A REFLECTION ON THE EFFECT OF STEM COURSES ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The STEM course CAMP060, integrating chemistry, arts, mathematics and physics, represents a strategic shift from the traditional paradigm of discrete preparatory courses.  Students joining the engineering programs struggled in preparatory courses; the issues were primarily related to lack of student engagement, motivation, learning skills, adaptation, and discrepancy in expectations.  In the Spring of 2016, the CAMP060 course was initiated and piloted primarily to a group of students entering an engineering program to prepare them for their Freshmen courses. The course was designed as a developmental pre-calculus level course involving algebra, geometry, trigonometry, chemistry, and physics with an emphasis on their use in engineering. Simultaneously, the arts component was embedded in the course through stimulating and enhancing both communications and writing skills. The course delivered content using a hands-on-hybrid-flipped model with an emphasis on self-study, context rich problems solving, and study skills for university students.  The results were promising and showed a great potential for further experimentation and development. Students’ performance in the individual subjects were remarkably comparable. Furthermore, the success rate in the subsequent level courses was notably higher as students exhibited higher maturity, responsibility, and academic persistence.