NSF Award
0929281
STEM STARS is an enrichment project that will advance the field?s knowledge of how Hispanic and Native American undergraduate students with disabilities successfully complete gateway Algebra, Pre-Calculus and Biology course given access to a unique group of student interventions and faculty training. NMHU is located in a rural, agricultural region of the state with nearly 70% students from Hispanic or Native American demographic backgrounds. The STEM STARS project is a proposal to implement evidence-based learning strategies for students with disabilities to double the percentage of minority students with disabilities in STEM majors from 4.8% to 9.6% at NMHU. This increase will be accomplished by implementing the following evidenced-based strategies for students with disabilities in two introductory Math and two introductory Biology courses: <br/><br/>1. Employ Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. UDL will be used in redesigning course syllabi.<br/>2. Training and support of faculty in the use of UDL in higher education STEM courses.<br/>3. Co-teaching and co-facilitating by Biology, Math and Special Education graduate student assistants serving as teaching assistants in the targeted Math and Biology courses.<br/>4. Peer assisted learning and mentoring.<br/>5. Career and internship advising by Accessibility Services Coordinator and Career Services staff.<br/>6. Assistive technology to enhance STEM courses and laboratories.<br/><br/>The proposed project has the potential of benefitting a wide range of students who are currently underrepresented in STEM fields. It is expected to bring about systemic changes in teaching and learning at NMHU. The dissemination of the lessons learned will be useful not only to NMHU faculty and administrators but also to other minority-serving institutions. The proposed techniques and strategies are applicable to pre-college, community college, and university level students with disabilities at all types of institutions. The project will yield invaluable information on bridging the gap between teaching and learning. In summary, implementation of the proposed teaching and learning strategies enhances the educational experiences of STEM faculty and provides students with learning opportunities not previously available in STEM courses at NMHU.<br/><br/>Dr. Christiane Herber-Valdez is the external evaluator for the project. Dr. Herber-Valdez has extensive experience evaluating the design, development and implementation of large scale federally funded grants, including initiatives funded by NSF and NIH. The project information and findings will be disseminated to the public via professional conference presentations, journal publications, and a project website.
