Concurrent – Institutional Initiative Session

General Information:

Program Chair: Yes

Session Topic: Academic Success in STEM

Session Title: Interactive Teaching and Advising Support STEM Success

Institution: Boston University

Institution Affiliation: Private, not for profit

Institution Type: Four-year

Institution Enrollment: More than 20,000

Special Serving Institution: No

If other, please specify:

Position Title: Chair, Boston University Science & Engineering Program

First Name: Carla

Last Name: Romney

Address: 808 Commonwealth Avenue Room 243

City: Boston

State: MA

Zip: 02215

Country: United States

Phone: 617-358-5959

Fax: 617-358-4484

E-mail:

Biographical Sketch of Program Chair:

Carla holds BSEE, ME, and DSc degrees in STEM fields, serves as Chair of the Science and Engineering Program, and is Assistant Dean at Boston University School of Medicine. She mentors and advises undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields and teaches introductory mathematics courses. She has developed the tablet PC enriched learning environment and an integrated approach to teaching and advising that are the hallmarks of the Science and Engineering Program.

Audio/Visual Equipment Needed:

LCD (Data) projector

Screen

Session Abstract:

SEP’s two-year transitional program provides enhanced academic support to students who are interested in STEM fields but lack credentials for direct admission into these majors at our institution. The session will demonstrate the use of tablet PCs to enhance academic success in STEM and discuss SEP's integrated approach to teaching and academic advising within a tight-knit supportive community. This integrated approach improves the academic performance of these at-risk first-year students.

Evidence of Assessment:

While we appreciate the challenges in conducting educational research, we have made a concerted effort to develop the tablet PC implementation project using a matched case-control study design with a mixed methods (i.e., quantitative and qualitative) assessment. We have controlled for student-level variables such as prior academic preparation, initial academic interest, and male:female ratio. We also controlled for staff-level variables since the same instructor and advisor worked with these students. We controlled for course-level variables such as class size, textbook, content coverage, examinations, and grading rubric.

We are expanding this study in Fall 2009, since the same instructor and advisor are working with a new cohort of 30 students. We are also conducting a longitudinal analysis of the outcomes from the first tablet PC cohort and will have data on these students at the end of the fall semester. If the reviewers have suggestions for additional assessments that they would like to see us include, we will administer them and present the findings.

Detailed Summary:

Boston University’s Science and Engineering Program (SEP) is a two-year transitional program that provides academic support to students interested in STEM but who lack credentials for direct admission into these majors. SEP is unique because it has a dedicated Academic Counselor who teaches a required first-year seminar and students see the Academic Counselor as a faculty member.

SEP’s faculty members are outstanding teachers and they teach the introductory courses to ensure exemplary classroom experiences. SEP recently received a grant to transform its introductory mathematics course by incorporating Tablet PCs for note-taking and in-class problem solving, including the display of student work so that students learn from one another. Class recordings are posted as Flash files on the course website.

Since SEP faculty members share observations about student performance with the Academic Counselor, academic interventions are made prudently. Data from the Tablet PC implementation suggest that student engagement is higher in Tablet PC classes than in conventional "chalk talk" classes of the same size offered by the same instructor in prior years. "Hits" on the website increased (4884 hits with Tablet PC class vs. an average of 2307 hits in prior three years). Attendance was slightly improved (99% vs. 96%) and academic performance was also better (0 withdrawals and 1 C- out of 20 students in Tablet PC course vs. 5 withdrawals, 5 D, and 3 C- grades out of 56 students in prior three years).

SEP’s success in retaining first-year students in STEM derives from its integration of academic advising, STEM instruction, and community building. Retention in STEM is a major national challenge, especially for at-risk first-year students who might abandon STEM for non-technical majors. SEP addresses this urgent need by providing coordinated academic advising and an innovative learning environment to engage first-year students and promote their academic success.

Implications for Institutional Improvement or Advancement:

The data included in this presentation will advance institutional programs because the results indicate that a coordinated advising and innovative technology-rich learning environment can retain first-year students in introductory mathematics and thereby STEM fields. As tablet PCs become more affordable and widespread later this year as a result of the introduction of Windows 7 (completely pen-enabled) and the anticipated launch of an $800 Apple tablet PC in December 2009, we expect that many educators, IT staffers, and higher education administrators will look at these computers and their role in providing a better means of note-taking and lecture-delivery. We expect that these stakeholders will also be forced to consider their existing computer requirements for first-year students. Many will consider tablet PCs, since they are more powerful and useful than netbooks and conventional laptops and will cost no more than these machines. This presentation will likely be one of the only sessions to present data on the impact of this technology. Ideally, we would like to create a hands-on session during the meeting so that participants can try the technology for themselves. If internet access is available, we propose to make this session an interactive one by using the tablet PC classroom software to present the session.

Additional Presenters:

Yes

Presenter 1

First Name: Cathy

Last Name: Lysy

Title: Senior Academic Counselor, Science and Engineering Program

Institution: Boston University

Address: 808 Commonwealth Avenue Room 245

City: Boston

State: MA

Zip Code: 02215

E-mail Address:

Phone: 617-353-0935

Country: United States