This project is engaged in an initiative to recruit more students as majors in all areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) offered by the college. The initiative, called the STEM Talent Expansion via Applied Mathematics (STEAM), is bringing improved pedgogy to every potential STEM major and is establishing a culture of research in the STEM disciplines. The goal is to assist these students in the successful completion of STEM degrees.
The intellectual merit of STEAM lies in the recognition that interdisciplinary applied mathematics can be used as the core of an attractive professionally-oriented science curriculum. The appeal of applied mathematics lies in its universal applicability to all STEM majors and in the portability of the analytic, quantitative and computational skills inherent in applied mathematics to virtually any career. For the purpose of increasing the number of STEM graduates, emphasizing applied mathematic has the double benefit of addressing a major academic weakness of the existing STEM students and of appealing to a larger population of potential STEM students who fail to grasp the many career opportunities that grow out of a STEM degree.
The goals of the STEAM project are to: a) increase the population of incoming STEM students, b) help them overcome the early hurdles to success that are presented by their introductory math and science courses, and c) nurture them in their majors toward rewarding careers that utilize the skills and abilities they have acquired through STEM study, leading to increased numbers of STEM graduates. The STEAM initiative spans the entire academic experience of a STEM student, from recruitment to pre-major course work, to declaration of a major, to possible undergraduate research and finally to graduation. Together with the Discovery Institute at the college, STEAM is developing new resources for outreach to area high schools through campus visits, summer programs, and advanced coursework. STEAM is also working with existing CSI student support programs (freshman block programming, faculty mentoring, Honors College and Teacher Academy) to engage and retain a broad spectrum of potential STEM majors. STEAM is providing scholarship support to students and providing faculty with curriculum and professional development centered on applied mathematics.
The broader impact of STEAM is a result of the improved pedagogy in all of the introductory mathematics and science courses, courses taken by both STEM majors and many other majors at CSI, including business and education.
The unifying theme of the STEAM program at the College of Staten Island has been interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, viewed as the foundation of an attractive professionally-oriented science curriculum, suited to a population of urban students who typically are unaware of the career opportunities offered by a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education. The core of the proposal was the creation of a community of undergraduate STEM learners, who would be exposed repeatedly throughout their course of study to both the broad applicability of mathematical skills and quantitative modeling as well as to the research and professional activities of the STEM faculty on the CSI campus. The overall goal of the proposal was to significantly increase the throughput of STEM majors at the College of Staten Island, using a mix of curricular enhancements, learning communities, small scholarships and undergraduate research. Since the beginning of STEAM in Fall 2007, there has been a steady growth in the number of STEM majors, unlike the number of non-STEM BS-seeking majors. The total number of declared STEM majors since Fall 2008 has increased from 942 to 1,424 in Spring 2012, or 51.2%. Conversely, during the same period, the number of non-STEM, BS-seeking majors has remained essentially unchanged. Accordingly, the number of STEM graduates has increased from 96 to 137 in 2011-2012, a 43% increase that matches almost exactly the goal of a 10% annual increase that was set forth in the original proposal. Retention and choice of major have been compared for students in STEAM-supported learning communities and for comparable sections from previous academic years that did not receive STEAM support. The 2010 STEAM learning communities achieved 100% 1-year retention. The 2011 learning communities achieved 94% retention. A more striking difference can be observed in the number of students who chose a STEM major. While in the previous two years less that 50% of students in similar sections became STEM majors, 74% of students (who declared a major) in both the 2010 and 2011 STEAM learning communities decided to be STEM majors, a very significant increase. Data also show that STEAM-supported students were able to graduate in 4 years at higher rates than the control group. Overall, the available data show that STEAM has made good progress towards the two fundamental goals of the original proposal: an increase in the number of STEM graduates by 10% a year during the course of the grant, and an increase in the number of incoming student interested in STEM by 20% a year (as reflected in the number of declared STEM majors).
