IntroductionA novel, inter-disciplinary freshmen seminar course, “Frontiers in Science and Technology,” was developed at the University of West Georgia as part of a NSF-STEP grant, GEMS (Generating Enthusiasm for Mathematics and Science). The theme for the Fall 2004 course was Forensic Science. We capitalized on the familiarity and the popularity of the TV show, Crime Scene Investigation (C.S.I), to involve students in learning by using forensic case studies as a inquiry-based learning tool. Students collected evidence, dusted for fingerprints, determined the time of death, identified blood, drugs and soil types as they applied science and math to solve a series of staged crimes on campus. In addition to developing experimental skills in this course, the students were encouraged to share their ideas and work collaboratively to make discoveries to see the relevance of scientific principles in real world situations. Students accessed supplemental course material and communicated with team members via WebCT, enabling out-of class progress to be monitored and rapid feedback to be given to students. Oral and written communication was used extensively to assess the performance of the students in the course. Freshmen Seminar Objectives*Develop an inter-disciplinary course with a specific topic and pose a question that is too broad for any one discipline to answer fully reinforcing the interrelationship of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines.

*Introduce students to the scientific method using a problem- and inquiry-based learning approach to foster motivation and independence.

*Stimulate the students to learn more about the relevance and applications of STEM in a real life problems and current affairs.

*Encourage students to pursue careers in STEM disciplines via active mentoring by UWG faculty.

ActivitiesWee

kTopic Instructor Assignments

Due

1 Introduction, 1st Crime Scene

2 Measurements, projectiles

Dr. Joyner(MATH)

3 E-mail investigations Dr. Rahman(CS)

Math Report #11st News Report

4 Drug testing, Finger Printing

Dr. Geisler (CHEM)

CS Report #2

5 Time of Death Dr. Hasbun (PHYS)

6 Soil sample, Footprint casting

Dr. Bartley(GEOL)

Physics Report #3

2nd News Report

7 Investigate 2nd Crime Scene

8 Coefficient of Friction, skidmarks

Dr. Hasbun (PHYS)

Geology Report #4

9 Stopping Distance Dr. Joyner (MATH)

3rd News Report

10 Blood typing, entomology Dr. Lea-Fox(BIOLOGY)

Physics/Math Report #5

11 DNA analysis Dr. Swamy(BIOLOGY)

Post 1 News Report

12 TLC lipstick Dr. Geisler(CHEM)

Biology Report #6

13 Glass and Fiber analysis Dr. Dutt(CHEM)

News Report Quiz

14 Mock Trial Preparation Chemistry Report #7

15 Mock Trial

Outcomes•Thirty-six first-year STEM students were recruited and enrolled in two sections

•36% were African American, 64% female and 56% declared Biology majors

•Students were grouped as two cohort learning communities – residential and commuter

•Students also took English composition, pre-calculus and either Biology, Chemistry or Geology

•Two students withdrew from the seminar course

•Students were satisfied with most of the activities in the seminar – Figure 1

•Academic performance of GEMS students (average GPA 2.9) was better compared to other incoming freshmen – Figure 3

•64% have pre-registered as a science or math major for fall

•33% are participating in paid summer research across the STEM disciplinesAcknowledgments: NSF STEP grant # DUE-0336571

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% no change % substantial change

Assessment of Seminar Course

Figure 2: Impact of course on academic and non-academic skills of students

Figure 1: Student recommendations of the activities

Figure 3: Comparison of GEMS students with all of UWG Students Fall 2004

0

20

40

60

80

100

Fun

Self-a

ssur

ance

Knowled

ge

"Han

ds-o

n" e

xper

ience

Proble

m-solv

ing sk

ills

Mee

t peo

ple

Caree

r

Enthu

siasm

Confid

ence

New co

ncep

ts

Releva

nce i

n re

al life

% Agree % Disagree % Neutral

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

MATH 1113 BIOL1107 CHEM 1211 ENGL 1101

Ave

rag

e C

ou

rse

Gra

de

All

GEMS

AssessmentInvestigation Reports (7) 35%Forensic Science in the News Reports 20%Log Book 15%Mock Trial 15%Participation 15%

Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science at University of West GeorgiaJulie K. Bartley, Sharmistha Basu-Dutt*, Rebecca Dodge, Victoria J. Geisler*, Javier E. Hasbun, Michele Joyner, G. Richard Larkin,

Deborah Lea-Fox, Dusty Otwell, Muhammad Rahman, Karen H. Smith, John H. Storer, S. Swamy-MruthintiCollege of Arts and Sciences, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118