Shorten the Math Gap for Pre-Engineering Students With Intensive Summer Bridge Program

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhou ◽  
Nazmul Islam ◽  
Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan ◽  
Sanjay Kumar
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Attendance Rate ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Early Introduction ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
Calculus I ◽  
And Mathematics

Engineering Summer Bridge (ESB) program at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) is designed to prepare the engineering freshmen intellectually for an early introduction to the engineering culture and mathematics and science expectation. The program curriculum and content were specifically designed to prepare underrepresented Hispanic students for their success in the coming science and engineering study at UT-Brownsville. More than 92% of the targeted students are underrepresented Hispanic, and English is the second language for 86% of them. Most of these targeted students are academically below the top 10% in their high school graduating classes due to the pre-selection of TOP10 Texas House Bill. The ESB program at UTB cultivates a diverse community of engineering and pre-engineering students and intensively enhances their mathematics preparation in Pre-Calculus and College Algebra. Statistics data from 2012 and 2013 ESB program indicates that more than 81% of the participants in both years did not take Pre-Calculus in high school. Another finding is that 71% of the ESB participants with at least an attendance rate of 50% earned a grade higher than a “B” in their Calculus I class later on, while only 43% from the group with an attendance rate lower than 50% earned a grade higher than a “B” in the Calculus I class. Students seem more successful in their Calculus I study if they attend the classes more frequently. It is also found the early contact with engineering faculty through Summer Bridge Programs, together with an early and longer engineering orientation seminar during the program, are successful ways to assist in the retention of engineering freshman [1–2].

Improving Engineering Students’ College Math Readiness by MSEIP Summer Bridge Program

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazmul Islam ◽  
Yong Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Early Introduction ◽  
First Semester ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
First Year College ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
Math Readiness ◽  
The University

This paper details improvement of the Engineering Summer ridge (ESB) program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Here we provide some of our experiences to fine-tune the program depending on the student need. Initial goal of ESB program was to challenge the freshman students intellectually, improve student communication and socialization skills, and provide student an early introduction to the University expectations and culture. The students who are graduating from the high school has lack of these qualities and the ESB program at UTRGV prepares engineering students to cultivate these qualities and to meet the challenges of University requirements. First-year college students require developmental education in Reading, Writing, or Mathematics will become “college-ready” in those subject areas through the ESB program. In our 2017 ESB program, we focused mostly with the Calculus-ready component. Specific goals of our ESB program include improving the College algebra and Pre-calculus level math expectations, and help students eliminate the math gap by passing the COMPASS Test as well as the Pre-calculus Test by UTRGV math department in the summer to get ready for Calculus I in their first semester. Study to the six-year tracking data suggests that, participants in ESB program demonstrated higher engineering interests. Improvement of engineering math readiness and overall the success rate in the selected engineering major will be presented in this paper.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary summer bridge programs to improve student outcomes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Easton R White
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Educational Opportunity Program ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science Major

The Biology Undergraduate Scholars Program (BUSP) at UC Davis provides additional academic support and advising for a small (<40 students) cohort in the biological sciences each year. Students come from historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, the educational opportunity program, or have a disability. As part of the program, students participate in a two-week biology bridge program to prepare them for introductory ecology and evolution. The bridge program involves active learning assignments and team-based learning with a focus on the connection between biology and mathematics. We found that BUSP participants improved their biology knowledge through the summer bridge program. However, math confidence, SAT scores, Grit measures, and performance in the bridge program were not predictive of success in their biology course. We also found that BUSP students were more likely to remain in Life Science major and graduate.

scholarly journals Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. es3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ashley ◽  
Katelyn M. Cooper ◽  
Jacqueline M. Cala ◽  
Sara E. Brownell
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Persistence ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Summer Bridge Programs ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
The Past ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics

Summer bridge programs are designed to help transition students into the college learning environment. Increasingly, bridge programs are being developed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines because of the rigorous content and lower student persistence in college STEM compared with other disciplines. However, to our knowledge, a comprehensive review of STEM summer bridge programs does not exist. To provide a resource for bridge program developers, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on STEM summer bridge programs. We identified 46 published reports on 30 unique STEM bridge programs that have been published over the past 25 years. In this review, we report the goals of each bridge program and whether the program was successful in meeting these goals. We identify 14 distinct bridge program goals that can be organized into three categories: academic success goals, psychosocial goals, and department-level goals. Building on the findings of published bridge reports, we present a set of recommendations for STEM bridge programs in hopes of developing better bridges into college.

The Summer Bridge Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-3
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Howard ◽  
Lonnie Sharpe Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Summer Bridge Program ◽  
Summer Bridge Programs ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Freshman Year ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
And Mathematics

Student retention is a consequential effort of all institutions of higher learning today.  The survival of the institution is dependent upon the success of students in obtaining their degrees (Knox, 2005; Noel, 1978).  In order to continue to grow a base of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students and produce quality graduates, it is imperative that best practices in student success and retention be identified, documented and replicated.  This study looked at the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Summer Bridge program results in STEM major retention and success in designated courses.  Three years of the TLSAMP Summer Bridge were randomly chosen from the inception of the first joint TLSAMP Summer Bridge Program in 2004 and the last one in 2013.  The years chosen for this study were 2008, 2012 and 2013.  The following information was gathered for participants in the 2008, 2012, and 2013 TLSAMP Summer Bridge Programs: (1) Major, (2) If student returned to school after freshmen year (3) If a change of major after freshman year, ( (4) First English course grade, and (5) First Math course grade.  TLSAMP Summer Bridge showed an indication to be a best practice for student retention and success in those targeted courses addressed in the bridge program.  From a broader perspective, it can be inferred that what works for STEM majors can also work for other majors when tailored for them and the culture of the institution.  Further study on the effectiveness and implementation of summer bridge programs on student recruitment and student retention is recommended.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary summer bridge programs to improve student outcomes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Easton R White
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Educational Opportunity Program ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science Major

The Biology Undergraduate Scholars Program (BUSP) at UC Davis provides additional academic support and advising for a small (<40 students) cohort in the biological sciences each year. Students come from historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, the educational opportunity program, or have a disability. As part of the program, students participate in a two-week biology bridge program to prepare them for introductory ecology and evolution. The bridge program involves active learning assignments and team-based learning with a focus on the connection between biology and mathematics. We found that BUSP participants improved their biology knowledge through the summer bridge program. However, math confidence, SAT scores, Grit measures, and performance in the bridge program were not predictive of success in their biology course. We also found that BUSP students were more likely to remain in Life Science major and graduate.

Evaluation of Engineering Readiness and Active Rate Enhanced by Intensive Summer Bridge Program

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhou ◽  
Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan ◽  
Nazmul Islam
Keyword(s):  
College Algebra ◽  
Summer Bridge Program ◽  
Engineering Majors ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
Engineering Study ◽  
Calculus I ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The University

An engineering Summer Bridge (Engineering Summer Readiness Workshop after 2015) program has been implemented at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) since summer 2012. After three years of program data accumulation, we can now track those participants from their freshman up to junior year (for those still active in UTB engineering) and further extend our study on the effect of the designed engineering summer program on a) the semester the participants take Calculus I; b) the semester the participants pass Calculus I; c) the first- and second-year engineering active rate; and d) the success rate in the selected engineering major courses of all the participants. We compared all the above mentioned data to the average data of the engineering majors at the same academic stage/level. The engineering summer bridge program was originally designed to prepare the fresh high school graduates intellectually on their math and for an early readiness for their coming engineering study. More than 90% of the targeted students are Hispanic in south Texas, and English is the second language for 86% of them. As one of the components of the University of Texas System, UTB is a minority-serving institution catering mostly to the underrepresented Hispanic population of the Lower Rio Grande Valley region. It has one of the highest concentrations of Hispanic students (both in number and percentage) compared to other universities in the nation [Table 1]. Among the overall student enrollment at the university in fall 2013, 91% are Hispanic. Most of the targeted students are academically below the top 10% in their high school graduating classes due to the pre-selection of the top 10% students by the Texas flagship universities. First-generation college-goers experience a variety of challenges as they enter and move through higher education. The Engineering Summer Bridge provides students with specific types of resources and support to ensure that they move into and through engineering study smoothly and to shorten the time for their engineering study. The 4–5 week summer bridge program at UTB intensively enhances math preparation in pre-calculus and college algebra, and also actively engages the students with the modern engineering design concepts and tools. Specific goals of the bridge programs include introducing math expectations of engineering program in the areas of College Algebra, Pre-calculus, and help students eliminate the math gap by passing the COMPASS Test as well as the Pre-calculus Test in the summer to get ready for Calculus I in the coming fall semester. The long-term goals of the ESB program aim to improve the first- and second-year retention rate and four-year graduation rate of UTB engineering majors. Study on the previous three year’s data suggests that, compared to the overall average of the students enrolling into the UTB engineering program at the same period, summer bridge program participants have statistically started and finished their Calculus I (thus becoming engineering math ready) earlier. Participants also demonstrated higher engineering interesting which was proved by the participation rate in introductory engineering projects in the first two years of their engineering study. Besides, 88% of surveyed students reported that the program was helpful and convenient, and 100% of surveyed students reported that they would recommend the summer bridge program to a friend or a fellow student. Comparison of the first- to second-year active engineering student rate also suggests the validness of the summer bridge program.

Managing transitions, building bridges

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Michelle Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Science Identity ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
High School To College ◽  
Transition From High School ◽  
And Mathematics

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer bridge programs to promote college persistence by fostering a positive science identity among participants that is culturally consistent with the values and experiences of African American students. Design/methodology/approach This case study included demographic data, journals, a focus-group interview and program evaluation reports. Carlone and Johnson’s (2007) grounded model of science identity provided a culturally sensitive framework for examining science experiences of minority students. Findings In a program that emphasized the academic readiness of students pursing bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering programs, the salience of students’ science identity was intricately related to their commitment to STEM. Research limitations/implications Understanding the program’s cultural components was not a specific objective of the study, but emerged as an important feature of students’ experiences and commitment to degree completion. Practical implications The program could assist students’ development of a science identity through the deliberate inclusion of activities and experiences that are culturally congruent with the students’ racial/ethnic identity. Originality/value Little empirical research is available to assess bridge programs for African Americans pursuing STEM degrees. Analyzing students’ transition from high school to college, within the context of a summer bridge program, affords a better understanding of how students navigate the early social and academic aspects of college and how participation in bridge helps plug the leaky pipeline to careers in STEM.

scholarly journals A Meta-analysis of University STEM Summer Bridge Program Effectiveness

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. ar21
Author(s):  
Brittany C. Bradford ◽  
Margaret E. Beier ◽  
Frederick L. Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Program Effectiveness ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
First Year ◽  
Summer Bridge Program ◽  
Summer Bridge ◽  
Bridge Programs ◽  
Bridge Program ◽  
University Retention ◽  
Future Program

A meta-analysis of university STEM summer bridge programs found that participation had a medium-sized effect on first-year overall GPA ( d = 0.34) and university retention (Odds Ratio OR] = 1.747). Although the analysis reflects the limited available data, it provides much-needed research on programs’ objective effectiveness and guides future program development.

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