Author Profile

Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

The mission of CeMaST  is  to  empower, conduct, and support STEM education and scholarship across the  K-16 continuum.

Illinois State University
Established: 1992

http://cemast.illinoisstate.edu

Profile submitted by Dr. Rebekka Darner, CeMaST Director

Vision and Goals

The mission of  CeMaST  is  to  empower, conduct, and support STEM education and scholarship across the  K – 16 continuum. CeMaST's mission aligns with Illinois State University's strategic plan, Educate-Connect-Elevate.

Center Structure

The Center reports to the Associate VP for Research and Graduate Education. We have one full-time Director, four Associate Directors who represent three colleges (Arts & Sciences, Applied Sciences & Technology, and Education), and two permanent support staff. Associate Directors receive one teaching release per semester for their contributions. We also support an additional 5-10 staff members, many of whom are undergraduate and graduate students, on externally funded projects.

Description of Programming

Goal 1:  Empower ISU-led STEM leaders in the solving of societal problems  
ISU is the intellectual home to numerous academics who consistently advance the frontier of knowledge in their disciplines. In addition to burgeoning knowledge's utility in transforming the perspectives and problem-framing within the discipline, an important way to gauge the utility of newly created knowledge is to consider the extent to which it contributes to solving society's most dire problems, including climate change, poverty, inequity and discrimination, food and water availability, spread of preventable disease, large-scale conflict, government and corporate transparency and accountability, and educational quality.  CeMaST 's  objective is to  support ISU community members as they seek opportunities to use their STEM expertise to  solve  societal  problems . Accomplishing this goal would usually come in the form of aiding in the creation of  grant proposals and facilitating networking opportunities that enable strong "broader impacts" of grant-funded projects, but this goal could be accomplished through other means.

Goal 2: Support the integration of evidence-based instruction into STEM classrooms
Instructional strategies that support students' active construction of STEM knowledge, despite their long-standing support in scholarly literature, are not used in most STEM classrooms, particularly at the postsecondary level  in which  lecture and procedure-driven laboratory exercises continue to be the norm. Not only do such practices fail to foster optimal learning, but research also shows  that  they further alienate women and minority students,  both of whom  are underrepresented in STEM fields.  CeMaST 's  objective is  to  support  the transition toward evidence-based teaching practices in STEM classrooms at all  levels, but particularly at ISU and especially those practices that help to alleviate underrepresentation .  Accomplishing this goal can involve several activities:

  • Supporting and providing professional development to STEM faculty, particularly junior faculty who are just beginning to develop their instructional practices and beliefs, that enables skill development in evidence-based instructional methods;  
  • Supporting grant-writing efforts and seeking grant funding that would enable the implementation of evidence-based instructional methods in STEM classrooms;  
  • Supporting grant-writing efforts and seeking grant funding that would enable persistence in ISU STEM majors among students who belong to underrepresented groups;  
  • Facilitating data collection that enables data-driven evaluation   of STEM educational programs, such as the STEM majors at ISU;  and  
  • Mentorship of STEM faculty who want to improve their instructional efficacy.  

Goal 3: Reach out to and serve communities who are currently marginalized by mainstream STEM 
Despite the national push for STEM, many communities have not been engaged in this push, as a continuation of their historic marginalization. It continues to be the case that the most effective STEM instruction is  usually  observed in mostly  European American , suburban, mostly middle  class  or upper   middle class  communities. Similarly, informal STEM learning opportunities are relatively scarce in rural, low-income, and mostly minority communities. Furthermore, the STEM canon typically represents perspectives of  European American , male scientists who belong to older generations while ignoring or marginalizing the STEM discoveries and interests of women, people of color, and young people.  CeMaST 's  objective is  to  mak e  high-quality , evidence-based  STEM learning opportunities   that  reflect a diversity of STEM perspectives  available in  Illinois's  underserved communities , particularly in McLean County and central Illinois. Accomplishing this goal can involve several activities:

  • Seeking and supporting grant funding to establish such opportunities;  
  • Disseminating STEM discoveries through avenues that reach young - adult and  diverse audiences (e.g., Twitter, podcasting);  
  • Collaborating with local organizations, such as the Unity Community Center and the YWCA, to provide such opportunities;  
  • Facilitating networking between organizations that can complement each other's work and distribute efforts to accomplish shared goals;  
  • Providing in-kind resources, when available, to facilitate such opportunities;  and  
  • Leveraging ISU researchers' need for "broader impacts" (i.e., Goal 1) to provide such opportunities. 

Successes and Impacts

  1. Writing and developing integrated STEM curricula, which has been adopted in several states.
  2. Developing and implementing STEM educational outreach programs, such as Smart Grid for All, across Illinois.
  3. Supporting millions of dollars of research conducted by the ISU community.
  4. Conducting STEM educational research across the K-16 continuum.

Supplemental Materials