A SMART decade: outcomes of an integrated, inclusive, first-year college-level STEM curricular innovation

Authors

Shannon Jones, University of Richmond
Alexis Blake, University of Richmond
Lesly Corado-Santiago, University of Richmond
Jasmine Crenshaw, University of Richmond
Emma Goldman, University of Richmond
Fernando Gomez, University of Richmond
Chelsea Hall, University of Richmond
Harry Hoke, University of Richmond
Stephen Holmes, University of Richmond
Benjamin Kornegay, University of Richmond
Priscilla Kwarteng, University of Richmond
Barry Lawson, Bates CollegeFollow
Meghan Leber, University of Richmond
Georges Leconte, University of Richmond
Erica Modeste, University of Richmond
Kristine Nolin, University of Richmond
Michael Norris, University of Richmond
Jose Santinni Roma, University of Richmond
Addison Swackhammer, University of Richmond
Marcella Torres, University of Richmond
Joanna Wares, University of Richmond
Dominique Ebony Williams, University of Richmond
April Hill, Bates CollegeFollow
Kathy Hoke, University of Richmond
Carol Parish, University of Richmond
B. Daniel Pierce, University of Richmond

Publication Title

Frontiers in Education

Document Type

Article

Department or Program

Digital and Computational Studies

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Keywords

course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), curricular innovation, HHMI, minoritized students, SALG, science technology engineering mathematics (STEM)

Abstract

In the early 2000s, our primarily undergraduate, white institution (PUI/PWI), began recruiting and enrolling higher numbers of students of color and first-generation college students. However, like many of our peer institutions, our established pedagogies and mindsets did not provide these students an educational experience to enable them to persist and thrive in STEM. Realizing the need to systematically address our lack of inclusivity in science majors, in 2012 faculty from multiple disciplines developed the Science, Math, and Research Training (SMART) program. Here, we describe an educational innovation, originally funded by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, designed to support and retain students of color, first generation college students, and other students with marginalized identities in the sciences through a cohort-based, integrated, and inclusive first-year experience focused on community and sense of belonging. The SMART program engages first-year students with semester-long themed courses around “real world” problems of antibiotic resistance and viral infections while integrating the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and an optional Computer Science component. In the decade since its inception, 97% of SMART students have graduated or are on track to graduate, with 80.9% of these students earning a major in a STEM discipline. Here, we present additional student outcomes since the initiation of this program, results of the student self-evaluative surveys SALG and CURE, and lessons we have learned from a decade of this educational experience.

Recommended Citation

Jones S, Blake A, Corado-Santiago L, Crenshaw J, Goldman E, Gomez F, Hall C, Hoke H, Holmes S, Kornegay B, Kwarteng P, Lawson B, Leber M, Leconte G, Modeste E, Nolin K, Norris M, Santinni Roma J, Swackhammer A, Torres M, Wares J, Williams DE, Hill A, Hoke K, Parish C and Pierce BD. 2023. A SMART decade: outcomes of an integrated, inclusive, first-year college-level STEM curricular innovation. Front. Educ. 8:1152339. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1152339

Copyright Note

This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Bates College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.

Required Publisher's Statement

Original version is available from the publisher at: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1152339