Improving STEM Education and Workforce Development by the Inclusion of Research Experiences in the Curriculum at SWC
Abstract
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act for 2014 allocated $10.7M to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) and to enhance their research and education capabilities in scientific areas relevant to the defense mission. The FY 2014 program supports the acquisition of research equipment and instrumentation to augment existing capabilities and to develop new capabilities that will facilitate greater participation in DoD research programs and encourage more students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This proposal from Principal Investigator, Dr. Scott Morgan, requests support to upgrade its instructional technology and network infrastructure to support STEM education and research. SWC is proposing to upgrade the network backbone from 1Gbs to 10Gbs. Perhaps even more critical is to connect the blade servers to the network at 10Gbs. The necessity of this upgrade was highlighted during the last semester when a major file server failed, which disrupted classes and other operations for several days as this server was limited to a 100Mbs connection. The Sisseton Wahpeton College (SWC) is leading an effort on the Lake Traverse Reservation in Northeastern South Dakota to improve STEM education by incorporating research experiences in classroom curriculum. There are several academic programs undertaking this effort, including a workforce development program in CST (Computer Science & Technology) and a new behavioral science program in the initial stages of development. However, the most mature of these is the Environmental Science department that has formed collaborations with researchers at two universities in South Dakota; one is to study a species of beetle and the other is inventorying spider species in the state. These projects will also support the Environmental Study, which is an attempt to catalog the natural resources and threats to the ecology of the reservation. This inventory will be connected to a digital map that will be used as a baseline for future research projects and by tribal agencies to manage the Oyate?s (tribal government) natural resources. Based on previous experiences and on current studies, the incorporation of research activities strengthens student interest and success in STEM courses. This is the premise of the Environmental Study, the collaboration with researchers from partnering universities, and course modules being developed in the CST program. The new behavioral science program will be designed using this strategy as an integral cornerstone of its curriculum. Students will learn concepts in an inquiry-based framework tied to concrete activities, rather than as just abstract problems from a textbook. Science, mathematics, technology, and language arts will be combined into one single seamless activity, largely through the use of course modules integrated across various disciplines. SWC will participate in pseudo, or when practical, real research activities as part of their coursework. The instrumentation acquired through this proposal will not only support these activities, but will also build SWC?s capacity to conduct future research projects as the lead institution. Collaborations with partners from research universities will be strengthened and more equal. Additionally, it will support the growth of the instructional technology infrastructure built over the last decade by previous Department of Defense grants to SWC. The development and implementation of the Sustainable Environment Studies degree program at SWC was heavily dependent upon the infrastructure developed with the last grant funded by the Department of Defense. SWC is hoping for continued support to help transition the CST program and to create the new behavior science degree. A number of the new or revised courses, course models, and research
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1510052
Entities
People
- Scott Morgan
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Sisseton Wahpeton College