ProjectDescription

Brooklyn Gateway - Project Description

The Brooklyn Gateway Project is designed to increase the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors successfully completing Biology, Chemistry and Physics Gateway (introductory) courses.

Gateway courses are the first undergraduate science courses students take to become science majors. Students frequently fail these courses. After failure or low grades, many students move into non-science areas. These students, now out of the STEM majors pool, might have succeeded with proper support in the Gateway courses.

We have targeted Biology I (Biology 13), Chemistry I (Chemistry 11), and Physics I (Physics 11) as the Gateway courses at Kingsborough Community College. Our program's student support services utilize Kingsborough's unique 4-semester academic calendar: 12-week fall semester, 6-week winter module, 12-week spring semester, and 6-week summer module.

The support system consists of winter and summer module immersion programs each consisting of the following components:

The regularly scheduled courses with typical lecture and laboratory components - students register for these courses as they usually would.
Mandatory peer-led team learning (PLTL) sessions held in addition to regularly scheduled lecture and laboratory time.
The availability of tutoring.
Student financial support (stipends).
Availability of faculty-directed student research projects.
Group trips to NYC science facilities and seminars by professional scientists.

After successfully completing a Gateway Course in a winter or summer module, the student moves on to the next course in their science sequence. This course might be another supported Gateway Course (e.g., the student could take Biology I in a winter module and then take Chemistry I during the spring semester). If the student does take another Gateway Course during a 12-week spring or fall semester, all components as listed above are available except for financial support. Student financial support is only available during winter and summer modules as an inducement to concentrate exclusively on science studies, instead of diluting study time by outside employment, during these relatively brief (6-week) but intense time periods.

Science majors with at least A- grades in Gateway courses and enrolled in at least one sequential science course that follows a Gateway course, may apply to become leaders in PLTL sessions. PLTL leadership and other aspects of the PLTL process are described in more detail elsewhere in this website.