GEMS Learning Communities (LC)

1
Generating Enthusiasm for Math and Science at the
University of West Georgia Julie K. Bartley,
Sharmistha Basu-Dutt, Rebecca Dodge, James
Espinosa, Victoria J. Geisler, Javier E. Hasbun,
G. Richard Larkin, Deborah Lea-Fox, Dusty
Otwell, Muhammad Rahman, Karen H. Smith, Scott
Sykes, S. Swamy-Mruthinti College of Arts and
Sciences, University of West Georgia, Carrollton,
GA 30118

• First-year Seminar Courses
• Themes - CSIUWG and Space Science
• Interdisciplinary courses with a topic too broad
  for any one discipline to answer reinforcing the
  interrelationship of the STEM disciplines.
• Introduce students to the scientific method using
  a problem- and inquiry-based learning approaches
  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.
• Students learn skills useful for studying
  science, careers as scientist, and success in
  life.

• Course Reform
• 15 Course Reform Projects
• Supplemental Instruction and peer-led workshops
  in Pre-calculus and Calculus I
• Peer-led workshops in Biology I
• Interactive lecture demonstration in Physics I
• Case-based projects in Environmental Studies
• Inquiry based laboratory activities in Principles
  of Chemistry I and II
• Technology-based activities in Physical Geology
  
• Case-based projects in Computer Science

GEMS Program Objective Increase retention,
progression and graduation (RPG) of STEM majors.

• GEMS Learning Communities (LC)
• A unique and innovative learning environment that
  is personal, supportive, and focused on making
  the educational experience productive and fun.
• LC integrates First Year English Composition,
  Frontiers in Science, Pre-calculus and Calculus
  I, Chemistry or Biology or Geology, Economics
  and/or Political Science.

Physics Students in both classes gained
substantially in all areas on pre- and post-FMCE
after Interactive Learning Demonstrations (ILD)
exposure. ILD exposure improved performance on
Force(3) pre/post FMCE test (32 compared to 6
in Principles of Physics) .
Chemistry Student satisfaction survey (Spring
2005) showed that inquiry-based laboratories in
GEMS reformed course helped students understand
chemistry concepts better and increased their
interest in chemistry and SMET.
CSI Learning Community pose for a photo after the
Mock Trial at the end of the semester
LC was productive, successful and fun!

• Research Fellowships
• 17 first and second year students participated in
  the Summer of 2005 and five students participated
  during the academic year.
• Research projects provided students an
  opportunity to
• explore current scientific topics, gain
  hands-on
• experience, and become proficient in advanced
  
• laboratory techniques.
• Six students have presented their research at

• Peer-Led Workshops and Supplemental Instruction
• Peer-led Workshop in Math
• .
• Peer-led Workshop in Biology

• Pre-calculus workshops were very effective.
• Math workshops next Fall will be led by GEMS
  learning community students from 2004 and 2005
  cohorts.

• Biology workshops were not as effective.
• Workshop materials are being evaluated and will
  be improved this Summer.
• Quality of workshop leaders will be monitored.

• Dissemination of GEMS Program
• Gordon Conference on Chemical Education
  Research and Practice
• Georgia Science Teacher Association Conference
• National Meeting of the American Chemical
  Society
• Biennial Conference on Chemical Education
• Southeastern Mathematical Association of
  America Meetings
• National Conference on Undergraduate Research
• Midwest Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive
  Science Conference
• Mid-South Region Meeting of the American
  Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Ajay Pillai co-authored a paper published in the
Proceedings of the NCUR
Keith Rice and Bryan Victor won 1st prize for
their poster at the ASPRS Mid-South Region
Conference
Acknowledgments NSF STEP grant DUE-0336571
Anna Hix presented her paper at the Midwest AI
Cognitive Science Conference. She also won 1st
prize at UWG Sigma XI student presentation
Heather Dahlin and Jalpa Patel presented a poster
at the National Meeting of the ACS