National Summer Transportation Institute: Increasing Career Awareness in Civil Engineering for Underserved High School Students

Our nation needs to increase the number of students pursuing degrees in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and those leading to transportation-related careers. In order to meet the demand for qualified graduates in transportation, it is necessary to diversify the pool of students entering college with an interest in these fields. The National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) is an educational initiative developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Department of Transportation (DOT). The NSTI at City Tech was designed to increase awareness of transportation-related careers among New York City high school students. The structure of City Tech’s NSTI includes lectures, field trips, projects, and laboratory activities that promote the growth of each participant and strengthen their academic and social skills. This NSTI program provides a model for broadening participation in STEM and building America\u27s STEM workforce

Mathematics Preparatory Workshops to Foster Student Success

Mathematics preparatory workshops were offered to college students at a diverse urban undergraduate institution. The goal was to prepare students for their mathematics course, by offering non-credit bearing and free preparatory workshops. The lack of adequate preparation for mathematics courses is a barrier for student engagement in future STEM courses. We believe that by providing preparatory workshops, we can improve not only the success but access for students in foundational mathematics courses. The workshops allowed students to engage with the course content in a rigorous and intensive manner prior to the start of the semester. Students who participated in the workshops are more likely to be better prepared when enrolled in the credit-bearing course

The Effects of Peer-Led Workshops in a Statics Course

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an 8% increase in employment for civil engineers is expected in the next decade.1 To assist in attracting more undergraduates to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering Technology, New York City College of Technology has implemented an instructional strategy in one of the main gatekeeper courses. Statics has been identified as a course where undergraduates either decide to retain in their Civil Engineering Technology major or transfer out to another one. To provide more support for undergraduates taking this course, the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) strategy was adopted. This study compared the final grade distribution of the Statics course in three categories: no PLTL, non-mandatory PLTL, and mandatory PLTL. These categories reflect the time periods of the Statics course where PLTL was not offered at all, when it was an optional support program, and when it officially became part of the curriculum. After analyzing the final grade distribution, results showed that the ABC pass rates of the mandatory PLTL sections were approximately 20% higher when compared to both the no PLTL and non-mandatory PLTL sections. Moreover, the withdrawal rates were approximately 10% lower for the mandatory PLTL sections when compared to the rates of the other two sections

Peer-led Team Learning Bridges the Learning Gap in a First-Year Engineering Technology Course

Electrical Circuits (EMT 1150) is a first-year engineering gateway course for Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EMT) associate degree students. It is a five-credit course with a combined lecture and laboratory components. Topics in the lecture portion introduces the physical basis and mathematical models of electrical components and circuits. The laboratory sessions of the course are performed on a breadboard using the digital multi-meter, oscilloscope, and function generator. In the past ten consecutive semesters, the average enrollment for EMT1150 was approximately 144 students per semester with an average of 73% passing with a D or better and 64% passing with a C or better. EMT 1150 has always been identified as one of the most challenging courses in the major. From the instructors’ perspective, the reason for the high failure rates is due to first-year students having to learn the language of engineering in a very short time; simultaneously, they need to develop good critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In this paper, the preliminary results of a new pedagogical approach that incorporates Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and discipline-specific literacy strategies to improve student learning will be presented. The proposed approach consists in a restructure of the course material and the introduction of recitation sessions integrated with the PLTL strategies. The new course design was piloted in a semester and the results were compared with other sections using a uniform final exam at the end of the semester. On average, the piloted PLTL sections performed approximately 15% higher than the non-PLTL sections

Peer-Led Team Learning in Mathematics: An Effort to Address Diversity and Inclusion Through Learning and Leadership

The Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) model has shown to be an effective instructional method to support females, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The collaborative problem-solving setting, led by a peer leader, fosters learning that engages all the students. There are six critical components that are vital to the PLTL model: 1) The PLTL Workshop is integral to the course; 2) Faculty is actively involved; 3) Peer Leaders are well trained; 4) The PLTL Workshop modules are challenging; 5) PLTL workshops are allocated time and space; and 6) There is institutional support. City Tech has implemented the PLTL workshops in selected foundation mathematics courses over the past five years because of the dismal pass and withdrawal rates. Overall results have shown that females, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students who actively participated in the PLTL workshops have higher course grades and lower withdrawal rates. Students are also afforded the opportunity to participate in the PLTL Leadership program. Through the PLTL Leadership program, females, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students (107 peer leaders in total) who have successfully completing their STEM degrees, are either in the STEM workforce or pursuing advanced STEM degrees. The PLTL model supports students who are academically disadvantaged, and provides students with an opportunity to build their leadership skills and to create a pathway to graduate school

Inhibition of the inositol kinase Itpkb augments calcium signaling in lymphocytes and reveals a novel strategy to treat autoimmune disease

Emerging approaches to treat immune disorders target positive regulatory kinases downstream of antigen receptors with small molecule inhibitors. Here we provide evidence for an alternative approach in which inhibition of the negative regulatory inositol kinase Itpkb in mature T lymphocytes results in enhanced intracellular calcium levels following antigen receptor activation leading to T cell death. Using Itpkb conditional knockout mice and LMW Itpkb inhibitors these studies reveal that Itpkb through its product IP4 inhibits the Orai1/Stim1 calcium channel on lymphocytes. Pharmacological inhibition or genetic deletion of Itpkb results in elevated intracellular Ca2+ and induction of FasL and Bim resulting in T cell apoptosis. Deletion of Itpkb or treatment with Itpkb inhibitors blocks T-cell dependent antibody responses in vivo and prevents T cell driven arthritis in rats. These data identify Itpkb as an essential mediator of T cell activation and suggest Itpkb inhibition as a novel approach to treat autoimmune disease

The peer-led team learning leadership program for first year minority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students

Retaining students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields has been a challenge in the United States (U.S.). More startling is the lack of diversity across most of the STEM disciplines. Underrepresented minority groups majoring and graduating in STEM are reported to be far below the national benchmark, and it is not proportionally reflected in the overall national population. To support students in STEM, New York City College of Technology of the City University of New York has designed a Peer-Led Team Learning Leadership Program (PLTL) that recruits and trains upper freshmen majoring in STEM, particularly those who are underrepresented, to facilitate peer-led workshops in foundational STEM courses in chemistry, civil engineering, and mathematics. Results showed the PLTL Leadership Program to be highly effective for first-year underrepresented minority STEM students. First-year students self-reported the peer leading experience had strongly improved their own understanding of chemistry, engineering, and mathematics concepts, and their confidence in these subject areas was significantly increased. They also indicated gains in their confidence in public speaking and in their leadership, communication, and facilitation skills

A Comparative Study of Incidence of Domestic Violence between Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Women in the United States of America

Immigrant women in the USA come from various socio-economic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Some of these women suffer from domestic violence; however, due to their strict cultural or social structure, they often stay quiet and rarely report these incidents to the authorities. Additionally, since these immigrant women face more challenges than their non-immigrant peers, they are more reluctant or unlikely to leave their abusive partners. An analysis was completed using published data as an attempt to establish if any statistically significant differences exist between reported incidences among immigrant women and non-immigrant women. A chi-square analysis (χ2 = 14.53; p-value = 0.0023 \u3c 0.01) reveals that the variation of intimate partner violence incidences among immigrant and native populations is too large to have occurred by chance alone. Comparisons based on gender, marital status, and residency statuses are also studie