PBSC students gain extra STEM support thanks to National Science Foundation grant

 

When 44-year-old Jason Hughes decided to leave a career in teaching to retrain as an engineer at Palm Beach State College, he was pleased to learn the College offered a free one-week math jumpstart program to better prepare students for college level math. “It’s been a long time since I took any kind of math,” Hughes said. “Going into engineering, I wanted to have a solid foundation; I didn’t want to go into it barely passing.”

PBSC Professor Anurag Katyal, one of the instructors at the math camp was determined for students to leave more secure in their abilities. “A common refrain I hear from students is if you give me a problem I can do it, but I can’t explain it,” Katyal said. “If the foundations of knowledge aren’t secure then the whole structure can come crumbling down.”

The goal of the program was to deepen students’ understanding of college level algebra in a fun and interactive way. Unlike a typical classroom lecture, the camp relied on team games and problem-solving challenges.  Students were assessed both before and after the camp to gauge content retention. Post-assessments showed an average 25% increase in knowledge gain. “The aim was to engage students and improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” said PBSC Assoc. Professor Tamara Johns, who along with PBSC Professor Lauren Zatto,  also helped create and facilitate the math jumpstart bootcamp.

PBSC also offered a similar free week-long chemistry bootcamp this summer led by PBSC Professor Cynthia Judd at the college’s Palm Beach Gardens campus.  Students participated in a combination of lectures and hands-on lab training. Some of the projects students worked on in the lab were how to measure volume and density, how to test if a substance is acidic or alkaline and how to make an aspirin. At both the science and math camps, the PBSC Foundation sponsored free lunches so the students could stay focused and engaged on learning.

For Ashley Ramos, a 19-year-old biological sciences student at PBSC, the bootcamp offered a chance to refresh her knowledge. “I had chemistry in high school, but I didn’t remember a lot,” she said. “I’m taking general chemistry this fall so I wanted to get my feet wet.”  PBSC first year engineering student Alejandro Robinette, 18, also joined the camp to get ready for college level chemistry. “I didn’t have a good experience in high school chemistry so I went to the camp so I would be better prepared,” he said.

For some participants, the camp was a way to get extra support to transition into an entirely new career. After earning a master’s in finance and real estate from Florida International University, Albert E. Polderi, Jr. spent four decades working in commercial real estate. Now at the age of 60, Polderi is preparing to enter PBSC’s nursing program. After what he describes as a major medical incident last year, Polderi wanted to do something to help others. Two days after being released from hospital, he signed up for PBSC’s nursing program. With only a microbiology class remaining to complete of his prerequisite courses, Polderi wanted to refresh his chemistry skills in preparation for the program. “This camp has been incredibly beneficial,” he said.

The camps are just some of the free programs and support services PBSC offers to help students succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) thanks to National Science Foundation’s STEM Articulation and Transfer Collaborative (SATC) grant. The $1.5 million grant started in 2019 initially to support Hispanic STEM students complete an associate in arts degree at PBSC with the goal of successfully transferring to Florida Atlantic University’s College of Science.

While geared primarily for Hispanic STEM students, SATC grant funded services and resources are open to all PBSC students regardless of ethnicity or major. To date the program has still seen a 50% enrollment rate of Hispanic students.  To date, the grant continues to maintain a 50% participation rate of Hispanic students. Major grant activities were delayed until Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but of September 2024 the SATC grant has impacted more than 2,000 PBSC students in and outside of the classroom.

In addition to the math bootcamp and a chemistry summer camp, grant-funded STEM support services include academic and career advising, free tutoring, peer and professional mentorship. Students also can take extracurricular research training in biotechnology, biology, and chemistry in partnership with PBSC’s biotechnology AS Degree program, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. The SATC grant has also collaborated with PBSC degree programs, student services departments, and the STEM academic community to support activities, events, and initiatives for thousands of students across the college. These include STEM expos, career panels, middle and high school recruiting tours and science activities, as well as student activities celebrations like Hispanic Heritage and Multicultural Festival.

Once a student participates in a SATC sponsored program, they will receive regular check-ins from grant staff, information on all future programs and activities, peer mentorship from grant student tutors, and access to regular on-campus gatherings at college-wide events and specific grant hosted activities. Some of the programs are relatively short, such as the one-week bootcamp while lab programs run for eight weeks. “Once students are plugged into the grant program, we can connect with them throughout their entire degree journey at PBSC,” explained Brandon White program, PBSC’s grant coordinator for the STEM Articulation and Transfer Collaborative.

Several PBSC wrap-around services and representatives from FAU visited the summer bootcamps to connect with students and build bridges for support. A key visitor to both programs was Lauren Gapczynski from FAU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (OURI) who shared opportunities for academic research and resources for a smooth transition to the university level.

So far, there are signs the SATC grant is making a difference in student outcomes. While research is underway to assess student impacts of the SATC grant project relating to subject specific academic performance, student retention, and social capital growth, early data related to Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree attainment and university transfer are positive. On average, A.A. graduation rates for students who have participated in PBSC’s grant funded STEM programs are higher (49.6%) than non-grant-affected STEM students (31.9%) at PBSC within the 2021-to-2024-time range. Numbers of PBSC transfer applications and admissions to FAU’s College of Science have also increased over this time range.

More importantly, the research supports that the more students are engaged in the lab the more likely they are to persist in the classroom, keep them engaged at the college, and find their spark in STEM.