College of Science Out-of-Class: Launching First-Year STEM Students on a Path to Success Dennis J. Minchella, Associate Dean Laura J. Starr, Associate Director for Experiential Learning and Student Success
• What is your strongest memory from your undergraduate years? • What would you most like your students to remember from theirs?
Undergraduate Students 2011 2012 2013 Purdue 30776 30147 29440 CoS 3358 3456 3318 CoS first-years 1094 1099 909 7 College of Science Departments Biological Sciences Chemistry Computer Science Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences Mathematics Physics Statistics
Residency 2013 Purdue % College of % University Science Resident 16751 57 1649 50 Domestic Non-Resident 7708 26 734 22 International 4981 17 935 28 Total 29440 100 3318 100
Cos First-Year Students FROM 2010 TO 2011 THE PERCENT ENT OF INTER TERNATIO TIONAL AL FIRST ST-YEA YEAR R STUDENTS ENTS IN THE COLLEGE EGE OF SCIENCE ENCE WENT NT UP FROM M 20% TO 35%: 2011 2010 Resident Domestic Non-Resident International
A Partner in the Success of Every Purdue Graduate Fall l 2013 • All Purdue students take a mathematics and/or statistics course: 12,292 students took 75 math courses, and 3,518 students took 37 statistics courses More than 10,791 • distinct students enrolled in 67 science lab courses
PRISM Purdue Retention Initiative in Science and Mathematics • APPs – Academic previews during orientation • First-year seminars • Science help centers – in departments during day • COSINE --- College of Science Integrated Nightly Enrichment – in residence halls during evening • One-on-one academic advising • Career services • Diversity (WISP & MSP) mentoring programs
1-Year Retention Purdue University and College of Science 93 92 91 90 89 CoS 88 Purdue 87 86 85 84 83 2009 2010 2011 2012
CoS Programs for Student Success Campus Integration: Do I belong? Global Science Partners Academic Support: Am I capable? Feasting with Faculty Experiential Learning: Do I like it? Learning Beyond the Classroom
Campus Integration Global Science Partners • A residential learning community for first-year students • Domestic and international students room together • Upper class mentors help integrate students into Purdue, the College and their major • Students participate in the Global Science Leadership Seminar (1 cr)
Leadership Seminar • Introduces students to global collaborations in Science • Develops intercultural competencies • Enhances abilities to team and lead multicultural communities
Cultural & Social Activities First-years and mentors join together in many activities: • Monthly dinner meetings with cultural programs • Community service • Field trips • English conversation circles • Weekly face-to-face or social media contact
GSP: What’s next? Upperclassmen: • Mentor first-year students • Participate in Global Dialogues • Join Global Science Partners leadership team
First- years’ GSP Evaluations After one semester: "Before participating in the learning community, while I knew that it is important to understand different cultures, I knew it in an obscure sense… Now , after being a part of the Global Science Partnerships for an entire semester, I have a more concrete understanding of what it really takes to understand and work with individuals who hail from different cultures." Elizabeth – Biology, 2017
More GSP Comments • "The learning community has taught me to be a more worldly person and understand cultural backgrounds both through a classroom setting and living with a mixture of international and domestic students." Himal – Computer Science, 2017 • "Being in Global Science Partnerships was a great way for me to get a taste of other cultures. Having an international roommate and being with people from around the world has expanded my mindset about how other cultures and people work." Nick – Biochemistry, 2017
Academic Support Feasting with Faculty Presence of faculty members in “student space” delivers a powerful message to students about our commitment to student success.
Feasting: the program • Faculty of 100- and 200-level CoS classes with over 200 students and 40% or more first-year students invited to participate. • About half the invited faculty accept the invitation. • The College pays for one meal/week throughout the semester.
Faculty Response “I LOVE it. … The important thing is that we built relationships with these students ... [Here] is a great example of someone we got to know. … We'd work on her homework at Feasting. She also got to know other students and would talk about biology which they were all taking. [She] learned how to study more effectively and built her confidence through her own efforts and our support! … I treasure these lunches and love going to them. The students we get to know are wonderful and this entire activity is the highlight of my Friday! … I'll go in the spring even though I'm not teaching... Please continue the program. It’s a winner.”
Student Response From Rate My Professors : Dr. .... eats at a dining court every Friday inviting students to ask her about Chem or talk about anything they want!
Feasting: what’s next? • “Students learn firsthand how experts think about and solve practical problems by interacting with faculty members inside and outside the classroom.” (NSSE) • Grades and engagement tend to improve after a “feast” with a faculty member. • Past students feel comfortable approaching faculty in the dining hall.
Experiential Learning Learning Beyond the Classroom A roadmap to student success This program is designed to encourage students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world situations, and, ultimately, prepare them to be well-rounded global citizens and members of the working world. Currently 10% of our student population is enrolled in LBC.
Career and Professional Development Explore professional • opportunities Learn to work • independently Collaborate with a • professional Consider your • future career
Service, Citizenship & Leadership • Contribute to the community • Enhance leadership skills • Develop empathy for others • Practice working cooperatively
Experience with Domestic & International Diversity • Appreciate different cultures • Understand a cultural minority • Live in another culture • Acquire intercultural competence
Popular First-Year Activities Professional • Career exploration Development course • Participate - science club Service, Citizenship, • Leadership training • Community service and Leadership • Attend-cultural performance Diversity • Join-diversity group
LBC Process for Students • Participate in activity • Write report • Receive coaching about reflecting on and articulating experiences • Submit final report • LBC points awarded
Setting the stage Chemistry First-Year Seminar “… This class definitely made me want to participate in undergraduate research. I realized the scary term “research” was not so scary after all. I began thinking about all the different directions that could be taken when researching, and loved the possibility and opportunity that awaited me .”
Biology First-year Seminar “The most valuable outlook changing experience from this course was the Alumni Panel... I was amazed by the diverse experience a Biology graduate can have after college, and I also learned that not everyone will have a career that is strictly related to what they learn in college. …the most important thing a person can learn from college is not the knowledge absorbed from classes, but the skills he or she is able to apply to real world situations .”
LBC: What’s next? My LBC experience has made my college life more colorful and meaningful . --- Yunkai I just got so much hands-on experience. It was great. I just loved it. --- Arlie You grow as a person; you grow as an individual; you grow to be a team member. --- Rachel Global Dialogues was a good experience to meet other students outside my comfort zone .--- Alice
Out-of-Class Students learn to: • Use time productively • Pursue life-long learning • Negotiate multiple cultures • Develop confidence as professionals • View themselves in new ways • Navigate the world
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