Implementation Project: Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Research-Based Experiential Learning into STEM Curriculum to Enhance Education and Student Retention

Implementation Projects in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research. This implementation project at Tennessee State University aims to strengthen undergraduate engineering education and improve student retention. The project will provide students with a coordinated series of support offerings that begin before college and continue through graduation. Throughout each stage, students will leverage artificial intelligence through the use of adaptive computer-based tools that provide personalized feedback and support conceptual understanding, while instructors continue to guide learning, mentor students, and oversee decision-making. This project is positioned to examine how a developmentally sequenced, technology-supported experiential curriculum affects undergraduate engineering students' overall preparation for the workforce. The goals of the project are to: 1) engage students in an exploration program that strengthens mathematics preparation for entering students; an intensive winter session that reinforces early coursework; (2) redesign curriculum to advance deep learning of engineering concepts (3) advance mentoring and professional development designed to support research preparedness, and (4) examine the impact of both stage-specific and cumulative effects of the curriculum on academic performance, engineering identity, self-efficacy, and professional skill development. The successful completion of this project has the potential to impact a thousand students in Tennessee while advancing knowledge and understanding in engineering education. The project is expected to generate new evidence on how personalized, technology-supported learning contributes to conceptual understanding and reasoning in engineering, how staged experiential learning environments influence persistence and belonging, and which instructional models most effectively increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Findings from the project are expected to inform institutional practice at Tennessee State University and will provide evidence-based findings for institutions seeking to improve educational outcomes in technology-supported education. 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.