Outreach
Making a larger impact through education
The PODS Online Curriculum Model: Improving STEM Education in US.
The PODS online curriculum model has the potential to significantly impact U.S. STEM education at various levels. The focus on early career STEM undergraduate majors is a test of different approaches to reduce attrition rates in STEM fields. The progression of data-related courses and research projects has an emphasis on problem-based instruction is an intriguing application of recommendations of discipline-based research (DBER) [Singer et al., 2012; Kober, 2015] and the STEM Undergraduate Model [BHEF, 2013]. The modular design of the courses, built on problem-based learning, place-based education and learning cycles, makes the PODS instruction model portable to other geographic environments and scaleable to different education levels. We also adapt a professional development model used for K-8 educators by the GEMS-Net Program in southern Rhode Island to the development and implementation of the PODS curriculum to explore methods for transitioning university faculty to active learning classrooms and pedagogical best practices. The GEMS-Net program is one of the few NSF-Funded Local Systemic Change Initiatives that has been sustained beyond the initial funding (12 years so far) through school district funding and professional development provided by the University of Rhode Island.
The attrition rate of STEM majors from 2003-2009 ranged from 48% at 4-year colleges to 69% at 2-year colleges [Chen, 2013]. The vast majority of students leaving STEM fields at the 4-year colleges also occurred in the first two years of college (Fig. 4). Our analysis of STEM majors at URI over the past 10 years suggests slightly better STEM retention, but 30-40% of students still leave STEM fields in the first two years. The reported factors causing students to leave include, 1) the intensity of STEM courses in the first year, 2) the intensity of math classes in the first year, and 3) the overall level of success in STEM courses [Chen, 2013]. We anticipate the PODS curriculum can reduce attrition rates by providing a direct application and purpose for the student’s other science and math courses.
The principal tenets of DBER [Singer et al., 2012] include,
· making lectures and classes more interactive,
· having students work in groups, and
· incorporating authentic problems and activities.
Interestingly, the “interventions” proposed by the STEM Undergraduate Model [BHEF, 2013] are very similar and include,
· course redesign to induce active engagement
· student learning communities to support group work across multiple courses, and
· research internships.
The combination of field studies, group projects with teams of 3-5 students, and problem-based activities throughout the sequence of courses is exactly what DBER recommends. The multiple course strand and undergraduate research opportunities address the proposed interventions of the STEM Undergraduate Model.
A fundamental aspect of our project is to use the natural draw of the Rhode Island’s coastal region combined with a range of authentic data collection and active learning to engage STEM students. For example, traditional instruction methods use high-cost instruments or existing data that tend to be “black boxes” to students. The cost of damaging any of these instruments tends to preclude the kind of meaningful, hands-on engagement that captures the imaginations of early STEM students. While we plan to use some sophisticated equipment (e.g., ADCPs, multibeam, LiDAR, Robo-Yaks), a hallmark of our project is developing active learning approaches for low-cost, distributed data systems (e.g., tilt current meters, Lagrangian drifters) for truly engaging early career STEM students. Both instrument types have been used successfully by the PI team in research and for capturing the imaginations students/classes from middle school to continuing, adult education. In addition, PODS online tests other low-cost ocean data gathering methods, such as a radio-controlled “fleet” of oceanographic sensors, as a low-cost alternative to the state-of-the-art and high-cost Robo-Yak (Figure 2).
The problem-based learning (PBL) model proposed for this project is consistent with a primary recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report to replace standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses [Olson and Riordan, 2012]. A place-based education (PBE) model takes advantage of Rhode Island’s coastal setting to expose students to a range of dynamic marine environments. The region obviously lends itself to instructional content that is consistent with topics of interest to Navy. Students are also naturally drawn to the beauty and character of coastlines and the ocean. Whereas, PBE is most often associated with K-12 educators linking instruction with the local environment [Sobel, 2004], the general approach is scalable to undergraduate and graduate education. An awareness of the PBE approach facilitates the relocating of the instructional model to a different environment or geographical setting. For example, adapting portions of the PODS curriculum for students at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, RI would seem to be an interesting test of the portability and/or scaling of the curriculum.
