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Center for Promoting STEM

The Center for Promoting STEM aims to encourage and enhance student success and persistence in STEM fields by providing a supportive learning environment and offering programs such as mentoring, study sessions, and peer-led learning. Our goal is to help students develop critical skills to succeed in STEM and improve retention rates.

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Center for Promoting STEM

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  1. Center for Promoting STEM Joseph Kotowski, Michael Farquhar, Gloria Liu, Robert Sompolski, and Carol Ward Oakton Community College Board of Trustees Meeting April 20, 2010

  2. Top Challenges of the 21st Century • Make solar energy affordable • Provide energy from fusion • Develop carbon sequestration methods • Manage the nitrogen cycle • Provide access to clean water • Restore and improve urban infrastructure • Advance health informatics • Engineer better medicines • Reverse-engineer the brain • Prevent nuclear terror • Secure cyberspace • Enhance virtual reality • Advance personalized learning • Engineer the tools for scientific discovery National Academy of Engineering 2008

  3. Industry and Government Careers Middle/High School Undergrad Program Graduate Study Academic Careers STEM Pipeline Curious, intelligent children PracticingSTEM professionals MWGCP Forum, Apr. 8, 2010

  4. National Science Foundation Grants at Oakton APEX Scholarship $580,550 S-STEM Grant DUE- 0728432 in 2007 - 2012 Center for Promoting STEM $249,992 & $797,794 STEP Grants DUE-0230682 & DUE-0622329 in 2003 - 2011 Undergraduate Research Collaborative $2,200,000 URC Grant CHE-0629174 in 2006 - 2010 A Team Approach to Reform $199,920 Course & Curriculum DUE-9652170 A Collaborative and Technological Environment for Teaching Math $40,000 Undergrad Instrm & Lab Improve DUE-975122 Consortium to Improve Chemistry $238,230 Course & Curriculum DUE-9752885 Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics Scholarship $144,342 CSEM Grant DUE-9986892

  5. Center for Promoting STEM Encourage and enhance student success and persistence Strengthen an existing supportive and rewarding learning environment Help create STEM-literate citizens Distribute successful results

  6. Mentoring Program(SMP) Goal:  To help new STEM students settle into Oakton, to create a knowledge sharing environment, to help STEM students develop critical skills to succeed in STEM, to help students develop a STEM career, and to improve retention in STEM. Outcome: In 2008-2009, the average GPA of SMP participants before the semester is 2.63, while at the end of semester the average GPA is 3.16.

  7. Study Sessions - Trained facilitators develop and integrate learning and study strategies in voluntary sessions outside class. Outcome: In all cases, a greater frequency of attendance was associated with higher grades and GPA’s. Academic Support Peer Led Learning - Trained facilitators develop and integrate learning and study strategies in required part of class. Preliminary Outcome from an Intermediate Algebra PLL class: Students in the PLL class received more points on test questions than students in the control group.

  8. Teams of industry professionals and Oakton STEM faculty develop and present work-based, hands-on learning modules to high school students and teachers. Student-Industry-Teacher Simulations (SIT-SIMs) • 2010 SIT-SIMs Topics • Air and Light in Action • FISHing for Genes • What’s in My Environment • Can You Take the Heat • What’s in My Food

  9. Enrolled Pass Failed Treatment 18 13 5 72.2% 27.8% Control 29 18 11 62.1% 37.9% Goal: To introduce more context-relevant experience into the classroom. Problem Based Learning (PBL) Preliminary Outcome: Spring 2009, two human genetics classes taught by same instructor

  10. Goal: • To encourage discussion among area faculty, administrators, and counselors on strategies to increase STEM majors. • Topics • Problem-Based Learning (2007) • Deb Gerdes, Illinois Math and Science Academy • Engaging Students in STEM (2008) • Ruth Williams & Majid Ghadiri, Oakton • Effective Strategies to Anxiety (2009) • Dr. Patrick McGrath, Alexian Brothers Conference for Promoting STEM

  11. 2009 MAT051 Enrolled Passed Fail Incomplete Treatment 48 40 8 0 83.3% 16.7% 0.0% Non-Treatment 361 231 126 4 64.0% 34.9% 1.1% Elementary AlgebraMAT051 Goal: To address the traditionally low retention rates and pass rates of this course. Preliminary Outcomes:

  12. Elementary AlgebraMAT051

  13. STEM Student Experiences

  14. Sustainability-tapping into and building onto • What it means to have a “Center” • Event funding (SIT Sims, CoPS) • Professional development programs (PBL) • Student success initiatives (mentoring) • Existing programs – sabbaticals, learning communities, faculty fellows programs… • Future grant opportunities – internal and external

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