In fall of 2019, Dr. Brian Bates, professor of Anthropology & Archaeology at Longwood University and director of the Longwood Institute of Archaeology, was awarded a three-year, $599,836 grant from the National Science Foundation through its Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.
Entitled “Improving STEM Competencies via Archaeology Research in the Staunton River Valley” (ISCAR), the overarching goal of the project is to improve STEM competency among both STEM and non-STEM undergraduate students through archaeological research. This project is focused on the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective field-rich immersion experiences in archaeology. Although many students do not make this connection, The National Science Foundation has long recognized archaeology as a STEM discipline.
This project is innovative in that it will engage students through field research in a subject they don’t traditionally perceive as STEM, archaeology. In this way, the project will circumvent students’ fear-based avoidance of STEM, thereby bridging the gap between non-STEM and STEM thinking and ultimately improving STEM competency. Among other things, this grant will:
- Expand our understanding of how to enhance the STEM learning of students through field research opportunities;
- Target rural, first-generation, low-income, and/or educationally disadvantaged students, and remove traditional financial obstacles which have prevented some from obtaining STEM field research experience;
- Provide $40,500 in scholarship support for students to facilitate participation in an archaeological field school;
- Provide $119,000 in stipends directly to undergraduate students to facilitate their participation in extended field research
