Discipline: Mathematics and Statistics
Subcategory: STEM Science and Mathematics Education
Katharina Wollenberg Valero - Bethune-Cookman University
Co-Author(s): Martine Levy Nelson, Franchelle Winder, Ada Harvey, Kelly Carey, Sulakshana Sen, Sarah Johnson, Thomas Roper, Hector Torres, Seenith Sivasundaram, and Raphael D. Isokpehi, Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, FL
Several national reports have identified that success in mathematics courses in the first two years of college correlates with retention and graduation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Furthermore, collaboration with mathematics faculty is recommended as a strategy to improve mathematics success for college students. At Bethune-Cookman University, a private HBCU in Florida, math and biology faculty have established multidimensional collaborations intended to improve academic success of students. In the Fall 2015 semester, several activities were accomplished. Collaborating Math faculty who teach lower-level math courses incorporated data from biological research into course topics and assignments. The learning dispositions including metacognitive strategies were assessed in selected math courses. A math faculty is now serving as Campus Champion for the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). Students in a first year math course had a collaborative problem-solving with biology majors enrolled in a senior year genetics course. Finally, a data analytics research training workshop series was offered to undergraduates. Future plans include: (1) the infusion of computer-based cognitive tutors to learning experience especially learning of statistical analysis; and (2) the development of infrastructure for building scientific argumentation expertise of undergraduate students. The overall impact of this math-bio faculty collaboration at Bethune-Cookman University is being evaluated.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): Increasing College Opportunity Through Improved Mathematics Success in the First Two Years of College (NSF 15-026). Supplemental Funding to Targeted Infusion Project HRD-1435186 funded by the HBCU-UP of the National Science Foundation.
Faculty Advisor: None Listed,