RSSP Bridge Modules
Current Modules
To provide support beyond Freshman year, faculty involved in the Regents STEM Scholars Program have designed online bridge courses in Genetics, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, and Disciplinary Writing. Each of these “on-ramps” asks of the students ~12–15 hours of their time and in return strives to prepare them for the intellectual challenges—new concepts, deeper dives into primary scientific literature, raised expectations for written work—of upper level science courses.
Bridge to Genetics
The Bridge to Genetics module is centered on a single focal paper from the primary literature, allowing Scholars the chance to stop and highlight key concepts along the way, as well as practice reading scientific papers.
Bridge to Organic Chemistry
The Bridge to Organic Chemistry helps students connect meaningfully with ideas they have already been exposed to but may not have fully understood from General Chemistry and see how these concepts will be applied in Organic Chemistry.
Bridge to Physics
The Bridge to Physics module was designed to hit on five primary topics that fit in the overlap between “concepts that students struggle with in physics” and “concepts that can be understood without having ever seen a physics problem before.”
Bridge to Disciplinary Writing
The Bridge to Disciplinary Writing module is designed to provide Scholars the chance to translate the communication of scientific knowledge from one context to another, preparing Scholars to adapt to any writing task in the sciences.
Bridge to Biochemistry
The Bridge to Biochemistry reviews key concepts and processes from earlier foundational Biology and Chemistry courses that are critical for success in Biological Chemistry. Topics include proteins, signaling, metabolism, and reaction equilibriums.
All modules are run online. Modules are 0 credits but do appear on students’ transcripts as a course with a passing grade. Each module lasts 2+ weeks with a wide range of online pedagogies and an expectation of ~12 hours of work.
The bridge courses run online in Canvas, but we strive to sustain a sense of community among our students. Here we see Joshua De Los Santos (‘19) and Vicky Yanouskiy (‘20) introducing themselves in videos to the Disciplinary Writing course.
Bridge Faculty
