Promoting Student Success in Sciences Through Environmental Research and Local Partnerships

This project aims to serve the national interest by enhancing the student experience of two-year college students through the implementation of authentic research activities that connect STEM leaning to the local community. Leveraging the expertise of community partners, students engage in real-world research projects alongside local scientists while addressing environmental needs for the community. Specifically, the project aims to incorporate research into existing STEM courses as well as offer paid summer research opportunities. Another project component focuses on promoting successful transfer to four-year institutions by aligning the course curricula and learning objectives of the student's two-year college STEM program with the STEM program of a local university partner. In addition, the project provides guided, discipline-specific transfer advising support. Ultimately, project results have the potential to provide a model for a developing place-based research opportunities that accelerate student transfer and STEM degree completion. The goals of this project are to enhance student academic performance, improve science efficacy, and promote degree completion and transfer. To achieve these goals, the project utilizes a three-tier approach: 1) develop and implement eight freshman and sophomore-level Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in three different STEM disciplines, 2) provide paid summer research opportunities, and 3) articulate two major STEM transfer pathways to actively support students in navigating the transfer process to a partner four-year institution. Students in the CURE courses receive technical training while producing scientific data to specifically address Galveston Bay Foundation's local environmental management decisions and its reporting to local and state regulatory agencies. Assessment and evaluation efforts focus on identifying the impact of project components on self-efficacy, degree completion and transfer success. Findings from this project will inform the development of a model suitable for two-year college campuses and be made available to public through journal publications and conference proceedings. The NSF IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) Program seeks to accelerate the impact of and advance knowledge about emerging and evidence- based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.