Aid DCL: integrating project-and-place-based research experiences to increase persistence in stem undergraduate students

Morningside University received a $239,925 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Office of Integrative Activities (CFDA 47.083) awarded on July 15, 2025, to support PERSIST 2, an enhanced iteration of a successful project-based learning initiative. The grant funds the expansion and delivery of an integrated project- and place-based research experience program designed to increase persistence and improve research skills among undergraduate biology and chemistry majors. Building on the success of the initial NSF-funded PERSIST program (2021–2023), which demonstrated positive outcomes in student attitudes toward science and retention rates, PERSIST 2 will offer a modified, more compact two-semester course sequence (condensed from three semesters) to accommodate multiple student cohorts. The program will be extended to all incoming biology and chemistry majors at Morningside University's Sioux City, Iowa campus, rather than a select participant pool, and will incorporate an additional component combining project-based learning with service and place-based learning experiences.

The project extends through June 30, 2028, and aims to serve the national interest by improving research skill development and fostering positive scientific attitudes in STEM undergraduates through active, experiential learning methodologies. By expanding access to evidence-based pedagogical approaches, Morningside University will enable more comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of project-based learning in sustaining student engagement and success in STEM disciplines.

Abstract

This level 2 engaged student learning project, integrating project-and-place based research experiences into general education courses to increase persistence (persist) 2, aims to serve the national interest by improving the development of research skills and positive attitudes toward science in undergraduate biology and chemistry majors through active learning experiences. Through prior research conducted at morningside university as part of the persist program, investigators demonstrated that project-based learning (PBL) positively impacted the development of incoming biology and chemistry majors. In particular, these students demonstrated more positive attitudes toward science, better research skills, and a higher level of retention when compared to a control group. As a result, morningside plans to offer another iteration of this project – persist 2--to an expanded participant pool, making IT available to all incoming biology and chemistry majors. The investigators hypothesize that the ?learning by doing? Core of persist 2 may benefit all students at this early stage of development. Persist 2 will be a modified, enhanced version of the original persist program, based on lessons learned from the first iteration. Specifically, a more compact PBL-intensive course sequence will be implemented (two semesters instead of three), allowing for multiple student cohorts, and we will offer an additional experience combining PBL with service and place-based learning. Building on the success of the NSF-funded persist project (2021?2023), which improved stem persistence and student development among biology and chemistry majors, morningside university proposes a revised version, persist 2. This new project will: (1) expand participation to all undergraduate biology and chemistry majors, increasing student impact and enabling more robust evaluation of pedagogical interventions; (2) introduce a new service-learning short course; (3) engage a broader group of stem faculty; (4) train and mentor a postdoctoral teaching fellow; and (5) disseminate project innovations through publications, presentations, and workshops. These expansions build a more widely applicable model of stem undergraduate engagement in project-based and service learning to improve success for all students. Researchers plan to use mixed methodology to assess the overall effectiveness of the persist 2 model and advance the overall understanding of the effects of dedicated active learning experiences in the development of stem college students. The NSF iuse:EDU program supports research development projects to improve the effectiveness of stem education for all students. Through the engaged student learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This project is jointly funded by iuse:EDU, and the established program to stimulate competitive research (epscor). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.