SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Morningside University is excited to announce grant funding from the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program (NSF-IUSE) for a program called “HUMBLE: Helping Undergraduate at Morningside Build Scientific Literacy.”

The grant is for a total of $394,501 and is to be used to improve learning in STEM by undergraduates, better prepare these students for STEM careers, and ultimately lead them to positively impact society using their skills in STEM.

The principal investigator (PI) on Morningside’s project is Dr. Brandon Boesch, with Dr. Aaron Bunker, Dr. Shannon Claxton, Dr. Elizabeth Coody, and Dr. Brian McFarland as co-PIs. Morningside’s project specifically focuses on incorporating new methods of teaching about the concept of uncertainty in introductory-level STEM courses. 

“Our hypothesis is that by teaching about uncertainty in this manner, students will be better equipped to effectively approach complex problems involving scientific issues and develop logical, effective strategies for engaging these problems,” said Dr. Brian McFarland, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Furthermore, the program will evaluate how this work affects the development of students’ scientific literacy. Boesch and his fellow PIs hypothesize that this will enhance the development of students’ scientific literacy and enable them to more effectively address scientific issues they may encounter in everyday life.

The project also seeks to engage the community and the group looks forward to sharing their methods and findings with them.

“Using Morningside faculty and students as ambassadors, we will seek to enhance the development of scientific literacy for the community,” McFarland shared.