Meeting Abstract
STEM education is becoming increasingly important for succeeding in a society that depends on science and technology. However, STEM persistence rates in undergraduate programs are low, nationally in the range of 40%. A pedagogical shift towards more experiential, project-based education has shown to be successful in increasing STEM persistence rates, enhancing understanding of science, and increasing student’s motivation to learn. Building on a strong track record in undergraduate research we are implementing a place- and theme-based interdisciplinary project that spans all 4 years of undergraduate education in all STEM majors. We use our location at the mouth of the Saco River and the surrounding ecosystem as the overarching theme. Multiple existing lab activities and field trips in Biology, marine biology, environmental science, chemistry and physics are focused on the Saco River Ecosystem and new activities are implemented to investigate in an LTER-style the fresh and seawater systems surrounding the campus. Students collect data on water parameters, invertebrates, fish, algae, plankton, marsh diversity, plants, invasive species, and more. All data are available to students and faculty in a central database. Statistics courses will use student-generated data to show the applicability of the respective tests. Overall, we increase student engagement, satisfaction, and excitement for STEM and are working on assessing the respective impact on student retention. This place- and project-based interdisciplinary approach can be used as a blueprint for other programs and schools. Funded by NSF grant# DUE-IUSE 1431955.
