Water Pollution and Leukemia: A Model for Interdisciplinary Research in the Classroom Experiences Incorporating Effective Pedagogical Approaches for Community College General Biology I Lab Students

Abstract

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in the United States faces a host of problems including low recruitment and retention in STEM disciplines, underrepresentation of multiple segments of the US population, and a host of other issues.  These problems are well recognized and a variety of solutions are being implemented by interested parties at multiple points along the STEM education pipeline.  Incorporating research into STEM classes is an effective way of enhancing student success in STEM education at the undergraduate level.  This work describes the development and implementation of a research in the classroom project for community college General Biology I lab students which addresses possible relationships between water pollution and cancer while simultaneously implementing established High Impact Practices (HIPs).  This work is part of a larger effort to recruit and retain the next generation of Earth and Environmental Systems engineering students at the undergraduate level.  Our inherently interdisciplinary model, which integrates multiple pedagogical elements, can be easily modified for implementation in a wide variety of undergraduate STEM courses allowing students to benefit from participation in research while generating actual scientific data, making connections with global and personal issues, and illustrating relevant discipline concepts.