Faculty-led three-year project will strengthen student success in introductory mathematics and biology courses while preparing students for today’s workforce

Bronx Community College (BCC) has earned a competitive $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance the way students learn mathematics and biology through innovative, project-based approaches that prepare them for success in college and today’s workforce.

The three-year project, Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning to Strengthen Quantitative Literacy, Academic Achievement, and Career Readiness in Community College Pathways, will engage students in collaborative investigations of open-ended, real-world problems using authentic data. The initiative is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Kealey Dias, Professor in BCC’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Laura Broughton, Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

By grounding coursework in recognizable, real-world questions, the project aims to make introductory math and science feel relevant rather than obstacles to overcome. Instead of relying only on lectures, traditional laboratory activities, and routine problem sets, students will work together to formulate questions, analyze data, communicate findings and defend their conclusions.

“This National Science Foundation award recognizes the innovative work of Professors Dias and Broughton and reflects Bronx Community College’s commitment to student success and research excellence,” said Bronx Community College President Larry D. Johnson Jr. “Our students are entering a workforce being reshaped by artificial intelligence. By helping them connect classroom learning to real-world problems, we prepare them not just to pass a course, but to think, collaborate, lead and gain the skills employers value – the ones generative AI cannot easily replace.”

The initiative will focus on foundational mathematics and biology courses, where many students begin their academic journey and where many stall. Faculty from both disciplines will collaborate to create interactive learning experiences that encourage inquiry, teamwork and deeper understanding.

“The world our students are entering has changed, and how we teach needs to change with it.” Dias said. “Many of our students won’t love math or biology for its own sake the way a specialist does, and applications give both STEM and non-STEM majors the context and motivation to care about what they are learning and to persist in their degree programs.”

Broughton, who will lead the project’s faculty development component, will train cohorts of mathematics and biology instructors through workshops and cross-departmental collaboration – building capacity that outlasts the grant.

“Designing and implementing interactive learning experiences for the classroom takes time, pedagogical skills, and discipline-specific expertise,” Broughton said. “This grant provides interdisciplinary teams of faculty the opportunity to create and use inquiry-based experiences in foundational classes for both biology and mathematics. We’re building an interdepartmental community of STEM faculty proficient in problem-based learning and a repository of project-based learning activities available to all.”

The project will produce freely available, openly licensed teaching resources that educators across the country can adapt for their own classrooms, extending the impact of the grant well beyond Bronx Community College.