Research has shown that making STEM socially relevant can attract more diverse students to STEM fields. Learn to utilize the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to center socially relevant goals in first-year seminars, as we did when constructing STEM linked-course learning communities. The seminars were designed to foster a communal view of science and mathematics, both in terms of the importance of collaboration to STEM success and the application of STEM to real-world problems. Course structures and sample materials will be shared as inspiration. Conversations will focus on helping visitors increase the social relevance of their own courses or curricula.
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Promoting a Socially Relevant, Interdisciplinary Approach to Science
Promoting Students Engaging In Scientific and Mathematical Interdisciplinary Collaborations (SEISMIC) requires careful thought. At Bridgewater State University, teams of SEISMIC Scholars are supported by an NSF S-STEM grant for low-income, academically talent STEM majors. SEISMIC Scholars engage throughout a three-year period in a series of humanities, social-science, service learning and STEM research courses that explicitly help Scholars frame their studies of Science and Mathematics as socially relevant and fundamentally interdisciplinary. This poster will report on the structure of the SEISMIC courses, providing examples of assignments and activities, all of which help to tie students together in a community that views Science as socially relevant and culturally informed.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1643475
- PAR ID:
- 10130642
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Transforming STEM Higher Education
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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