Integrating Evidence-based Learning in Engineering and Computer Science Gateway Courses

Gateway Courses generally refers to the courses that are crucial for students to progress through their chosen majors. The successful completion of the gateway courses are necessary because these courses are mostly the prerequisites of other courses in the majors. However, many types of attritions in the STEM gateway courses lead to high failure rates. To tackle this challenge, a team of STEM faculty members at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), a land-granted HBCU, has redesigned the gateway courses in computer science, mechanical engineering and construction management by replacing the lecture-dominated practices with evidence-based teaching pedagogies. In this study, two evidence-based pedagogies, problem-based learning and project-based learning have been implemented and tested in different levels of STEM gateway courses in the last three years. An assessment framework has been established to analyze the effect of the implemented pedagogies. Continuous assessment data have been collected and compared with the baseline data collected in the lecture-dominated same courses. Student surveys have been conducted and analyzed as well. Our study showed the evidence-based teaching practices fostered both the students’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The DFW rates were also decreased in all semesters in all the targeted STEM gateway courses in this study. Based upon the success and lessons learned, our future work will expand and test the interventions in more gateway courses across STEM disciplines at AAMU, to enhance the minority student success, retention and graduation.