“Connect the DOTS: Digital Open Tools and Supports for Student Success in STEM,” is an initiative at City Tech aimed at addressing the challenges that students face when applying mathematical concepts to problems in other STEM disciplines. The program is federally funded through the US Department of Education’s Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP). The period of the project is Fall 2022 – Spring 2025.
In the first two years of the program, the Mathematics Department partnered with the Computer Systems Technology Department and the Physics Department to support students in introductory courses. Targeting specific topics identified by faculty in these departments as roadblocks for their students, our team developed supplementary mathematics materials to provide students with approachable, asynchronous support at their moment of need. Working with Physics faculty teaching General Physics I: Algebra Based (PHYS 1433), the team developed material on vectors, a foundational mathematical concept essential for describing all manner of physical phenomena. In Computer Systems Technology our focus was on logic gates, the building blocks of electronic circuits.
In future years the program will expand our efforts to include additional courses in both the Physics and Computer Systems Technology Departments.
