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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Point of Intervention
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Doctorate-granting Universities
Results 1 - 6 of 6 matches
Enabling Faculty to Adopt Deliberative Democracy Pedagogy: a tool to broaden and engage
Gwen Shusterman, Portland State University
This project has been focused on catalyzing pedagogical innovation in introductory science courses. In particular, structures have been put in place to facilitate the implementation of the model of Deliberative Democracy Pedagogy (DDP). DDP is an active learning strategy, based on deliberative democratic models of citizen engagement in science policymaking. This integrative pedagogical approach, revises the delivery of conventional introductory science content around modules that engage students with current science policy controversies. Teaching teams of faculty and graduate students have attended summer pedagogical workshops, developed curricular modules, implemented the modules and participated in regular Communities of Practice meetings.
Program Components: Professional Development:Student Assessment, Curriculum Development, Pedagogical Training, Diversity/Inclusion, Institutional Systems:Incentive/Reward Systems, Interdepartmental Collaboration, Outreach:Outreach to K12 Teachers and Students, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Outreach:Presentations/Talks, Supporting Students:Professional Preparation
Target Audience: Undergraduate Majors, First-year College Students, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Transfer Students, Non-tenure Track Faculty, Teaching/Learning Assistants, Underrepresented Minority Students, First Generation College Students, Graduate Students
Point of Intervention: Course
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Higher Research Activity
UA-AAU STEM Collaborative Learning Spaces Project
Lisa Elfring, The University of Arizona
The Collaborative Learning Spaces Project (CLSP), an extension of the UA AAU Undergraduate STEM Education Project, is a university-wide collaborative effort at the University of Arizona to develop classroom environments that are more suitable for active learning pedagogies than traditional lecture halls. Instructors and their teaching teams who are using these rooms receive training and participate in faculty learning communities (FLCs) to explore best practices and innovative ideas for use of these spaces.
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Accessibility, Pedagogical Training, Institutional Systems:Evaluating Teaching, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Institutional Systems:Physical Infrastructure, Interdepartmental Collaboration, Professional Development:Student Assessment, Course Evaluation
Target Audience: Institution Administration, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Non-tenure Track Faculty, College/University Staff, First-year College Students, Undergraduate Majors, First Generation College Students, Graduate Students, Teaching/Learning Assistants, Transfer Students, Undergraduate Non-Majors, Pre-Service K12 Teachers, English Language Learners, Underrepresented Minority Students
Point of Intervention: Institution
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
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.
Program Components: Professional Development:Accessibility, Advising and Mentoring, Diversity/Inclusion, Supporting Students:Professional Preparation, Mentoring Program, Professional Development:Cultural Competency
Target Audience: College/University Staff, Underrepresented Minority Students, Institution Administration, Undergraduate Majors, Graduate Students, First-year College Students, K12 Students
Point of Intervention: Multiple Institutions
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
Windows on the Inquiry Classroom
Christopher Bauer, University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
The project is a comprehensive documentation of an inquiry-based course, a college-level interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of heat, temperature, and energy (Fire and Ice). The door to this classroom is open for observations at any time for teachers, teacher educators, professional developers, researchers, and science learners. The entire course is available at the University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository: https://scholars.unh.edu/bauer. All 27 class sessions are captured in 10-minute video segments from four angles, including instructor and student teams. All course documents are also available: daily agenda, student team instructions and work products, and hands-on activity procedures. There are behind-the-curtain stories as well: instructor previews and debriefing for each class, graduate interns reviewing every class, student focus groups, and videos about course design process.
Program Components: Professional Development:Pedagogical Training, Course Evaluation, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Professional Development:Student Assessment, Curriculum Development
Target Audience: Non-tenure Track Faculty, College/University Staff, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Teaching/Learning Assistants, Post-doctoral Fellows, Graduate Students, Institution Administration, In-Service K12 Teachers, Pre-Service K12 Teachers
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
Faculty Study Circles
Bryan Dewsbury, Florida International University
In this program we engage faculty in small study circles (<8 members) of books on race and privilege as they pertain to higher education. Study circles meet for three individual sessions, and discuss various elements of the chosen book. Books chosen in the past include Whistling Vivaldi (Claude Steele), Blindspot (Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banjani) and the Righteous Mind (Jonathan Haidt). At the end of session three, the study circle identifies concrete changes the university community can engage in on issues relating to race and privilege, as suggested by the reading material.
Program Components: Professional Development:Diversity/Inclusion, Accessibility, Cultural Competency
Target Audience: Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Graduate Students, Post-doctoral Fellows, Institution Administration, Non-tenure Track Faculty
Point of Intervention: Institution
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Highest Research Activity
College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) Business Partners
Maryalicia Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
UNC Charlotte has the largest number of IT students in the Carolina's and one of the largest in the nation through the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI). Currently, the CCI Business Partners program has nearly 50 companies that work hand-in-hand with the College to provide career prep and workforce readiness to the students. Students work with the Business Partner companies/employers to practice professional development skills, and the result is a robust IT talent pipeline to support the economic development of the whole region.
Program Components: Institutional Systems:Degree Program Development, Professional Development:Curriculum Development, Diversity/Inclusion, Advising and Mentoring, Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Student Engagement, Outreach:Marketing Campaign, Informal Education, Supporting Students:Internships, Outreach:Public Outreach, Supporting Students:Scholarships, Grants, Workstudy
Target Audience: Undergraduate Non-Majors, Underrepresented Minority Students, Undergraduate Majors, Transfer Students, First Generation College Students, Graduate Students
Point of Intervention: College/School
Institution Type: Doctorate-granting Universities:Higher Research Activity