Center for Excellence in Science Education
The Center for Excellence in Science Education (CESE) in the Eberly College of Science mission is to provide faculty and students with a collaborative educational network that promotes excellence in science teaching and learning.
Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Established: 2010
Profile submitted by Jackie Bortiatynski
Vision and Goals
The Center for Excellence in Science Education (CESE) in the Eberly College of Science mission is to provide faculty and students with a collaborative educational network that promotes excellence in science teaching and learning.
Center/Program Structure
The Center is housed within the Eberly College of Science. The Center is in its formative years, and staff comprises the Director and one administrative assistant, although the College makes available additional staff resources in the area of data acquisition and management. Director Jackie Bortiatynski is Senior Lecturer in Chemistry in addition to her administrative role with CESE. Both internal and external collaboration is expected.
The Center supports several Faculty Fellows (competitive application process, year-long appointment) who engage in research, course revision, pedagogic advocacy, curricular innovation etc as per their interests and areas of expertise. The Center works to connect people with resources and with one another, in addition to providing programming for faculty and others engaged in teaching.
This site map gives some structural organization of the center:
http://cese.science.psu.edu/sitemap
Description of Programming
The primary efforts of the Center are (1) a Learning Assistants program to involve undergraduates in the classroom where they gain teaching experience as well as serving as critical liaisons between faculty and students; (2) the Faculty Fellows program; (3) workshops for new and established faculty members; (4) the Science Education Interest Group - SEIG - that meets monthly to discuss relevant topics in education; (5) a Learn to Learn program co-developed and co-taught by faculty from the Eberly College of Science and the College of Education, materials from which are used in First Year Seminars, in faculty workshops, in TA development workshops, and in mentorship activities for graduate students supervising research of high school Upward Bound Math Science students.
Successes and Impacts
The Center currently engages in several types of programming. Recent programs are documented here: http://cese.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/past-cese-events. Center staff are most excited about the number of established faculty members who attended a summer series of "Just In Time" workshops in early August to assist faculty in their preparation for the Fall semester. Pre- and post-workshop surveys are currently under analysis, but feedback collected during the earliest workshops provides indication of the impact of the event on the dozens of faculty who attended.
Elements Contributing to Success
CESE receives support and visibility through the Dean and the Associate Dean of the College. The college culture within the Eberly College of Science values high-quality teaching based on high-impact research-based practices, and this message is shared with faculty members routinely and enthusiastically by upper administration. The citing of the Center within the College makes it immediately relevant to the faculty members.