STEM Education Initiative
Our mission is to improve STEM Education "from K to gray" in NC and across the country.
Provost's Office, North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Established: 2007
Profile submitted by Robert Beichner
Vision and Goals
Our mission is to improve STEM Education "from K to gray" in NC and across the country.
Center/Program Structure
The Director is the sole "employee" and the center operates under the auspices of the provost's office. Internal collaboration is expected and external collaboration is encouraged. Although the Director is 3/4 administration, he is also 1/4 faculty. There are no other positions within the center.
Description of Programming
We work with STEM education at multiple levels. We are especially involved in programs for college level, like the SCALE-UP project. We are also working with early college high schools in NC. We are helping lead a class for senior citizens as well. We help support the work of The Science House, an outreach program across the entire state. In the past we have helped the NC Legislature develop policies to promote STEM education and careers across the state.
Successes and Impacts
SCALE-UP (Student Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies) is our largest program. It has been implemented in more that 250 institutions around the world. Most of the adopting sites are in the US. Our website, http://scaleup.ncsu.edu, provides documentation from the impact at many of the sites. There are approximately 50 publications listed on the site.
Elements Contributing to Success
Long-term administrative support and enthusiastic faculty.