College of Science and Mathematics
Proposed HIPs/Active Learning Interventions
(Ideas Lab 2022 and External)
Across the CSM, faculty have been hard at work experimenting with educational interventions that increase student success measures and improve the student's undergraduate experience. With the support of an NSF HSI grant faculty at Fresno State, Stanislaus State, and CSU Bakersfield were given an opportunity to collaborate and brainstorm novel interventions during Ideas Lab 2022. These interventions were created with the rationale that "Small Changes" implemented both within and outside the classroom by faculty could lead to "Big Rewards" for participating students. In addition to the Ideas Lab, the grant seeks to support faculty efforts related to High Impact Practices (HIPs). The following information are the interventions that have been implemented at the 3 campuses, broken down by the most typical time of intervention implementation. (WIP - seeking permission from faculty as point of contacts)
These interventions are typically implemented right before or at the beginning of the semester and focus on reducing student anxiety and promoting positive habits that will assist students throughout the course and potentially throughout their college experience.
Living Syllabus
A living syllabus takes advantage of the flexibility and transfer of information provided by having an online learning management system to transform the format of the traditional syllabus. Instead of a static legalese type pdf file that is printed, the living syllabus acts like an interactive website. Sections of the syllabus are treated as their own webpage with functioning hyperlinks, redirects, and a search function. The living syllabus can be updated as needed to reflect changes in classroom curricula and dates/deadlines and allows students to engage with the syllabus in an effective and efficient manner.
Number of Campuses Involved: 3
Number of Students Impacted: 553
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey
Significant Results: Results currently under analysis
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Faculty focus on decreasing the anxiety that commonly affects students in the STEM field by incorporating lesson plans on imposter syndrome and modeling how a student can go from "I don't know" to "How do I find out". Faculty also either held in class discussion for students to share experiences with common struggles or had students briefly write about a time they felt successful.
Number of Campuses Involved: 1 (Bakersfield)
Number of Students Impacted: 97
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey
Significant Results: Instructors found a significant decrease in student's perceived "negative affect" after participating in the intervention.
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
How to Learn - Growth Mindset and Reflections
Faculty introduce assignments based on increasing student self-efficacy and motivation. Specifically, they have students read or watch growth mindset related content and interview a professional in the student's field of interest to. The interview allows students to gain a deeper, holistic understanding of the experiences and obstacles the interviewee had to overcome. Afterwards, students write an essay summarizing what they have learned from growth mindset and the interview. Students were able to see what they were working towards, learned techniques to keep motivated in spite of failure, and had an opportunity to share their experiences with their fellow classmates through in-class discussions. The interventions are designed to motivate students to take ownership of their learning, build a sense of belonging and community within the course/field, and focus on obtaining a deeper understanding of knowledge within the course instead of fixating on course grade.
Number of Campuses Involved: 2
Number of Students Impacted: 272
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey, Based on Situational Expectancy Value Theory (SEVT)
Significant Results: Results currently under analysis
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
These interventions, as the name implies, focus on targeting the structure of course content. They implement active learning and HIPs strategies throughout - and in some cases require a complete overhaul of a traditional lecture-based course
Class Exchange
Transdisciplinary approach to include culturally relevant curricula into the classroom. Present social justice themes to a math modeling class; and mathematical ideas to an ethnic studies class. Faculty members went into each other's classroom for a certain period of time, gave a presentation relating their field of expertise to the course's topics, incorporated an assignment, and had students share and discuss what they learned.
Number of Campuses Involved: 2
Number of Students Impacted: 132
Assessment Type: Standardized student-attitude questionnaire
Significant Results: Results currently under analysis
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Interactive Elements
Increase student in class participation using frequent, low-risk active learning based activities.
Number of Campuses Involved: 2
Number of Students Impacted: 158
Assessment Type: Instructor designed students survey
Significant Results: Results currently under analysis
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Story-telling
Faculty incorporate stories into their curriculum that are relevant to the topics presented in class. Storytelling can be used to demonstrate real life, practical application of skills being taught within the classroom. [Modified variant], faculty had students write their own story relating to a topic covered within class. [Modified variant] Faculty had students come up with a story using the techniques taught in class.
Number of Campuses Involved: 2
Number of Students Impacted: Currently under review
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey
Significant Results: Results currently under analysis
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Flipped Classroom Virtual Reality
Introduce Virtual Reality (VR) into a Flipped Classroom Gateway Chemistry course. Flipped Classroom assumes that time in class is better spent on activities and discussions that require higher order thinking rather than giving a lecture. Students are expected to take responsibility for learning the content outside of class and come to class with questions on the material. This frees up time in class for students to interact with the faculty member and other students, discussing and collaborating with other students to gain a deeper understanding of the content. In addition, the course takes advantage of VR to give students an alternative view of the difficult to comprehend chemistry topics. Visual representation of the information could bridge the gap and remove the disconnect students face when trying to comprehend chemistry concepts (i.e, molecular and atomic interactions).
Number of Campuses Involved: 1
Number of Students Impacted: 45
Assessment Type: Standardized student questionnaire: Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG)
Significant Results: Paired sample t-test: Significant increase across all items after intervention, average means higher for students who had taken flipped classroom VR when compared to flipped classroom computer simulation in 9 items
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Research Deconstuction
In class "deconstruction" of a high quality research seminar. Initially designed to be implemented within lower division lecture courses over 2 5-week modules. Students attend a high level research seminar with the expectation that they will not understand most or all of the talk due to lack of relevant knowledge and skills at their current stage. Faculty then break down the seminar within the course, guiding students through the scientific process and helping them understand the logic of the research presented. Students get the opportunity to identify the hypothesis, replicate the experiments that researchers used, analyze the data gathered, and understand how researchers reached their conclusions. Students are encouraged to formulate novel approaches to reach their own conclusions and suggest future directions for the research. A major benefit for students is the opportunity to view their growth after participating in the intervention when the presenting researchers are brought back for a repeat seminar and subsequent Q&A session. A [modified variant] of research deconstruction has been implemented within Biology and Chemistry lower division courses at CSUF.
These interventions focus on how the course measures a student’s knowledge acquisition. There may be a change in the type or number of assessments as well as fundamental changes in how the student is assessed.
Student Graders
Transition from suggested homework and/or online homework submission to a paper-based format, with undergraduate student graders providing feedback.
Key Components:
Paper-Based Homework: Instead of using an online homework platform, students in the course submit their completed chemistry homework assignments on physical paper.
Undergraduate Student Graders: Undergraduate students who have previously excelled in General Chemistry were selected to serve as graders. These graders were responsible for assessing and giving feedback on the submitted homework assignments.
Feedback and Grading: Undergraduate graders review each student's homework, evaluating the correctness of their answers and providing constructive feedback. This feedback can include explanations of errors, suggestions for improvement, and guidance on problem-solving strategies.
Regular Grading Schedule: Homework assignments were graded promptly, and feedback was returned to students within a specified timeframe to ensure continuous learning and improvement.
Number of Campuses Involved: 1
Number of Students Impacted: 21
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey, currently under construction
Significant Results: Results currently under review
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Final Assessment Option: Research Proposal
Give students an alternative assessment as a means of promoting equity and social justice.
Number of Campuses Involved: 2
Number of Students Impacted: 58
Assessment Type: Instructor designed student survey
Significant Results: Results currently under review
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus:
Alternative Grading Strategies: Standards-Based Grading (mastery based grading)
Using feedback loops created through application of the four pillars of alternative grading (Clearly Defined Standards, Helpful Feedback, Marks Indicate Progress, Reattempts without penalty), transform the traditional grading method within a course to an alternative grading strategy, in this context standards-based grading. Traditional method of grading involves grading assignments using a weighted arbitrary number/percentage system that is then run through a formula to receive an average final grade (usually letter with or without a mark). Standards based grading involves tying each assessment to a specific learning objective or "standard" and the grading of that standard is based on clearly defined expectations for showing relevant competency. Students receive multiple low stakes assessments and are given multiple chances to receive a satisfactory mark for that particular standard (whether that be by a homework problem, exam, etc) throughout the course. One of the biggest benefits is the feedback that students receive as they progress from a non satisfactory to satisfactory mark. Final grades are based on the completion of a list of requirements, with each higher grade requiring showing satisfactory competency in more standards.
Number of Campuses Involved: All 3 campuses
Number of Students Impacted: Currently Under Review
Assessment Type: Currently under construction
Significant Results: N/A
Faculty Point of Contact
- CSU Fresno:
- CSU Bakersfield:
- CSU Stanislaus: