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Development of an Interdisciplinary, Project-based Scientific Research Course for STEM Departments

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Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

STEM Issues in ET

Tagged Division

Engineering Technology

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

18

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34455

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/34455

Download Count

369

Paper Authors

biography

Faruk Yildiz Sam Houston State University

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Faruk Yildiz is currently an Associate Professor of
Engineering Technology at Sam Houston State University.
His primary teaching areas are in Electronics,
Computer Aided Design (CAD), and Alternative Energy Systems. Research interests include: low power energy
harvesting systems, renewable energy technologies
and education.

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biography

David E. Thompson Sam Houston State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2934-5729

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Dr. Thompson obtained his B.A. in chemistry from Carleton College in Northfield, MN; spent two years teaching science with the US Peace Corps in the country of Ghana; completed his Ph.D. in chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. John Wright at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; carried out post doctoral research at Stanford University under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Fayer; taught chemistry for several years at Lawrence University in Appleton WI; and then moved to Sam Houston State University where Dr. Thompson is currently an associate professor of chemistry.

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Abstract

The Project-Based Scientific Research is a new interdisciplinary course developed by the National Science Foundation (NSF - IUSE) funded STEM center at _______ State University. The implementation of this new course was one of the major three goals for this five year grant to strengthen the STEM undergraduate research community at ______ State University by helping undergraduates who are interested in hands-on and/or scientific research. The course is designed to introduce undergraduate junior and senior science, engineering technology and math students to the vibrant world of real research; to build foundational skills for research; to help STEM students meet potential mentors whose research labs they might join with the goal of gaining experimental research experience while on campus. On top of course content and requirements the following goals are aimed for the student and faculty mentors to strengthen the research community; (1) helping undergraduate students who are interested in research connect with faculty partners who are committed to mentoring undergraduates in research, (2) to guide students in reading through papers that introduce the type of research being carried out in a faculty partners lab, (3) to guide students in drafting a mini-review of 5 papers relevant to that research, (4) to guide students in identifying and writing up a research proposal which they will complete in the lab of the faculty partner. The learning objectives for the students in this course are summarized as; (a) by the end of this course, all students build a foundational understanding of the principles of STEM research through the exploration and discussion of important historical interdisciplinary projects; (b) interact with faculty researchers who perform projects across STEM disciplines; (c) be able to describe the similarities and differences between experimental and theoretical STEM research; (d) explore and present several possibilities for future research topics; (e) design and present a research prospectus, complete with a review of some of the relevant literature; (f) and be prepared to continue a research project with a chosen faculty mentor or mentors. First year, six academic departments out of eight participated this new course by offering a cross-listed course for their students under one major course taught by one of the PIs at the STEM Center. All the details such as challenges faced, outcomes, resources used, faculty involved, student and faculty feedback etc. for this course will be shared with academia in the paper.

Yildiz, F., & Thompson, D. E. (2020, June), Development of an Interdisciplinary, Project-based Scientific Research Course for STEM Departments Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34455

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