In this work, we will describe the STEM Accelerator program in the College of Science that is tasked with four major goals of increasing the number of STEM majors, improving retention rates of STEM students, reducing their time to graduation, and helping them join the STEM workforce or continue their education upon completion of their Bachelor's degree in STEM disciplines. Created as an interdisciplinary unit, this division consists of faculty members from multiple departments who have special responsibilities besides teaching that include coordinating and promoting STEM activities that help achieve the four primary goals. Specifically, the STEM Accelerator program now runs initiatives at all levels, including STEM camps for elementary and middle school students, mentored research for high school students and undergraduate students, STEM boot camp for incoming freshmen, the Undergraduate Learning Assistants (LA) Program, discipline-based education research for faculty, and STEM teacher professional development programs for teacher educators. The program was recently awarded the 2015 Program That Works Award that is given to exemplary programs in the state for making a positive impact on student or teacher learning.

Following the model of the University of Colorado at Boulder Learning Assistant (LA) program, the College of Science (COS) at Mason began its own LA program in 2012. The program is a key segment of the STEM Accelerator program, and is a keystone for retaining students in COS and enabling them to graduate in a timely manner. COS STEM Accelerator has now supported over 300 undergraduate LA’s since it's inception through both internal and external funding. The LA program is very successful in increasing grades, engaging students in large lecture classes, enabling faculty to better utilize the ALT classroom, increasing retention in sciences and also increasing confidence and GPA’s for the undergraduate LA’s.  The cornerstones of the LA program are student mentoring by the faculty sponsor, a required seminar in pedagogical techniques, and face-to-face time with students in the classroom. This interactive presentation will include information about the program in COS. Faculty and students will demonstrate examples of how LA’s are integrated into different learning environments and across disciplines.  Examples will include LA’s in the ALT classroom, in large and small lectures, in lab, in orals, and on-line.  Disciplines include Biology, Chemistry, Forensic Science, Geography, Geology, Math and Physics.  Attendees will understand the program and it’s key concepts, discuss how an LA could work in their classroom and discipline, and understand how COS is working to enable your students to conquer their MATH and Mason Core Science classes.

No abstract

Updating physics laboratory instruction through implementation of an inquiry-based (IB) format is a popular approach to modern physics education. Increasingly physics education research (PER) is being utilized to improve the overall quality of physics instruction. As growing numbers of instructors switch from traditional to IB methods, it is crucial that the impact on students be examined. In 2013, George Mason University (GMU) began offering their second semester calculus-based Physics 261 laboratories in both IB as well as traditional format. To gauge students' perceptions of these two distinct styles, a 17-question self-assessment consisting mainly of Likert questions (scale of 1-6) was created and administered to students near the end of the Spring 2015 Semester. In addition, students completed the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA) at the beginning and again at the end of the semester. Self-assessment question responses were grouped into two categories, generally positive and generally negative, and pre-and post-scores for the BEMA were analyzed using the average normalized gain factor. Overall, the IB students had more positive (self-assessment) responses. Although IB students had higher gain factors, BEMA scores for both classes were generally low and standard deviations (STDEV) were high.Potential benefits and drawbacks of the IB format were discussed along with results, analysis, and the need for continued research.

Project PROGRESS (Promoting Renewable energy research On the Grid to create Responsible STEM workforce in Solar Sustainability) is a unique first-time multidisciplinary program that provides an ideal opportunity for all participants, including students, faculty, and the workforce in the state to learn through experience and research. Students in this course are charged to develop innovative ideas to grow and sustain renewable energy research in the commonwealth of Virginia through a hands-on, experiential, and project-based approach. This project has helped to promote the much needed awareness of the importance of community-based solar energy by engaging various stake-holders in studying its impact and assessing its benefits, while supporting and encouraging solar energy growth in Virginia. The Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Dominion Power (Virginia), funded this experimental STEM course.The two principle outcomes of this project include: (a) Engaging students in a new hands-on course that will be developed called “STEM for Solar” and; (b) Engaging the students in self-directed research on a variety of projects involving Solar including Virginia energy issues, critical energy infrastructure, smart-grid technology, and sustainability.Project PROGRESS includes a multi-disciplinary team of faculty and experts from various disciplines and industry. Student research projects include developing new designs of technologies to make solar energy economical to storing solar energy and beyond. This course stands a model of collaboration between a local philanthropic organization and GMU. Many aspects of STEM and public policy, applicable to the entire student body of COS, and Engineering are reviewed.