A STEP to Grow in Science-Engineering-Mathematics Undergraduate Degrees
Kandethody Ramachandran a (PI), Catherine Bénéteau a, Scott Campbell b, Gordon Fox c, Arcadii Grinshpan a, Jennifer Lewis d, Marcus McWaters a
Departments of a Mathematics and Statistics, b Chemical Engineering, c Biology and d Chemistry
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Goal
Motivation
• At USF, six-year graduation rates are under 60% for STEM
majors while they are over 80% for business, nursing and
education majors.
• Passing rates (C or better needed to advance to the next
course) average 55% for Engineering Calculus I, II and III
and Life Sciences Calculus I and II.
• Students often change their major before even taking a class
in it, due to loss of motivation in basic science and math
courses and failure to see the relevance to their major.
A Sample Project
First Implementation – Fall 2008
The student was given data for the distribution of
particle nitrate (NO3-) in the atmosphere (left) and for
the collection efficiency of a nitrate sampler (right) as
a function of particle diameter.
•
Students in three sections of Engineering Calculus II and one
section of Life Sciences Calculus II were given the option of doing
a project instead of taking a final exam.
•
Forty-four engineering students and three life sciences students
submitted projects. The project reports were submitted in a
common format.
•
Of the 47 projects submitted, 37 were suggested by engineering
faculty, 3 from life sciences faculty and 7 from other sources,
including industry professionals, faculty in other disciplines and
the students themselves. A sample project is given to the right.
•
•
Preliminary polling suggests that approximately 100 Engineering
Calc II, 40 Engineering Calc III and 15 Life Sciences Calc II
students will select the project option.
Thrusts
• Introduction of “bridge” projects into Engineering
Calculus II and III and Life Sciences Calculus II by giving
students the option of replacing the final exam with a
project report.
Q1. "Student chose to ..."
100%
30%
90%
25%
80%
Frequency
60%
Engineering
50%
Life Sciences
40%
Peer Leading
• Undergraduate peer leaders lead weekly, 50 minute
cooperative learning inquiry sessions in Engineering and
Life Science Calc. I.
a lot easier
than
take a final exam.
Morning
Evening
No help session
or project
49%
45%
a little easier the same as a little harder
than
than
Engineering
Q4. Those taking Calc III, "… w ould prefer to take it w ith …"
Life Sciences
70%
60%
Frequency
50%
a final exam, but no
project.
40%
Engineering
30%
Life Sciences
20%
the option of choosing a project, but no final
either to take a final
exam.
exam or to do a
project.
Engineering
10%
0%
strongly
Life Sciences
somew hat
59% (help session)
67% (projects)
Faculty Survey Results – Fall 2008
85%
N/A
•
The management of the projects is difficult because
there are several different math instructors, a large
number of students, and a large number of faculty
from other departments who have suggested the
projects. We were able to obtain internal funding from
the university to develop a web application for the
management of these projects.
•
The application will function much like the reviewer
interface of a professional journal.
The experience of working with a student was
Percent
Help session
AND project
An Opportunity
not at all
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Interesting
Tolerable
A Nuisance
Response
Help session
OR project
Faculty are sometimes uncomfortable suggesting
projects because they don’t have a sense of how
difficult or involved they should be. We are
disseminating samples of both problem statements and
student solutions, the former via the project web site
and the latter via an electronic journal of the best
project reports.
a lot harder
than
Q5. "I w ould ______ recom m end doing a project to a friend."
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Rewarding
Section
•
10%
0%
do a project.
Calculus Passing Rates - 2006
Getting students in Life Science Calculus to choose the
project option is difficult. The results at left suggest
that this is because they believe the project will be more
difficult than the final examination. We plan to have
Life Sciences faculty speak to the calculus students
directly to “sell” the idea of doing a project.
15%
0%
Rationale
•
20%
10%
• Undergraduate tutors staff a “one-stop” tutoring lab
with evening and weekend hours .
• They provide assistance in calculus and in
introductory science courses such as chemistry, physics
and biology.
Getting faculty to volunteer to suggest projects is
difficult because it is not part of their assigned duties
and they are already overloaded. Attempts to recruit
via email failed. Now, we speak about the projects at
the faculty meetings of individual departments and
then speak to faculty one-on-one afterwards.
5%
30%
20%
STEM Mart
•
Q2. "A project is _____________ taking an exam ."
70%
• Curricula developed by faculty and graduate students focus
on guiding students to discover concepts of calculus prior to
lecture. Algebra and trigonometry warm ups are included.
Challenges in the
Project Thrust
Student Survey Results – Fall 2008
Project Based Calculus Instruction
• Integration of practical examples and “mini-projects” into
the classrooms of Engineering and Life Sciences Calc I.
The goal of the project was to calculate the fraction of
E
nitrate in the atmosphere that would be collected in this
sampler. The solution required numerical integration.
This problem is of importance to atmospheric scientists.
During the spring 2009 semester students in three sections of
Engineering Calc II, one section of Engineering Calc III and one
section of Life Sciences Calc II are being given the project option.
Frequency
To improve student retention in STEM disciplines, and thus
increase the number of graduates in STEM fields, by
reforming the curricula of the Engineering and Life Sciences
Calculus sequences at USF.
Frequency
A
Focus on Project Thrust
The survey was of engineering faculty who suggested projects. Some
found it to be a great mentoring opportunity. Common suggestions
included shifting the time frame, ensuring that faculty who suggested
the project see the final draft, and having sample problem statements
and solutions made available.
The National Science Foundation (grant DUE-0756847) and the College
of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and the Center for 21st
Century Teaching Excellence at the University of South Florida are
gratefully acknowledged for their financial support