Leveraging the Mathematical Contest in Modeling to Enhance the Undergraduate STEM Experience

This article proposes that in addition to training teams of students to succeed in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, the contest and the preparation for competition can be successfully used as a framework to teach an auxiliary skill set to undergraduate STEM majors through workshop-style modules. The skills emphasized are collaboration across disciplines to creatively approach a problem, scientific writing, and the visual display of quantitative information. These skills are highly valued in industry and graduate study, yet are not always explicitly taught in a traditional undergraduate curriculum. The contest experience gives students a realistic appreciation for collaborative science work. Moreover, the active learning aspect of the preparation is broadly linked with student success in STEM, particularly for traditionally underrepresented STEM students.