This project is developing a university/community college partnership between the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Seminole Community College (SCC) that is designed to strengthen the mathematical foundations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) community college students. To achieve this goal, a number of important objectives are identified: 1. Creating Teaching Strategies incorporates an innovative partnership between a two-year institution and a research university through adaptation of the infrastructure of a successful NSF funded STEP program (EXCEL) at the partnering research university to better fit a two-year institution's setting. This is being achieved by developing a team-taught, STEM-interdisciplinary course sequence. The courses in this sequence are Applications of College Algebra, Applications of Trigonometry, and Applications of Pre-Calculus. 2. Developing Faculty Expertise at the community college by working jointly with EXCEL faculty and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) at UCF. 3. Creating a Learning Community of Learners and Scholars from SCC and UCF with the common goal of enhancing the mathematics abilities of college underclassmen through emphasizing applications of mathematics. This is further reinforced by the creation of a center on campus for these students. At the center students have a "home base" on campus where they may engage in group study and receive tutoring in their mathematics and applications of mathematics coursework.
Intellectual Merit: The collaborative effort is designed to implement and test educational practices at the community college, modeled after the EXCEL program. The effect of this educational model applied to diverse environments of learners and scholars (SCC and UCF) contributes to the knowledge base of undergraduate STEM education and advances identification of best practices in teaching mathematical applications to diverse student populations (community college and university students).
Broader Impacts: The university/community college partnership established in this project is intended to be a pilot program for future implementation at other universities in partnership with neighboring community colleges to improve mathematical foundations of STEM undergraduates. Because a significant number of the nation's community college students are from groups underrepresented in STEM fields, similar programs at community colleges all over the nation would broaden STEM participation among underrepresented groups.
