Award Abstract #0336571
Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science

NSF Org:	DUE Division of Undergraduate Education
Initial Amendment Date:	September 24, 2003
Latest Amendment Date:	August 18, 2008
Award Number:	0336571
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Susan H. Hixson DUE Division of Undergraduate Education EHR Directorate for Education & Human Resources
Start Date:	January 1, 2004
Expires:	December 31, 2008 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$877093
Investigator(s):	Victoria Geisler vgeisler@westga.edu (Principal Investigator) Deborah Lea-Fox (Co-Principal Investigator) Sharmistha Basu-Dutt (Co-Principal Investigator) Michelle Joyner (Co-Principal Investigator) Muhammad Rahman (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	University of West Georgia 1601 Maple Carrollton, GA 30118 404/834-1311
NSF Program(s):	STEM TALENT EXPANSN PGM (STEP)
Field Application(s):	0000099 Other Applications NEC
Program Reference Code(s):	SMET, 9178
Program Element Code(s):	1796

ABSTRACT

Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science (GEMS) aims to recruit first-year academically talented students who have not chosen a major, and to positively introduce them to the sciences and mathematics. In addition, participation of first-year declared STEM majors in many of the same activities is expected to reduce the traditional attrition among this group of students. Providing enhanced academic and career advising and mentoring of these students, along with a first year summer research experience, is intended to increase the probability that these students will be retained and will become successful in one or more of the STEM disciplines. Great attention is being paid to the selection of students so they represent gender and ethnic diversity. In the first semester, students are taking an innovative course, Frontiers in Science and Technology, that exposes them to the excitement of the STEM disciplines, as well as an enhanced pre-calculus or calculus course with peer-lead team learning groups. During the second semester, students begin a science sequence (biology, chemistry, computer science, geology or physics) and continue in math. During the summer, following successful completion of their first year, students are eligible for a paid summer research experience upon successful completion of the required courses. These activities are expected to: (1) Enlarge the talent pool of STEM majors by recruiting more students of both sexes and of all ethnic backgrounds; (2) Generate enthusiasm for math and science in selected first year students who have not chosen a major; (3) Provide enhanced academic and career advising, as well as mentoring by STEM faculty; (4) Reduce the attrition of all undergraduate STEM majors; (5) Improve all students' success in key mathematics and introductory science courses, which can act as barriers to success in the STEM disciplines; (6) Enhance first year-science and math courses; (7) Support a summer research experience that inducts students into the scientific community, greatly influencing their major selection and generating interest in continuing research; (8) Provide opportunities for STEM students to serve as teaching assistants early in their careers. The intellectual merit of this project lies in developing an undergraduate education model that removes barriers to STEM careers, as identified by a wide body of research, while simultaneously identifying and recruiting talented, undecided students to experience this barrier-free environment. The findings are expected to shed light on the extent to which a discovery based interdisciplinary seminar, math intervention, and undergraduate research in the first-year of college positively influence students to engage and to persist in STEM degree programs. The cohort of GEMS students impacted during this project will serve as a dataset for publication and for refinement of future STEM recruiting and retention efforts. The broader impact of the project is the applicability of the model to other undergraduate institutions. The GEMS program results and the course material generated from the Frontiers in Science and Technology seminar will be made available to other institutions. The project expects to increase the number of graduating STEM majors each year by 25%.

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