UWG News Archive

National Science Foundation Makes Grant to UWG

December 3, 2003

CARROLLTON, GA - The University of West Georgia has been awarded a grant of $877,093 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a new program known as Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science (GEMS). The funds will be made available to the College of Arts and Sciences in stages over a five-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2004.

UWG News Photo Awarded through the NSF’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program, the grant is aimed at increasing enrollment and retention of students in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geosciences, mathematics and physics. UWG’s new GEMS program, created by a group of faculty in the science and math departments, will use the money to support four initiatives designed to remove barriers to the pursuit of careers in these areas by undergraduate students.

After a period of faculty and program development in spring and summer 2004, GEMS will launch a discovery-based freshman course, a program of peer-led assistance with the rigorous first-year math and science courses, and improved teaching in the introductory math and science courses in fall semester 2004. Later, the program will also offer a first-year summer research experience to interested students.

“My congratulations to our faculty colleagues who developed this proposal and who will develop the coursework to enhance science and math education,” said Dr. Beheruz Sethna, UWG president. “NSF funding is extremely competitive, and West Georgia’s success is indicative of the quality of the submission and the high esteem in which the University is held in the national arena. At the end of the day, it is the students of our region, state and nation who will be the richer for the excellent work of our colleagues.”

GEMS was initiated under the leadership of Dr. Victoria Geisler, assistant dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of chemistry. Other faculty in the sciences who are involved in the program are Dr. Deborah Lea-Fox and Dr. S. Swamy-Mruthinti, associate professors of biology; Dr. Julie Bartley, associate professor of geosciences; Dr. Rebecca Dodge, assistant professor of geosciences; and Dr. Javier Hasbun, chair and professor of physics.

In technology, engineering and mathematics, GEMS faculty are Dr. Muhammad Rahman, assistant professor of computer science; Dr. Sharmistha Basu-Dutt, director of engineering studies and associate professor of chemistry; Dr. Karen Smith, associate professor of mathematics; and Dr. Michele Joyner, assistant professor of mathematics. Other faculty and staff involved in the program are Dr. John Storer, director of sponsored operations; Bonnie Adams, administrative coordinator in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Dick Larkin, assistant professor of political science and planning.

Dr. Thomas Hynes, vice president for academic affairs, said, “The receipt of this NSF support helps us address the challenges in mathematics and science facing many of our students. It also recognizes the innovative and thoughtful approaches our faculty bring to their daily commitment to improving student learning. By the end of the granting period, we believe that these approaches will produce models for science and mathematics learning that can be applied to undergraduate education across the nation.”

Beginning in fall 2004, the primary GEMS initiative will be an innovative new interdisciplinary course called “Frontiers in Science and Technology” that will expose entering freshmen to the excitement and interesting career possibilities in the sciences, technology, engineering and math. Each semester, hands-on, discovery-based course and lab activities will focus around a theme that transcends disciplinary boundaries, such as the design of amusement parks and roller coasters, the application of forensics in crime scene investigations, or the sciences involved in homeland security and combating bioterrorism.

Initially the course will be offered to 48 students in two class sections of 24. Participants will be selected from among students who have not yet chosen a major or who want to major in math or the sciences but are considered at risk for completing a degree because of their grade-point average or SAT scores.

“Lots of students come to West Georgia as pre-med because they like science and don’t know what else they can do with it. They aren’t aware of the other careers they can pursue,” said Lea-Fox. “They also don’t understand what’s involved in getting a degree or the number of years needed. The national average for completing a science degree is 22 percent. This course will help with these problems.”

Also in the fall, students will receive academic support for some courses in peer-led team learning groups. Modeled after a successful program in the Department of Chemistry in which teams of students guided by peer leaders discuss and solve problems, the peer-led program will initially offer assistance with math and is expected to be expanded to the sciences in future semesters.

“You have to have math skills to succeed in the sciences,” said Geisler, who noted that anxiety over math is a common problem for students that the peer-led program is expected to help solve. She added that the program will also improve the skills of peer leaders and make them more marketable after graduation. “You learn a lot better by teaching somebody else, so peer leaders get a huge benefit by teaching these students.”

In the third GEMS initiative, a competitive internal grant program will be set up to support faculty efforts toward improving introductory science and math courses. Selected faculty will take part in workshops and seminars on teaching, problem-based learning and other active learning techniques to incorp orate into their courses.

“Usually intro courses are pretty boring,” said Geisler. “The new courses will utilize integration of research, active learning and real-world applications to help make them more
engaging.”

Lea-Fox explained, “Intro courses are survey courses and they try to cover everything. In biology, for instance, many lectures are an introduction to a whole course the students will take later, so once the basics are covered there’s no time to explore interesting avenues. In biology, we plan to try to make it more interesting by having students interact with each other in class and having less lecture time.”

The final component of GEMS will be the offering of fellowships to support summer research by undergraduate students after their first year of study. In teams of two or three students per faculty supervisor, participants will receive training in research methods, generate and analyze data, and present their results in a formal research symposium. The activity is expected to help engage student interest in the supported disciplines, as well as improve their success rate after graduation.

The success of the GEMS program as a whole will be measured by the degree of grade improvement and course satisfaction experienced among participating students, as well as by retention and graduation rates.

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