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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Stem Center For Student Retention And Success: A Proposal, Madhu Dhar Ph.D Apr 2017

Stem Center For Student Retention And Success: A Proposal, Madhu Dhar Ph.D

Higher Education Student Work

The STEM pipeline, a commonly used analogy (Kuh, 2006; Tierney, 2000), has been shrinking. Furthermore, degree attainment for women and underrepresented minority students in STEM are even lower than for undergraduates as a-whole (National Science Foundation, 2007). With low numbers of students enrolling in STEM fields and even smaller numbers of women and minorities in the STEM pipeline, colleges and universities need to pay particular-attention to retaining the students they have. This capstone proposes a STEM Center that provides an infrastructural support for undergraduate students in the School of Science and Engineering at Merrimack College. The Center will consolidate programs …


Integrating Lecture And Laboratory In Health Sciences Courses Improves Student Satisfaction And Performance, Kevin E. Finn, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Zi Yan Jan 2017

Integrating Lecture And Laboratory In Health Sciences Courses Improves Student Satisfaction And Performance, Kevin E. Finn, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Zi Yan

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Students often struggle in introductory health sciences courses; some students have difficulty in upper level classes. To address this, we converted three lecture/lab courses, traditional firstyear Anatomy and Physiology (A&P I), upper level Biomechanics, and upper level Microbiology to an integrated studio model. We used the Student Assessment of Learning Gains perceptual survey to assess student and instructor reactions to the change and analyzed rates of unsatisfactory grades and quiz performance. Reaction (220 students, 15 instructors) to the new model was highly positive, and performance improvement was seen. Student perceptions were consistent across courses and agreed closely with instructor perceptions. …


Impact Of The Siena College Tech Valley Scholars Program On Student Outcomes, Larry Medsker, Lee Allard, Lucas J. Tucker, Jodi L. O’Donnell, Rachel Sterne-Marr, Jon Bannon, Rose Finn, Allan T. Weatherwax Jan 2016

Impact Of The Siena College Tech Valley Scholars Program On Student Outcomes, Larry Medsker, Lee Allard, Lucas J. Tucker, Jodi L. O’Donnell, Rachel Sterne-Marr, Jon Bannon, Rose Finn, Allan T. Weatherwax

Physics Faculty Publications

The experimental group for this study included 38 students who entered the Tech Valley Scholars (TVS) program over the course of three academic years, from 2009-10 through 2011-12. Two groups of controls were used: a randomly selected sample of STEM students who matriculated in the same time frame; and a matched sample. The TVS students and controls were compared on two primary outcome variables: graduation (or retention to senior year), and final cumulative GPA. The major findings of this study are that (1) the TVS students had better outcomes than both the randomly selected comparison group and the matched control …


Study Of The Design Of A First Generation Community College Stem Learning Community, Susan M. St. Pierre Apr 2014

Study Of The Design Of A First Generation Community College Stem Learning Community, Susan M. St. Pierre

Higher Education Student Work

First generation students attending college have difficulties achieving academic success, engaging with their peers and persisting (Jehangir, 2010); are growing in number on college campuses; and are significantly underrepresented in STEM programs of study. This research examined the role that a STEM focused Learning Community (STEM LC) and student participation in Early College programs with STEM exposure have on first generation student achievement engagement and retention. The purpose of the project was to research and design a framework for a community college STEM LC for first generation students as a means to increase academic achievement and student retention for this …


Mathematics Placement Test: Helping Students Succeed, Norma Rueda, Carole Sokolowski Oct 2004

Mathematics Placement Test: Helping Students Succeed, Norma Rueda, Carole Sokolowski

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A study was conducted at Merrimack College in Massachusetts to compare the grades of students who took the recommended course as determined by their mathematics placement exam score and those who did not follow this recommendation. The goal was to decide whether the mathematics placement exam used at Merrimack College was effective in placing students in the appropriate mathematics class. During five years, first-year students who took a mathematics course in the fall semester were categorized into four groups: those who took the recommended course, those who took an easier course than recommended, those who took a course more difficult …