National Institute on Scientific Teaching

About

Who is this program for?

Participants include current and future post-secondary educators from both research- and teaching-intensive institutions. Each year, hundreds of participants take part in various NIST programs. The Mobile, or institution-based, Summer Institutes (MoSIs), draw participants from the same department or institution.

The National Institute on Scientific Teaching (NIST) empowers and inspires college and university instructors to transform STEM education through evidence-based teaching practices. NIST is dedicated to STEM education reform, improving science literacy, attracting more diverse students to research and increasing the number of students who become scientists at colleges and universities across the United States.

NIST models the scientific teaching principles it promotes and supports participants in directly applying these principles to the development of teaching materials. NIST curriculum includes core elements such as active learning strategies, effective assessment development, and inclusive teaching practices. NIST alumni are actively transforming STEM education on their home campuses, contributing to national STEM education initiatives and disseminating their evidence-based teaching efforts and research through publications.

What is our approach?

NIST workshops range from short "Happy Hours" that highlight single strategies or issues to intensive multi-day workshops that introduce STEM educators to the principles of evidence-based teaching.

What will you learn?

NIST curriculum enables participants to answer the following questions:

  • What is scientific teaching? What are some challenges I might need to address in implementing scientific teaching strategies?
  • How can I create and sustain a more inclusive learning environment for my students through scientific teaching?
  • How can scientific evidence inform the teaching practices that I implement?
  • How can I use backward design to align learning objectives, assessments, and active learning strategies?
  • What modes of assessment can I use to promote student learning and inform instruction?
  • How does cognitive science research lay the foundation for the scientific teaching approaches and practices to use in my classroom?
  • How can I implement and disseminate scientific teaching in my community?

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