, or by a department as
a whole by the Department Chairperson. For COE faculty, grants were available to support proposals
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
21
that provided students the opportunity to gain teaching experience in science and mathematics.
Awardees from the previous mini-grant cycle (2011-2012) were also encouraged to submit a proposal to
refine or broaden the scope of their previous projects.
Faculty members who were awarded a mini-grant were expected to develop their proposals during Fall
2012, implement them in Spring 2013, and analyze the data in Summer 2013. They were supported
through periodic workshops and one-on-one meetings with the external evaluator, who also served as a
facilitator to mini-grant recipients. These workshop sessions were held 4-6 times, varying by specific
needs of each faculty member. Sessions focused on project development, research design, assessment
techniques, data collection and analysis, and report writing.
The Phase 1 RPF funded 11 projects that involved 12 faculty members who were supported with minigrant funding. Four were in mathematics, two were in physics, and two were in biology. One project
was supported in each of the following areas: chemistry, computer science, and science education.
1.
Please provide a list of the mini-grants provided by your institution as part of its STEM Initiative
for FY2013. You may use the following table or some alternate format, but please be sure to provide all
of the information requested:
Table 20: FY13 Faculty Mini-Grant Projects (Phase 1 Mini-grants)
Project
Title
Workshop for
Introductory
Physics
Faculty
Investigators
Ajith DeSilva
Brief
Description
Key Research/
Pedagogical Outcomes
The interactiveengagement approach
was employed to
stimulate understanding
of basic physics concepts
and to facilitate problem
solving to improve
students performances in
introductory physics.
Workshops were
conducted for four
separate classes of about
24 students per class who
registered for PHYS 1112
lecture in Spring 2013.
The workshop class met
one hour per week. Each
workshop was organized
into small groups of 3-4
students. The workshop
was conducted in a studio
format that emphasized
an activity-based learning
style rather than a
passive learning
Nineteen students
earned an A in the
course, and all had
attended the
workshop. A higher
percentage of
workshop attendees
than non-attendees
earned Bs as well.
Importantly, the
percentage of
students earning a
grade of D or F or
withdrawing from the
class was 4.26% for
workshop attendees,
while it is 46.15%
without workshop.
Seventy percent of
students said their
class performance
increased because of
participation in the
workshop. To
improve the
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
The Effects of
Supplemental
Instruction (SI)
on Students’
Achievement in
College Algebra
and Pre-Calculus
Carrie
Thielemier
Video Solutions
for MATH 1111
David Leach
approach. In a given class
meeting, there could be
any combination of
discussion,
demonstration, and
guided inquiry activities.
The purpose of this
project was to assess
whether attending SI
increased a student’s
overall performance in
MATH 1111 and MATH
1113. SI sessions were
held for 1 hour, three
times a week. Sessions
were not mandatory, but
students were
encouraged to attend. SI
leaders were students
who were obtaining a
degree in Mathematics
and already had a strong
understanding of the core
concepts. SI sessions
included peer tutoring,
working extra problems,
and responding to
student questions.
The purpose of this
project was to provide a
set of online videos that
students could use to
workshops, students
suggested increasing
the number of
workshop hours per
week and adding
teaching assistants.
Students who
attended 15 or more
SI session during the
semester earned
higher final grades
than those who did
not. The course
average for students
who attended 15 or
more sessions was
84%, compared to
67% for students who
attended between 1
and 14 sessions, and
74% for students who
attended no SI
sessions. For MATH
1111, the average final
course grade for high
risk students who
attended 15 or more
SI sessions was 79.5.
For MATH 1113 it was
79.1. There were
substantial benefits to
moderate-risk
students as well.
Based on the student
surveys, it is clear that
SI was a positive
experience for almost
all students. Many,
including those who
did not pass the class,
felt that SI was helpful
and a great resource
to have on campus.
A majority of students
who used the videos
(76%) found them to
be helpful and just
22
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
under 50% said the
videos helped them
earn a higher grade on
the exam. There was
no correlation
between number of
times they used
videos to prepare for
the final and the final
exam score; however,
the 54 students who
used the videos 12 or
more times had a
mean score of 28.15
which was 2.5 points
higher than the
average score.
The purpose of this
Students in the
project was to develop
majors’ course
active-learning materials
exhibited a modest
and methods for two
increase in learning
large, lecture courses in
gains when using peer
biology and evaluate their instruction on in-class
effects on student
concept questions.
learning gains. The
Learning gains in the
instructor utilized peer
non-majors course
instruction on in-class
was influenced by an
clicker questions to
interaction between
improve student learning. teaching mode and
The study took place in
group gender.
BIOL 2108, a course for
Students in the
majors, and BIOL 1010, a
nonmajors’ course
non-majors course.
exhibited no
Students were presented improvement in
an average of about 5 and learning gains on
7 clicker questions per
clicker questions
class, and two types of
when using the peer
matched pair questions
instruction method.
were presented to
On post-surveys,
students: peer discussion students said that
(included instructor
hearing the concept
explanation and peer
explained by a peer
discussion techniques)
was helpful,
and control (included
particularly when they
instructor explanation
were confused about
a concept. This
methods only).
method allowed
help them prepare for the
College Algebra (MATH
1111) final exam. The
videos consisted of the
instructor working out
practice test problems
and giving explanations.
The instructor recorded
himself working out 160
problems on paper,
explaining each step as
well as how to use the
calculator.
Teaching more
by lecturing less:
Implementing
active-learning
techniques in a
large, lecture
course
Andrew
Edelman
23
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
students a less
stressful way to deal
with confusion than
asking the professor in
front of the entire
class. The negative
feedback comments
indicate that some
groups may be less
effective due to lack
of student
commitment to a
teaching method.
Online Math
Tutoring for
Introductory
Math
James Bellon
The purpose of this
project was to provide
online tutoring to
increase the passing rates
for students taking MATH
1111 and other core math
courses. Five student
assistants were hired as
online tutors. Each had
strong backgrounds in
core math and tutoring
experience. The software
provided several tools to
communicate and
facilitate ideas between
students and tutors.
These included live text
chat, live audio/video
(provided both parties
have the capability),
whiteboard which can be
used by both parties, a
graphing calculator tool,
as well as website and
application sharing.
As a tutor worked with
one student, other
students were able to
watch virtually.
There were a total of
130 online tutoring
sessions from 30
different students for
an average of 91
minutes per session
(total of 198 hours of
tutoring). About onethird of the users
were repeat users.
The DFW rate for
users was 13%, which
is significantly lower
than last year’s Spring
DFW rate (46%).
There was no
difference in average
final exam score
between users and
non-users.
24
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
The Effects of
Workshop
Attendance in
Physics
2211/2212 on
Student
Achievement
Julie Talbot
The purpose of this
project was to assess the
effectiveness of using
Physics workshops to
support student learning.
Workshop attendance
was not mandatory, but a
significant number of
bonus points were given
to encourage attendance.
The workshops were set
up so that students
worked in groups on a
variety of physics
problems. Each
workshop consisted of
students working a set of
problems related to the
topic(s) covered in lecture
that week. The problem
sets contained a mixture
of conceptual questions,
ranking tasks, estimation
questions, typical
homework problems, and
context-rich problems.
The
Effectiveness of
Interactive Tools
and
Collaborative
Strategies on
Student
Performance in
Christine M.
Rolka and Anja
Remshagen
The purpose of the study
was to assess the
effectiveness of
contextualized learning,
particularly the use of
robots and animations,
and collaborative learning
strategies on student
Students in PHYS 2211
who attended at least
two-thirds of the
workshops performed
better and passed at a
substantially higher
rate than those who
did not attend
workshops regularly.
The DFW rate, in
particular, is almost
double for the
students who did not
attend workshops,
compared with the
ones who did. The
course grades for
students who came to
workshop regularly
was over one letter
grade higher than for
the students who did
not attend regularly.
In PHYS 2212, the
DFW rate was lower
for workshop
attendees as well.
Workshop attendance
did not have a
noticeable effect on
conceptual
understanding. In
both courses, gains
were almost
indistinguishable
between those who
attended workshop
and those who did
not.
Results indicated no
statistically significant
differences in final
grade between the
two groups, though
grades were slightly
higher for students in
the animations with
25
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
Introductory
Computer
Science
performance. Students
attended twice-weekly
studio session where they
engaged in hands-on
activities in either
animations only or
robotics with animations.
Using Literature
to Promote
Algebraic
Thinking
Christopher
Jett
LEGO Science
Project
Danilo Baylen
and Cristine
Goldberg
The purpose the project
was to infuse literature
into an upper-level
mathematics content
course and expose preservice teachers to ways
to incorporate literature
into their pedagogical
practices to provide
students with access to
rigorous mathematics.
Literature was infused in
the course to make
explicit links to children’s
literature as a way to
promote algebraic
understandings and make
connections to other
areas. Students were
placed into literature
teams and made book
presentations as
literature circle teams.
The investigators in this
project focused on
students’ attitudes
toward science teaching
and perceptions about
various activities that
robotics group.
Additionally, what
appeared to have the
most impact on
student achievement
was attendance and
the hands-on
exercises. Students
reported they enjoyed
engaging in
interesting, real-world
applications of
learned concepts
because these
exercises helped them
see results and to
develop a product to
show others.
The incorporation of
literature in the course
influenced students’
thinking about
mathematics. Students
reported higher levels
of self- confidence in
mathematics and
expressed reduced
levels of mathematical
anxiety. Secondly,
students maintained
that the literature
aspect of the course
assisted with their
enthusiasm about
mathematics.
There were no
significant pre-post
differences in
students’ self-efficacy
in science teaching or
their attitudes toward
26
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
promote student
engagement in science
learning. Sixteen
undergraduate teacher
education students
enrolled in an MEDT 3401
Instructional Technology
course participated in this
project. All students
completed three preactivity surveys and three
post-activity surveys.
Also, students worked in
pairs to create an
instructional activity
focused on science and
using LEGOs with
technology. At the end of
the activity, students
wrote reflection papers
about the LEGO
experience.
Workshops in
Physical
Chemistry
Farooq Khan
and Lucy
Garmon
The goals of the project
were to introduce
“Workshops” in CHEM
3521 (Quantum
Chemistry) with an
emphasis on conceptual
learning and Fermi
problems; and
to develop modules that
enhance online delivery
of instruction in CHEM
3522 (Chemical
Thermodynamics) in
science or science
teaching. Students
reported that the
educational activities
that engage them in
learning science are
hands-on activities inclass exercises, small
group activities,
lecture, project-based
assignments, in-class
discussions and oneon-one tutorial. Early
childhood education
students’ top picks
were hands-on and inclass activities. Middle
grades education
student identified
small group activities.
Special education
students chose handson activities and oneon-one tutorial.
Participants identified
various benefits of
completing the LEGO
project especially in
planning a lesson,
teaching science,
integrating
technology, and using
non-traditional
instructional tools.
During 2012-2013, the
average scores on
standardized
examinations
(developed by the
American Chemical
Society and
administered as finals)
increased
substantially when
considered as
percentiles based on
national norms.
27
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
Enhancing Flash
Tutorials that
Teach
Conceptual
Concepts in
Computer
Science
Michael Orsega
Using Video
Podcasts to
Enhance
Student
Learning in
Introductory
Biology Labs
Nancy Pencoe
which workshops had
previously been
incorporated.
Project builds on previous
study using Flash tutorials
to supplement instruction
in an introductory
computer science course.
Four laboratory sections
were split into two
groups – one used the
Flash tutorial and the
other used a PDF
transcript of the tutorial.
The investigator in this
project developed
instructional podcasts for
students to study prior to
attending the laboratory
class, with the idea of
making better use of
laboratory time since
students will be prepared
to begin the laboratory
exercise immediately
upon arriving to the class
session.
28
Students in the Flash
tutorial group worked
significantly longer
(20.94 minutes) than
those in the PDF
group (16.62 minutes).
Students who used the
Flash tutorials also
made more pre-post
improvements in
learning than did their
PDF counterparts,
although the
difference was not
statistically significant.
Analysis is ongoing, as
these data are
unusually complex.
The Phase 2 mini-grants (see Table 21) were designed to help faculty members develop hands-on
materials that students could use to enhance their understanding of science and mathematics concepts
beyond the introductory courses. Thus, the Phase 2 mini-grants do not incorporate research studies that
examine pedagogical innovations. Faculty members will begin using the materials in Fall 2013.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
29
Table 21: FY13 Faculty Mini-Grant Projects (Phase 2 Mini-grants )
Project
Title
Faculty Investigators
Demonstrations and Projects Teaching Electricity
and Magnetism
Research Projects for Experimental Physics
Enhancing Advanced Analytical Chemistry
Improving Instruction in Nuclear Physics
Using Spectroscopy to Conceptualize Chemical
Kinetics
Videos to Invert the CS 3151 Classroom
Chestnut, Neal
Building Applied Skills in Energy: Photovoltaic
Panels
Rose, Shea (PI) and
Hollabaugh, Curtis (Co-PI)
DeSilva, Ajith
Gaquere, Anne
Hasbun, Javier
Hansen, John
Remshagen, Anja
2. State the funding rate for mini-grants at your institution (i.e. number of grants funded vs. total
number of proposals received)? Discuss how proposals were judged and awarded.
All proposals were reviewed by the three-member UWise leadership team (Gaquere, Mruthinti, Sykes)
using the RFP’s scoring rubric (see Table 22). The FY13 UWise program funded all 12 proposals. Although
there was no “competition,” faculty members understood that the award criteria were both detailed
and stringent; thus, weak grants were not submitted. All grants adhered to the detailed project
description and PIs participated in the year-long workshops conducted by the external consultant. In
essence, only highly qualified grants were submitted and funded.
Table 22: Review Criteria for Awarding Mini-grant Proposals
Criteria
Possible Points
Identified need is challenging and compelling.
15
Potential of the project to impact instruction and student learning.
15
Goals are significant and relate to the UWise (BOR STEM Initiative) goals.
10
Research questions are clear and measureable.
10
Plan includes activities that are based on identified need and will lead to successful
implementation of project.
30
Evaluation statement for this proposal is linked to the research questions.
10
Budget expenditures are reasonable, justified, and directly linked to proposed plan.
5
Plan for disseminating results
5
Total Possible Points
100
3. For any of the mini-grants listed, do you have evaluation data or other evidence suggesting the
efficacy of the projects? Also, please discuss the broader impacts for these projects (i.e. changes to
instructional approaches, changes to departmental policies, etc.).
Each mini-grant recipient completed a final research report that included results and conclusions. Each
report was reviewed to determine effects on teaching and learning. As outlined in the table of mini-
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
30
grant projects, most projects that focused on reducing DFW rates or increasing student achievement
resulted in positive gains for students. For example, in the project Workshop for Introductory Physics
(PHYS 1112) the percentage of students earning a grade of D or F or withdrawing from the class was
4.26% for workshop attendees, while it is 46.15% without workshop. A second project, which focused
on 2000-level physics courses (PHYS 2211 and 2212) resulted in a higher passing rate for students who
attended at least two-thirds of the workshops. Further, the DFW rate was double for non-workshop
attendees compared to the rate for students who were regular workshop attendees. A project on the
effects of supplemental instruction (SI) on students’ achievement in 1000-level math courses showed
positive effects. The course average for students who attended 15 or more sessions was 84%, compared
to 67% for students who attended between 1 and 14 sessions. For MATH 1111, the average final course
grade for high risk students who attended 15 or more SI sessions was 79.5. For MATH 1113 it was 79.1.
Faculty were also asked to complete a brief online survey about their experiences working on their
projects, the support received, additional support needed, perceptions of the research process, and
changes to teaching practices that resulted from their mini-grant work. Eight faculty members (67%)
completed the survey. Results revealed:
 75% agreed that engaging in the project helped them become a more effective teacher
 88% agreed that it increased their awareness of how to conduct research on instructional
practices
 75% agreed that it increased their interest in researching instructional practices
 50% agreed that it changed the way they thought about assessing student learning
 50% agreed that it changed the way they engaged with students
 63% agreed they would be interested in doing more research on their practices, even
without financial support
 100% said they would be interested in conducting more research on their instructional
practices either on their own (38%), one-on-one with a facilitator (38%) or as part of a small
group with a facilitator (25%).
When asked what they found most rewarding about conducting their mini-grant studies, faculty
provided comments such as:




Getting the department to institutionalize the changes.
Measuring the impact of my teaching practices on student success.
Probably reading the comments from students who said that it helped them.
The report. I was able to really delve into the results of the work that I did during the Spring
semester. It was extremely informative in terms of my teaching and what I was doing right and
not so well. In addition, I learned so much about statistics that I'd like to do more of it.
Faculty also indicated they felt supported in their projects through the facilitation, but some said they
could have used even more support. Going forward into FY14, this support will be provided by the
Director of UWG’s new Center for Teaching and Learning.
B. Service Learning Opportunities (i.e. FOCUS-derived projects)
1. Briefly describe the operation of your institution’s service learning opportunity or FOCUS-derived
project for FY2013, including the following:
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
31
a. Name of project(s) or other branding
UTeach. UTeach West Georgia is an innovative and highly successful teacher preparation program for
students majoring in science and mathematics and is one of three UTeach institutions in the state
selected to replicate the UTeach model. The national replication program was specifically created to
attract the widest range of bright science and mathematics majors into secondary teaching careers, to
prepare them with an advanced field-intensive curriculum, and to promote field retention through
induction support and ongoing professional development.
b. Key Partners for your Project (i.e. Departments/Schools at your institution, participating P-12
schools/school districts, area businesses, etc.)
UWG College of Arts and Humanities
UWG College of Education
c.
Data regarding participants (students taking part in project, number/classes of P-12 students
engaged through project, number of teachers taking part, etc.)
Whereas 20 UWise students sought out the UTeach experience in FY12, only one student from the FY13
cohort did so. The decrease is likely due to revisions in the program in Year 2 (2012-2013) that changed
the “workshop” format of the Summer Bridge Program to a credit-bearing, academic experience. These
purposeful changes were the result of solid data that identified challenges associated with the potpourri
of science and math content in the Summer 2011 workshop and Fall 2011 XIDS course. However, the
portion of that XIDS course that was successful (i.e., learning about K-12 teaching as a career) was not a
good fit in the new credit-bearing math course. Alternatively, faculty attempted to incorporate
exposure to K-12 teaching through several guest lectures during the 2012 Summer Bridge evenings.
However, the dramatically decreased participation of UWise students in the UTeach “try out” courses in
Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 make clear that this approach was not successful. This issue will be revisited as
the UWise faculty refine the program for the 2013-2014 academic year. Parenthetically, we note that the
XIDS course scheduled for Fall 2013 (Khan and Mruthinti, two concurrent sessions, N = 36) What do you
know about STEM professions? – per the writing of this annual report – has been revised to explicitly
incorporate two sessions taught by COE colleagues, as well as a service learning component worth 10%
of the grade.
d. Primary activities and their operation
UWise students who also participate in UTeach enroll in UTCH 2001 – and possibly UTCH 2002 – to “try
out” K-12 science and mathematics teaching under the supervision and instruction of the UTeach
Master Teachers.
e. Any outcomes data demonstrating the project’s efficacy or effectiveness.
One UWise student (FY12) has selected K-12 science and/or mathematics teaching as a viable career
option. This student is enrolled in the advanced UTeach courses. One FY13 UWise student enrolled in
the UTeach “try out” sequence (UTCH 2001 and 2002).
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
32
C. Institution-Specific Projects
1. Identify your institution-specific project(s) outlined in your proposal for FY2013 (i.e. 4-Year
Undergraduate Research Experience, Academy for Future Teachers, MESA, summer bridge
programs, peer learning communities, STEM tutoring/learning centers, etc.). Discuss any specific
branding.
2012 Summer Bridge Program: The UWise Summer Bridge Program is designed for incoming freshmen
who intend to major in a STEM field. During the month long summer bridge program conducted in July,
2012, the 27 students who took part in the Summer Bridge program were registered for university credit
bearing classes. All of the students were registered for XIDS 2100 Arts and Ideas: UWise, a three credit
hour course on critical reading and writing, which counts in area C2 of the core. All of the students were
also registered for XIDS 2002 What Do you Know About UWise?, a two credit hour course that included
instruction in essential topics from mathematics, science, education and cognitive coaching, which
counts in area B2 of the core. In addition, some students were also registered for a one credit hour
PWLA course to be eligible for Financial Aid. XIDS 2100 met for two and a half hours each morning, and
the XIDS 2002 class met for three hours each afternoon. Additionally, the students attended supervised
study halls and lectures by guest speakers. The students also took part in weekend excursions to the
Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA), the US Space and Rocket Museum (Huntsville, AL) and to a local
organic farm (Carrollton, GA). The content in the two XIDS class was connected to the weekend
excursions. UWise provided all expenses associated with housing and meals; further, the project paid
students a stipend of $300 for their work in providing evaluation data to help answer questions about
the effectiveness of the program.
2. Provide data regarding the level of participation in each of these projects (i.e. number of faculty
participants, number of student participants). Discuss their scope (i.e. oriented toward incoming
freshmen, upperclassmen, STEM majors, education majors, all students, etc.)
FY13 faculty participants (N = 39). See Tables 2-9.
FY13 paid student participant, excluding participatory evaluation (n = 52). See Tables 10-15.
FY13 Summer Bridge Program students (n = 29). Seventeen of these 29 are also included in the item
immediately above, which is entitled “paid student participant (n = 52).”
Roles of faculty and students are described above. All students are STEM majors, with approximately
60% of student participants being freshmen.
3. Discuss the activities and operation of your institution-specific project(s), including any efforts to
connect multiple projects for synergistic impacts.
The activities and operation of the institution-specific projects are described in detail in section 1(A) of
this annual report. UWise most obviously connects with UTeach for synergistic impact.
4. Provide any available outcomes data demonstrating the efficacy or effectiveness of the project(s).
Outcomes data are clearly described in section 1(B) of this annual report.
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
III.
33
Future Efforts
A. Please discuss dissemination efforts for best practices or research findings identified through
participation in the USG STEM Initiative.
UWG faculty members made multiple presentations about the UWise project at the International STEM
SoTL Conference at Georgia Southern University in March, 2013. Our external evaluator also presented
on the project at the STEM SoTL Conference.
B. Please identify any external grants (e.g. NSF, Department of Education, private/foundation) for
which you have applied based on support received for the STEM Initiative. Indicate whether any
applications have been successful.
NSF – WIDER Planning Grant (funding in progress, with a September 15, 2013 start date)
At the time of the submission of this report, UWG received notice from the National Science Foundation
that our NSF-WIDER grant has been recommended for funding with a start date of September 15, 2013.
The NSF WIDER program is designed to help institutions of higher education transform themselves into
supportive environments for faculty development.
The primary purpose of University of West Georgia’s Wider Implementation of STEM
Educational Reforms (WISER) grant builds on lessons learned from two years of implementation with the
USG STEM Initiative. WISER, a planning grant, is designed to examine ongoing teaching and learning
practices and innovations, and find ways to increase the institution’s commitment to supporting faculty
members in the use of evidence-based teaching and learning practices. Building on the success of recent
small-scale programs and initiatives to increase faculty use of these practices, the overarching goals of
this project are (1) to facilitate the creation of a shared vision across the STEM disciplines for using
evidence-based teaching and learning practices to (a) improve student learning, (b) increase the number
of majors, (c) increase retention and (d) increase timely graduation, and (2) to create a plan to
institutionalize this vision. The planning grant will be funded at $250,000 over two years.
The PI of the WIDER project, the Dean of the UWG College of Science and Mathematics, was the
UWise Project Coordinator for FY12. He remained an enthusiastic supporter of the UWise project in
FY13, although his new role as dean required him to relinquish oversight activities to two new cocoordinators (Gaquere and Sykes). Gaquere and Sykes, as well as UWise co-PI Mruthinti are co-PIs for
the NSF WIDER grant. The NSF grant builds upon the faculty development activities inherent in the minigrants in the UWise Initiative.
NSF Noyce Grant (funded)
The NSF Noyce grant for $1,198,667 runs from September, 2012, through August, 2017. The PI is Dianne
Hoff, Dean of the College of Education. The co-PIs are Christopher Tabit, Chair of the Department of
Biology, and Jill Drake, Professor of Mathematics Education. Christopher Tabit is also a co-Director for
UTeach.
The Noyce project at the University of West Georgia (UWG) in partnership with the Carroll County
School System and the Carrollton City Schools provides scholarships to 32 undergraduate students who
pursue their professional teacher certification as juniors and seniors and complete their STEM
baccalaureate degrees. In addition, the recruitment component of the UWG Noyce project gives meritbased stipends to 500 freshman and sophomore students to test-drive STEM teaching by
UWG UWise – USG STEM Initiative FY13 Annual Report (August 30, 2013)
34
enrolling in an introductory teaching course, participating in course-embedded early field experiences,
and earning a B or better in the course. It also supports 50 internships, which enables freshman and
sophomore students to work in STEM summer programs with in-service teachers and K-12 students.
Finally, the UWG Noyce project affords Noyce Scholars induction workshops and mentoring during their
first year of teaching.
The UWG Noyce project employs the UTeach teacher preparation model. Students major in
mathematics or a science discipline and earn their teaching credential through specially designed,
inquiry-based education courses. The project contributes to new knowledge by exploring two broad
questions: 1) What is the impact of student support systems on the teacher preparation experience for
Noyce Scholars? and 2) What is the impact of participation as a Noyce Scholar on their teaching and on
student learning? In order to answer these questions, long term data about students are collected to
assess supports that lead to graduation; pedagogical approaches for preparing STEM teachers; and the
impact on P-12 student achievement. Some of the data from this project contribute to UTeach national
data bases on STEM teacher preparation methods. Noyce Scholars, therefore, not only participate in
research-based preparation for teaching themselves, they also are part of ongoing research that informs
teacher preparation across the country.
NSF S-STEM (submitted)
This project, entitled “Scholarships to Motivate Academically Ready and Talented STEM Students” was
recently submitted, with a requested start date of July 1. The PI is Swamy-Mruthinti, the co-PI of the
UWise project. Co-PIs are Farooq Khan (dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and FY12
UWise program coordinator), and Scott Gordon (Associate Dean of the College of Science and
Mathematics).
This proposed project is designed to increase the number of low-income, underrepresented, and
academically talented students entering the STEM workforce, by providing a total of 100 scholarships
(over a period of 5 years), based on financial need. The recruitment efforts will give preference to
women opting for STEM fields, most particularly females who are underrepresented minorities. The goal
is to provide financial assistance coupled with student support services to enable these students to
graduate on time (in 5 years) so that they can enter the STEM workforce or proceed to graduate school.
C. Will your institution’s STEM Initiative program for FY2014 involve any notable changes from your
FY2013 program? If so, please explain any changes and the rationale for them.
After considerable dialogue among the faculty members involved in the 2012 Summer Bridge Program,
it was determined that the Summer Bridge XIDS 2002 class was trying to cover too many different
disciplines and topics. Students’ feedback indicated that the science topics seemed not to be related to
each other and that too little time was spent in each science discipline to do anything meaningful. The
faculty also arrived at a consensus that having a strong mathematics background is the key to students
performing well in all of their STEM classes. Based on all these observations, it was decided that in the
2013 Summer Bridge Program (FY14 UWise Program), the XIDS 2002 class would be replaced by MATH
1111 (College Algebra). The College Algebra class will frame problem solving with topics and
applications from the sciences since all of the UWise students will be math and science majors. The
mathematics faculty worked with faculty from across the College of Science and Mathematics to
determine appropriate applications and topics to incorporate into the UWise MATH 1111 curriculum.