North Dakota State College of Science announced today that it has won a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop the project entitled "Transforming Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education at Small Rural Colleges: Incorporation of Remote Access NMR to create an Authentic Laboratory Environment." This project, under the direction of Dr. William R. Shay, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Science, and Dr. Kristi Jean, Nanoscience Program Coordinator of Applied Science and Technologies, will address the expansion of the instrumentation network to include a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer and the incorporation of remote access collaboration experiments and mini-projects that will be completed by student teams.
"The instrumentation network aims to transform how smaller colleges approach educating students in STEM programs by providing authentic hands-on learning experiences, instead of relying on simulations and published materials," said Shay. "The collaboration experiments and mini-projects provide small colleges without research programs the capability of providing a research-type experience for their students, and provide an environment for distance education students to feel more connected to the other participants."
A multi-layered approach will be used to measure the impact on students' content knowledge, laboratory skills and engagement; ability to transfer and integrate knowledge between the laboratory and lecture courses; and professional skills, such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and professional behaviors.
