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1. Engaging early-stage undergraduate students in research through a Science Communication Fellowship

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--43310  

   Donohue, Sydney; Zachek, Kamryn; Webster, Alex; Schroeder, Timothy; Mulchandani, Anjali (June 2023, ASEE Conferences)

   Early engagement in undergraduate research opportunities promotes improved critical thinking and scientific reasoning, increased academic performance, enhanced retention both within STEM majors and in college overall, and improved satisfaction with college. It is therefore critical to create pathways for early-stage college students to engage in undergraduate research. Transdisciplinary Grand Challenges programs at large public universities provide an opportunity to engage undergraduates in research that is directly tied to their community’s needs. The objective of this paper is to present the development and implementation of a science communication fellowship to engage early-stage undergraduate students in research. We created the Grand Challenge Water Science Communication Fellowship, in which students work with mentors (faculty, research scientists, graduate students) to create a communication project to educate the public on a water resources related issue that is currently being researched. The research used to produce the communication project can either be the student’s own or the research of their mentor. Students select their own communications venues (e.g., paintings, podcasts, videos, infographics) and work individually with their mentor and together as a cohort to develop and refine their individual projects. The projects are presented at the end of the semester-long fellowship program at the University’s Undergraduate Research Conference, which is open to the public. Participating students and mentors represent a wide variety of backgrounds, including biology, physics, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, economics, environmental science, and geography. Several tangible benefits were seen for both students and mentors in the program’s first year. Students formed an active multidisciplinary cohort that created a sense of belonging to the university; most of the students are now working in the research lab of their mentor; and students from the prior year’s cohort and organizing and mentoring the next year’s cohort. Research mentors have obtained broader visibility of their research by using the produced communications pieces in grant proposals, research papers, presentations, websites, and other public avenues for knowledge sharing. In the second year of the program, we now aim to use qualitative and quantitative surveys to understand if participation in the program increases students’ self-efficacy and research identity. Survey questions ask students to evaluate aspects such as, how active their role was in planning the project, sense of responsibility for project progress, sense of belonging to a community of researchers, and intention to persist in a research experience. Results will be used to scale this opportunity and create similar communication fellowships for other Grand Challenges and disciplinary programs at the university. 

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2. 3 Challenges, 3 Errors, and 3 Solutions to Integrate Frontline Communities in Climate Change Policy and Research: Lessons From California

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2021.717554  

   Fernandez-Bou, Angel Santiago; Ortiz-Partida, J. Pablo; Classen-Rodriguez, Leticia M.; Pells, Chantelise; Dobbin, Kristin B.; Espinoza, Vicky; Rodríguez-Flores, José Manuel; Thao, Chia; Hammond Wagner, Courtney R.; Fencl, Amanda; et al (September 2021, Frontiers in Climate)

   null (Ed.)

   Frontline communities of California experience disproportionate social, economic, and environmental injustices, and climate change is exacerbating the root causes of inequity in those areas. Yet, climate adaptation and mitigation strategies often fail to meaningfully address the experience of frontline community stakeholders. Here, we present three challenges, three errors, and three solutions to better integrate frontline communities' needs in climate change research and to create more impactful policies. We base our perspective on our collective firsthand experiences and on scholarship to bridge local knowledge with hydroclimatic research and policymaking. Unawareness of local priorities (Challenge 1) is a consequence of Ignoring local knowledge (Error 1) that can be, in part, resolved with Information exchange and expansion of community-based participatory research (Solution 1). Unequal access to natural resources (Challenge 2) is often due to Top-down decision making (Error 2), but Buffer zones for environmental protection, green areas, air quality, and water security can help achieve environmental justice (Solution 2). Unequal access to public services (Challenge 3) is a historical issue that persists because of System abuse and tokenism (Error 3), and it may be partially resolved with Multi-benefit projects to create socioeconomic and environmental opportunities within frontline communities that include positive externalities for other stakeholders and public service improvements (Solution 3). The path forward in climate change policy decision-making must be grounded in collaboration with frontline community members and practitioners trained in working with vulnerable stakeholders. Addressing co-occurring inequities exacerbated by climate change requires transdisciplinary efforts to identify technical, policy, and engineering solutions. 

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3. Moving Toward Transdisciplinary Learning Around Topics of Convergence: Is it really Possible in Higher Education Today?

   Strimel, G.; Pruim, D.; Briller, S.; Martinez, R.; Lucas, D.; Kelley, T.; Sohn, J. (June 2023, Review directory American Society for Engineering Education)

   There have been numerous demands for enhancements in the way undergraduate learning occurs today, especially at a time when the value of higher education continues to be called into question (The Boyer 2030 Commission, 2022). One type of demand has been for the increased integration of subjects/disciplines around relevant issues/topics—with a more recent trend of seeking transdisciplinary learning experiences for students (Sheets, 2016; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2019). Transdisciplinary learning can be viewed as the holistic way of working equally across disciplines to transcend their own disciplinary boundaries to form new conceptual understandings as well as develop new ways in which to address complex topics or challenges (Ertas, Maxwell, Rainey, & Tanik, 2003; Park & Son, 2010). This transdisciplinary approach can be important as humanity’s problems are not typically discipline specific and require the convergence of competencies to lead to innovative thinking across fields of study. However, higher education continues to be siloed which makes the authentic teaching of converging topics, such as innovation, human-technology interactions, climate concerns, or harnessing the data revolution, organizationally difficult (Birx, 2019; Serdyukov, 2017). For example, working across a university’s academic units to collaboratively teach, or co-teach, around topics of convergence are likely to be rejected by the university systems that have been built upon longstanding traditions. While disciplinary expertise is necessary and one of higher education’s strengths, the structures and academic rigidity that come along with the disciplinary silos can prevent modifications/improvements to the roles of academic units/disciplines that could better prepare students for the future of both work and learning. The balancing of disciplinary structure with transdisciplinary approaches to solving problems and learning is a challenge that must be persistently addressed. These institutional challenges will only continue to limit universities seeking toward scaling transdisciplinary programs and experimenting with novel ways to enhance the value of higher education for students and society. This then restricts innovations to teaching and also hinders the sharing of important practices across disciplines. To address these concerns, a National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education project team, which is the topic of this paper, has set the goal of developing/implementing/testing an authentically transdisciplinary, and scalable educational model in an effort to help guide the transformation of traditional undergraduate learning to span academics silos. This educational model, referred to as the Mission, Meaning, Making (M3) program, is specifically focused on teaching the crosscutting practices of innovation by a) implementing co-teaching and co-learning from faculty and students across different academic units/colleges as well as b) offering learning experiences spanning multiple semesters that immerse students in a community that can nourish both their learning and innovative ideas. As a collaborative initiative, the M3 program is designed to synergize key strengths of an institution’s engineering/technology, liberal arts, and business colleges/units to create a transformative undergraduate experience focused on the pursuit of innovation—one that reaches the broader campus community, regardless of students’ backgrounds or majors. Throughout the development of this model, research was conducted to help identify institutional barriers toward creating such a cross-college program at a research-intensive public university along with uncovering ways in which to address these barriers. While data can show how students value and enjoy transdisciplinary experiences, universities are not likely to be structured in a way to support these educational initiatives and they will face challenges throughout their lifespan. These challenges can result from administration turnover whereas mutual agreements across colleges may then vanish, continued disputes over academic territory, and challenges over resource allotments. Essentially, there may be little to no incentives for academic departments to engage in transdisciplinary programming within the existing structures of higher education. However, some insights and practices have emerged from this research project that can be useful in moving toward transdisciplinary learning around topics of convergence. Accordingly, the paper will highlight features of an educational model that spans disciplines along with the workarounds to current institutional barriers. This paper will also provide lessons learned related to 1) the potential pitfalls with educational programming becoming “un-disciplinary” rather than transdisciplinary, 2) ways in which to incentivize departments/faculty to engage in transdisciplinary efforts, and 3) new structures within higher education that can be used to help faculty/students/staff to more easily converge to increase access to learning across academic boundaries. 

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4. Critical Connections: Transdisciplinary Capacity and Youth Engagement for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and Coastal Communities

   https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2025.136  

   Koch, Emi; Chuenpagdee, Ratana (January 2025, Oceanography)

   As the global push for sustainable development intensifies, public and private actors in fisheries and ocean management are encouraged to support United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, “Life Below Water.” For those involved in small-scale fisheries (SSF), the emphasis must shift toward “life above water” (Jentoft, 2019), reflecting the complex social, cultural, and heritage values that define these communities. To create lasting SSF sustainability, programs must be inclusive and community-driven. This shift requires transdisciplinary capacity building and youth engagement, fostering experience sharing and collaboration for transformation. Initiatives like Too Big To Ignore and Coast 2 Coast take this approach, focusing on relationship building, shared responsibility, and inclusive engagement to shape meaningful, grounded change. 

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5. Transfer-bound community college students’ biology identity and perception of teaching

   https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00116-23  

   Teshera-Levye, Jennifer; Atchison, Tammy; Callis-Duehl, Kristine; Gould, Thomas; Lichti, Deborah; Scemama, Jean-Luc; Stiller, John; Vance-Chalcraft, Heather D (December 2023, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)

   Parks, Samantha T (Ed.)

   Community colleges are frequently an affordable, accessible entrance to a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and career, but the transition from a 2-year program to a 4-year institution can be tumultuous. In this mixed-methods study, we explore the experiences of transfer and prospective transfer students. Through surveys and interviews, we identify the challenges faced by and the supports desired by biology transfer students. We describe how community college students perceive their introductory biology courses, and we compare the biology identity and self-efficacy of these students to peers at a 4-year institution. Students expressed uncertainty about what to expect from the transfer experience, and they benefitted from interventions that made the university experience more concrete or clarified their expectations. We found that community college students are just as interested in biology as peers at a 4-year university, but they are significantly less likely to believe that others recognize them as “biology people” and report less self-efficacy regarding biology courses. Students felt particularly well-prepared for transfer after community college biology courses they described as “rigorous” and “demanding,” especially because students expressed that the community college environment helped support them through the challenges of higher education. 

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