Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM.

Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-convened by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-review current data and propose deliberation about why the academic "pathways" leak more for URM than white or Asian STEM students. They suggest expanding to include a stronger focus on the institutional barriers that need to be removed and the types of interventions that "lift" students' interests, commitment, and ability to persist in STEM fields. Using Kurt Lewin's planned approach to change, the committee describes five recommendations to increase URM persistence in STEM at the undergraduate level. These recommendations capitalize on known successes, recognize the need for accountability, and are framed to facilitate greater progress in the future. The impact of these recommendations rests upon enacting the first recommendation: to track successes and failures at the institutional level and collect data that help explain the existing trends

Improving First-year Success and Retention through Interest-Based CS0 Courses

Many computer science programs suffer from low student retention rates. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, academic performance and retention rates among first year computer science students are among the lowest on campus. In order to remedy this, we have developed a new CS0 course featuring different tracks that students can choose from (e.g. robotics, gaming, music, mobile apps). This allows students to learn the basics of programming, teamwork, and college-level study in a domain that is of personal interest. In addition, the course relies on classic Project-based Learning (PBL) approaches as well as a focus on both academic and non-academic factors shown to increase student retention. Initial assessment demonstrates positive results in the form of increased academic performance in post CS0 courses and student retention

Question Driven Introductory Programming Instruction: A Pilot Study

For most beginners, learning computer programming is a complex undertaking. Demotivation and learned helplessness have been widely reported. In addition to the subject’s complexity, low in-class involvement has been linked to poor student performance. This work introduces a novel instructional technique called Student-Driven Probe Instruction (SDPI) to address the low levels of in-class involvement in basic programming courses. The concept was straightforward: rather than the teacher lecturing/explaining material to the class and requesting questions, the students were shown a piece of code or other relevant material and given the opportunity to ask questions first. Explanations followed only after the questions had been asked, not before. Participation was tracked through two metrics: the number of questions asked in class and emails/Slack contacts with the instructor. Significant improvements were recorded for in-class participation. Average quiz scores also improved meaningfully. According to a course evaluation survey, students favored SDPI over the conventional lecture format since it piqued their interest in the material and gave them the confidence to ask questions in class

BIOS: a one-week pre-freshman biology boot camp as a tool to increase student success and retention in the biological sciences major

The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program was designed to assess the impact of a five-day intensive pre-freshman program on success and retention of biological science majors at a large research university. The program combined content lectures and examinations for the Introductory Biology course for Science Majors, as well as learning styles assessments and informational sessions to provide the students with a preview of the requirements of biology, and the pace of college. Students were tracked following their BIOS participation. In the pilot year of the program the BIOS participants performed significantly better on the first and second exams, had a higher course average, and had a higher final grade than the control group. These students also had higher success rates (grade of A, B or C) during both the Fall and Spring semesters and remained on track through the first semester of their sophomore year to graduate in four years at a significantly higher rate than the control group. As the students progress through their college careers BIOS participants show increased retention in the biology major and remained on track to graduate in four years than students who did not participate in BIOS. The BIOS program has been shown to be a very effective orientation for incoming freshman science majors at a large research university. This one-week “boot camp” was originally designed to ease the transition from high school to college, but has proven to have a positive effect on the long term success and retention of students in the biological science major. While summer-long bridge programs are difficult to fund and staff with large numbers of students, and first semester programs offer help too late for many students, a one-week “boot camp” can be feasible at large universities and provide help for students before they make their first semester mistakes. BIOS organizers have compiled useful information for college departments that wish to replicate a pre-freshman boot camp

Demography Is Not Destiny: Increasing the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students at Large Public Universities

Analyzes retention policies and practices at four-year institutions with high percentages of low-income students, and considers the feasibility of replicating efforts to improve graduation rates that have been successful at smaller institutions

The Michigan Robotics Undergraduate Curriculum: Defining the Discipline of Robotics for Equity and Excellence

The Robotics Major at the University of Michigan was successfully launched in the 2022-23 academic year as an innovative step forward to better serve students, our communities, and our society. Building on our guiding principle of "Robotics with Respect" and our larger Robotics Pathways model, the Michigan Robotics Major was designed to define robotics as a true academic discipline with both equity and excellence as our highest priorities. Understanding that talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not, the Michigan Robotics Major has embraced an adaptable curriculum that is accessible through a diversity of student pathways and enables successful and sustained career-long participation in robotics, AI, and automation professions. The results after our planning efforts (2019-22) and first academic year (2022-23) have been highly encouraging: more than 100 students declared Robotics as their major, completion of the Robotics major by our first two graduates, soaring enrollments in our Robotics classes, thriving partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This document provides our original curricular proposal for the Robotics Undergraduate Program at the University of Michigan, submitted to the Michigan Association of State Universities in April 2022 and approved in June 2022. The dissemination of our program design is in the spirit of continued growth for higher education towards realizing equity and excellence. The most recent version of this document is also available on Google Docs through this link: https://ocj.me/robotics_majorComment: 49 pages, approximately 25 figure