Capacities and Roles of Centers in Undergraduate STEM education
By Deborah L. Carlisle and Gabriela C. Weaver, UMass Amherst
Overview:
The intent of our research is to inform the community about the ways in which Centers (STEM Education Centers, SECs, and Centers for Teaching and Learning, CTLs) support undergraduate STEM education on their campuses. Our research examines the development of individual centers, their functional and structural features, focusing on current areas of emphasis and impact, as situated within their institutional contexts. To accomplish this, we gathered data across organizational levels seeking to understand the roles of Centers from varied perspectives: through STEM faculty and department chairs engaged with the Center, from the director and staff of the Center, as well as the perceived value of the Center by the upper administration. We also sought to identify the ways in which centers work together on their campuses to sustain and scale initiatives.
Research Questions:
- How do STEM Education Centers and Centers for Teaching and Learning, with an emphasis in STEM education, operate on their campuses?
- What research, programmatic, and/or organizational challenges in undergraduate STEM education are these Centers currently addressing?
- In what ways are Centers addressing the national priorities in undergraduate STEM education?
Publication(s):
- Carlisle, Deborah L., and Gabriela C. Weaver. "STEM education centers: catalyzing the improvement of undergraduate STEM education." International journal of STEM education 5.1 (2018): 47. Link https://rdcu.be/bbNcp
- Carlisle, Deborah L., and Gabriela C. Weaver. "The Role of Centers: Disrupting the Status Quo While Stabilizing Initiatives in Undergraduate STEM." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 52, no. 1 (2020): 60-70. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00091383.2020.1693852
- Draft Paper on Capacities and Roles of Centers in Undergraduate STEM education. Capacities_of_Centers_May2019.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 323kB Sep27 21)