Uncorking Curricular Bottlenecks to Student Success in STEM

Nathan Klingbeil, Wright State University

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The inability of incoming students to advance past the traditional first-year calculus sequence is a primary cause of attrition in engineering programs across the country. Similar curricular bottlenecks exist in other STEM disciplines, and in many ways, across all of higher education. Such curricular bottlenecks are of particular concern for members of underrepresented groups, many of whom are woefully underprepared to succeed in a traditional STEM curriculum.  This presentation will describe an NSF funded initiative to redefine the way engineering mathematics is taught, with the goal of increasing student retention, motivation and success in engineering.  It will include a data-driven, longitudinal analysis of program impacts on student performance, perception and retention.  It will also explore impacts on student motivation and self-efficacy, and how those impacts disproportionately benefit the success of underrepresented students. Finally, it will address scalable approaches to maximize progress toward degree for large populations of initially underprepared students.  The presentation will conclude with implementation recommendations which are widely transferrable across all STEM disciplines.  As such, attendees will be challenged to consider how appropriate adaptations of the Wright State approach might be used to uncork curricular bottlenecks to student success across their own disciplines.

Dr. Nathan Klingbeil is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Wright State University in Dayton, OH.  He served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science from 2013-2018.   Dr. Klingbeil earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1998.  He is the lead investigator for Wright State’s National Model for Engineering Mathematics Education, which has been supported by NSF STEP Type 1, CCLI Phase 3 and TUES Type 3 awards.  Dr. Klingbeil is widely regarded as a national expert in student retention and success in STEM, and has served as a content expert for the national student success and professional development organizations Complete College America and Academic Impressions.  Prior to his appointment as Dean, he served as Associate Dean for Academic affairs from 2010-2013, as Director of Student Retention and Success from 2007-2009, and held the University title of Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching from 2005-2008.  Dr. Klingbeil has received numerous awards for his work in engineering and STEM education, and was named the 2005 Ohio Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

This event is co-sponsored by HHMI UPSTEM.