Target Infusion Project: Enhancing Recruitment, Retention and 4-Year Graduation Rates through Critical Thinking, Research Engagement, and STEM Community Building at UMES

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), through Targeted Infusion Projects, supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based, innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. The goal of this project is to strengthen student success by improving engagement, retention, and timely graduation at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The project will focus on gateway physics courses, where many students encounter academic challenges that can delay progress toward science degrees. The project will transform physics learning to be more active, welcoming, and connected to real-world applications through guided discussions, visual concept questions, hands-on experiments, preparatory videos, mentoring, and early research exposure. Local middle and high school students and teachers will also participate through campus visits and teacher training activities, helping to build stronger pathways into STEM fields. These efforts have the potential to build student confidence, increase academic achievement, and prepare students for future careers in STEM. The project aims to accomplish this goal by redesigning the algebra-based and calculus-based physics courses by integrating active learning, visual concept questions, discovery-based laboratories, and combined tutorial and laboratory sessions. Students will engage in structured problem solving, data analysis, experimental design, group discussion, written communication, and oral presentation. New hands-on experiments, including low-cost cell-phone-based physics activities, will connect course concepts to authentic research and modern scientific practice. The project has the potential to contribute to undergraduate STEM education by demonstrating a scalable model for integrating modern training models into physics courses. The project is expected to improve student engagement, strengthen the physics curriculum, support retention in science fields, and provide a model for other institutions seeking to improve undergraduate physics education and increase participation in the STEM workforce. 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.