Initial Publication Date: August 2, 2020

NSEC Webinar on Center Evaluation

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

9:00 am PT | 10:00 am MT | 11:00 am CT | 12:00 pm ET

Recording is here

Resources (presentations, evaluation reports, and more) are here

Speakers

  • Sharon Locke, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for STEM at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Rachel Kennison, Interim Director, Center for Education, Innovation and Learning in the Sciences, UCLA
  • Shanna Shaked, Senior Associate Director, Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences, UCLA
  • Moderator: Deborah Carlisle, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at UMass Amherst and Instructor of Biology at Williams College

Abstract

NSEC is pleased to host a webinar that will feature two successful evaluation approaches: one from the Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) presented by Sharon Locke, and the second from the UCLA Center for Education, Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) presented by Rachel Kennison and Shanna Shaked. Each director will provide an overview of their center's approach to the evaluation process highlighting key features, lessons learned, outcomes, and challenge areas. We will summarize areas of overlap/similarities between the two center's evaluation processes, as well as specific contrasts emerging from their different missions, institutional needs, and culture. This will be followed by a Q & A session. Recognizing the challenges faced as STEM Education Centers seek to evaluate the tremendous variety of things they do, we look forward to a rich discussion around how to support centers in this process.

Audience

This webinar is designed to support STEM Education Centers in the evaluation process and may be of interest to Centers for Teaching and Learning with an emphasis in STEM education. We welcome center directors, associate directors, staff, and faculty, who are seeking information regarding how to successfully evaluate the work of their center. Additionally, we invite all individuals associated with STEM education programming, research, and services that pertain to a college or university center.

Goals

In this webinar, we will discuss the following:

  • Two STEM Education Centers will share an overview of their evaluation processes
    • Highlighting key features, lessons learned, outcomes, and challenge areas
  • Specific contrasts emerging from their different missions, institutional needs, and culture
  • To provide support and identify best practices for STEM Center evaluation

Logistics

Event Date: August 25, 2020

Event Start Time: 9:00 AM PT/10:00 AM MT/11:00 AM CT/12:00 PM ET

Event End time: 10:00 AM PT/11:00 AM MT/12:00 PM CT/1:00 PM ET

Duration - 60 minutes

Format: Online web presentation via Zoom web meeting software with questions and discussion. Detailed instructions for joining the webinar will be emailed to registered participants one day prior to the webinar.

Rachel Kennison is the Interim Director of UCLA's Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences. Along with co-facilitating and administering the suite of CEILS programming aimed at supporting faculty in implementing more equitable teaching practices, Dr. Kennison is the instructor of the innovative career development course for Life Science undergraduate majors, LS 110: Career Exploration in the Life Sciences. She is the Institutional Administrative Co-Leader of UCLA's Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL@UCLA), providing certification in scientific teaching and professional development for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. She is also an assistant adjunct professor in UCLA's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Shanna Shaked is the Senior Associate Director of UCLA's CEILS and the founding director of UCLA's interdisciplinary undergraduate Learning Assistant program to promote active learning and inclusivity in large lecture courses, enhancing learning for more than 5,000 students per quarter. Having done research in physics, sustainability, astronomy, and education, she has supported hundreds of faculty and multiple curricular revisions in building quantitative STEM skills in more equitable and inclusive ways. She is also an adjunct clinical professor in University of Michigan's School of Public Health and a member of the NSEC Steering Committee.

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Sharon Locke is founding director of the Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach and professor of environmental sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). The Center's focus is increasing recruitment, persistence, and success in STEM for underrepresented students along K-16 educational pathways. Sharon's current research includes examining self-efficacy, scientific identity, and sense of belonging among undergraduates who are early in their degree program. Under her direction, the STEM Center has steadily grown since 2010, and now comprises a team of nine faculty and staff members who have partnered with 29 different SIUE departments to promote excellence in STEM education at the University and beyond.

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Moderator

Deborah L. Carlisle is a post-doctoral research scholar and the lead researcher for the Network of STEM Education Centers (NSEC). She works across the national landscape with directors and staff of STEM Education Centers and Centers for Teaching and Learning. She is also a professor in the biology department at Williams College. (dcarlisl@umass.edu)