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Abstract We intend to prepare a poster only. Recent research underscores concerning trends in U.S. engineering schools, revealing a 56% average retention rate, with a 20% lower rate for underrepresented minorities. Alarmingly, 40% of STEM students shift to non-technical majors. In a Southwest School District, a primary source of undergraduates for a prominent R1 institution and a community college, only 21% of high school students demonstrated math proficiency in the 2020-2021 academic year. This disparity is exacerbated for Latinx students in Title I schools with limited access to experienced math teachers and advanced courses. Recognizing deficiencies in mathematical skills as a major barrier to STEM degrees, bridging the gap between high school preparation and the expectations of engineering and science majors is imperative. This work centers on a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project at a large R1 institution (XXX) and a Southwest community college (YYY), aiming to enhance fundamental math skills for pre-engineering students using place-based engineering Canvas application. The collaboration involves faculty from mathematics, engineering, education, and computer sciences. The interdisciplinary team developed conceptually-rich Canvas applications like "Sending Signals" and "Thru the Wall", illustrating arithmetic operations in Electrical engineering and Computer science within a Southwest metropolitan context. Accompanying exercises embedded empirically-proven scaffolding instructional strategies, making math remediation more engaging and effective for students. Testing within the current co-requisite model for precalculus math will determine the applications' efficacy in aiding STEM-aspiring students in mastering fundamental math principles. This innovative approach seeks to address the critical need for improved math proficiency among high school graduates entering STEM majors at XXX and YYY. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Grant # xxxxxxx.
Neda et al. (Thu,) studied this question.