$1.5 Million Grant will Help Re-Think 'Gateway' Math, Science Classes

National Shortage of STEM Professionals Sparks Drive for Innovation

The University of Houston received a $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to help solve a national shortage in the number of Americans with college degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The grant is part of an initiative to improve undergraduate science education so that a greater number of talented students remain in science.

Students attending biology recitation sessions work on activities designed to reinforce key concepts.UH was among 37 research universities to receive the grants, which will total $60 million over five years.

The money will be used to find new ways to encourage students who enroll in entry-level classes in chemistry, biology, physics and math to stay the course, despite the difficulty many may encounter.

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics faculty members will be at the heart of the project’s efforts to redesign courses and expand mentoring programs.

“We are not changing the standards and content,” said Bonnie J. Dunbar, director of the UH STEM Center and principal investigator on the grant. “We are changing the way we present the material, to more proactively engage the students in learning through hands-on projects, and to provide academic assistance when students arrive not fully prepared from high school or community college.”

Dan E. Wells, NSM dean and co-investigator on the HHMI grant, said the work will build on previous efforts in the College.

“For the last two years, we ran an extremely successful pilot program with the entry-level biology courses,” he said. “This grant will allow us to expand the program to entry-level physics, chemistry and mathematics courses.”

In these courses, students determined to be at risk for failure will be required to go to weekly recitation sessions. Led by upper-level undergraduates, the sessions will have curriculum designed to enhance mastery of difficult topics and to teach study skills.

The project team will also implement faculty teaching workshops addressing best practices in teaching with a focus on moving from pure lecture formats to more interactive teaching styles that engage students with course material.

Excerpted from UH news release by Jeannie Kever with additional reporting by Kathy Major