STEM Education Innovation Programs

Submit a Program Description » The goal of this database is to serve as a searchable collection of effective practices and programs that support improving undergraduate STEM education. Use the text search and the boxes at the right to narrow the collection based on particular aspects that you are interested in.

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Results 1 - 10 of 40 matches

Developing and implementing institution data dashboards to drive course transformation
Shanna Shaked, University of California-Los Angeles
We are working with institutional research folks, deans and other interested faculty to develop and implement institutional data dashboards that can be used to foster conversations and interventions to improve teaching.

Activity Types: Teaching Circles/Learning Communities, Workshops
Program Components: Professional Development:Pedagogical Training, Curriculum Development, Institutional Systems:Evaluating Teaching, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Professional Development:Student Assessment
Target Audience: Institution Administration, Non-tenure Track Faculty, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty
Point of Intervention: Course
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity

CCHF Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program (CSURP)
Travis York, APLU
CSURP is a program for undergraduate students, majoring in chemistry or chemical engineering, interested in conducting supervised summer research. The program is supported by the Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF), which is a network of 23 academic and industrial research laboratories at 15 partner institutions throughout the country. The CCHF is one of eight National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Centers for Chemical Innovation.

Program Components: Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Undergraduate Research, Professional Preparation, Scholarships, Grants, Workstudy, Mentoring Program
Target Audience: First Generation College Students, Undergraduate Majors, Underrepresented Minority Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department

STEM Professional Academy to Reinvigorate the Culture of Teaching (SPARCT)
Laura Frost, Florida Gulf Coast University
A multidisciplinary STEM faculty professional development program called STEM Professional Academy to Reinvigorate the Culture of Teaching (SPARCT) is completing its second year at Florida Gulf Coast University. SPARCT includes a 36-hour summer STEM academy and a commitment to a faculty learning community during the subsequent academic year. We chronicled faculty development progress through video interviews with participants, student retention, interest, and confidence in SPARCT participant classes, and faculty feedback on programming.

Activity Types: Teaching Circles/Learning Communities, Workshops
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Pedagogical Training, Curriculum Development, Outreach:Inter-Institutional Collaboration
Target Audience: Non-tenure Track Faculty, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty
Point of Intervention: Institution
Institution Type: Master's Colleges and Universities

BreakThru: The Georgia STEM Accessibility Alliance (GSAA)
Nathan W. Moon, Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
BreakThru is a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project to broaden the participation of students with disabilities in secondary and postsecondary STEM education.

Activity Types: Workshops, Conferences
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Accessibility, Cultural Competency, Supporting Students:Professional Preparation, Mentoring Program, Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion
Target Audience: College/University Staff, Institution Administration, Underrepresented Minority Students, Undergraduate Majors, Graduate Students, First-year College Students, K12 Students
Point of Intervention: Multiple Institutions
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity

LAUNCH: Learning Communities
Travis York, APLU
Learning communities (LCs) are opportunities for students to actively participate in their education. Learning communities connect students with others of similar interests or backgrounds, enrich the learning process and promote greater student success. Creating a rich learning environment, learning communities emphasize relationships and community building among students, faculty and staff. LCs usually feature small group interaction, common intellectual experiences, and mentorship from peers and/or faculty. Students gain insight into the context for course material, develop a social network and support, are exposed to new experiences and develop their critical thinking skills.

Activity Types: Teaching Circles/Learning Communities
Program Components: Supporting Students:Learning Communities, Academic Support, Mentoring Program
Target Audience: Undergraduate Majors, First Generation College Students, First-year College Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Underrepresented Minority Students
Point of Intervention: Institution

Water Network for Team STEM (WaNTS)
Travis York, APLU
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), working with multiple partner agencies in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and in Pohnpei (PNI) State of the Federated States of Micronesia, two rural and remote jurisdictions of the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), proposes a two-year Design and Development Launch Pilot, Water Network for Team STEM, (WaNTS). WaNTS will nurture greater participation of Indigenous Pacific Islanders in STEM fields, facilitated by a collective impact model that employs the locally meaningful topic of clean drinking water as a vehicle for both K–12 engagement and broader community organization and action. Intergenerational and cross-jurisdiction networking will meld Western STEM with local ecological knowledge, empowering Inclusive Informal Science Learning Teams (IISLTs), Advisory Groups, and multiple, local, school-based Water Quality Management Teams (WQMTs), impacting thousands of residents. A repository of locally applicable educational materials will be created, maintained, and disseminated.

Activity Types: Workshops, Conferences
Program Components: Supporting Students:Learning Communities
Target Audience: Transfer Students, First Generation College Students, Undergraduate Majors, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Underrepresented Minority Students, K12 Students, First-year College Students
Point of Intervention: Multiple Institutions

Purpose + Reach = Individuals Measured for Excellence (PRIME) STEM Project
Travis York, APLU
PRIME STEM/Student Support Services is a federally-funded TRiO program (U.S. Department of Education). The program supports college students pursuing STEM majors (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) who are first-generation, demonstrate a financial need, and/or have a documented disability.

Activity Types: Teaching Circles/Learning Communities
Program Components: Supporting Students:Learning Communities, Academic Support, Mentoring Program
Target Audience: First Generation College Students, Undergraduate Majors, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Underrepresented Minority Students
Point of Intervention: Major/Department

Building the capacitiy for a robust STEM Teacher Preparation Program
Katherine Chen, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) in the STEM Education Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a distinctive program where WPI undergraduates earning a bachelor's degree in science, mathematics, or engineering can also obtain an initial teaching license in the state of Massachusetts, all within four years at the university. We are conducting design-based research on our teacher preparation program and local school system, and developing the infrastructure for our teacher candidates to be effective STEM teachers in high-need schools.

Program Components: Supporting Students:Cohort Program, Professional Preparation
Target Audience: Pre-Service K12 Teachers, Undergraduate Majors

Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA)
Travis York, APLU
The Health Sciences & Technology Academy increases the number of African American and other underrepresented students in West Virginia who pursue degrees in health sciences and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, thereby increasing the number of health practitioners and advocates in the medically undeserved communities of West Virginia. HSTA helps West Virginia high school students succeed in health care and other STEM-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. We marshal the efforts of hundreds of mentors―teachers, community members, and higher-education faculty, staff, and students―to create a framework that supports children facing social and financial challenges in obtaining a diploma and furthering their education.

Activity Types: Conferences, Workshops
Program Components: Supporting Students:Professional Preparation, Mentoring Program, Bootcamp, Student Engagement, Internships, Professional Development:Pedagogical Training
Target Audience: K12 Students

Engineering Career Awareness Program (ECAP)
Travis York, APLU

Program Components: Outreach:Student Recruiting, Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Bridge Program, Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Supporting Students:Tutoring, Learning Communities, Academic Support, Undergraduate Research, Scholarships, Grants, Workstudy
Target Audience: Underrepresented Minority Students, First-year College Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, K12 Students, First Generation College Students
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity