Impact of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research in Mathematics and Biology on the Development of a New Course Integrating Five STEM Disciplines

Abstract

Funded by innovative programs at the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Richmond faculty in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science teamed up to offer first- and second-year students the opportunity to contribute to vibrant, interdisciplinary research projects. The result was not only good science but also good science that motivated and informed course development. Here, we describe four recent undergraduate research projects involving students and faculty in biology, physics, mathematics, and computer science and how each contributed in significant ways to the conception and implementation of our new Integrated Quantitative Science course, a course for first-year students that integrates the material in the first course of the major in each of biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, and physics.

Interdisciplinary science research and education

“…Noteworthy examples are occurring in the USA, where science policy specifically encourages Higher Education Research & Development disciplinary integration (Caudill, Hill, Hoke, & Lipan, 2010). These relate to the greater integration of quantitative research skills into the other science disciplines.…”

“…Legler et al (2010) report on an interdisciplinary undergraduate research program integrating statistics into a number of disciplines. Caudill et al (2010) report on the development of an undergraduate research program at the University of Richmond, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the US National Science Foundation, which seeks to integrate biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer sciences. Initially four undergraduate research projects were undertaken, which integrated various combinations of quantitative disciplines with the natural science disciplines.…”

Improving Science Students’ Data Visualizations: A STEAM-Based Approach

“…Our initial efforts involved a three-tiered approach to introducing students to relationships between pairs of disciplines: introductory courses, mid-to upper-division electives, and undergraduate research projects (Caudill, Hill, Hoke, & Lipan, 2010). At the introductory level, we made strides in three different areas.…”

Evaluation of Parallel Authentic Research-Based Courses in Human Biology on Student Experiences at Stanford University and the University of Gothenburg

“…A comparison of pre-and postcourse scores from student surveys showed that post-course student comfort levels with several research-related tasks increased radically at both universities. All participating staff generally agreed that the methods and tools were valuable in this type of course and should be evaluated at other levels and areas of higher education, and shared in an expanded network of universities.In life science curricula, the integration of physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science has facilitated exciting results in device innovation, medicine, and biological research (National Research Council (NRC), 2003;Caudill et al, 2010). Human biology is a highly researchrelated, interdisciplinary area of life science studies.…”

“…In life science curricula, the integration of physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science has facilitated exciting results in device innovation, medicine, and biological research (National Research Council (NRC), 2003;Caudill et al, 2010). Human biology is a highly researchrelated, interdisciplinary area of life science studies.…”