Effectuating Evidence-based Transformative Pedagogical Approaches in STEM Foundational Courses—A Pilot Study

A critical juncture in the undergraduate STEM education pathway is the first two years of college when the majority of attrition occurs because students experience many academic challenges in gatekeeping courses. Among many factors to this failure, an important one is attributed to the lack of engaging pedagogy inside and outside classrooms. Through this NSF WIDER Program sponsored planning project, a team of faculty and administrators at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) are implementing evidence-based instructional practices in foundation courses in STEM curricula. Recognizing that it is essential to implement effective pedagogy in gateway courses where most attrition occurs, this project has conducted a pilot study, which focuses on: (1) collecting baseline data about the extent to which evidencebased practices are currently being used in STEM gateway courses; (2) redesigning three foundational gateway courses in electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics by applying evidence-based teaching strategies—student-centered problem-based teaching(SCPBT), example-based teaching, and just-in-time teaching (JITT); (3) incorporating classroom and laboratory activities that require active student engagement, conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and problem-solving; and (4) Employing model students to lead Supplementary Instruction (SI) courses with evidence-based peer-to-peer learning strategies. The student assessment data indicated the effectiveness of the evidence-based instructional practices, the SI peer-to-peer learning strategies, as well as existing engagement challenges. In addition, positive feedback was obtained from the student survey data on the redesigned courses. The broader impact of this project is twofold. First, data generated through assessment and evaluation is expected to support the theoretical rationale that systematic change in STEM education must include a wide spectrum of stakeholders (administrators, faculty, staff, and students). Secondly, dissemination of the results of this work is expected to provide a model for institutional implementation of evidence-based practices at colleges or universities of similar size and/or student body demographics as AAMU, a land-granted minority serving university.