LSAMP IINSPIRE Project: Teaching and Program Resources
The IINspire-LSAMP mission is to develop a model for Midwest colleges and universities to attract and support the states' growing under-represented minority population into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. In addition the alliance aimed to attract and support students from other regions to STEM education opportunities in Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska. As part of this effort, IINspire-LSAMP offered a variety of professional development opportunities and websites resources to assist faculty and program directors in helping students succeed. Goals of professional development were to:
- Encourage and enable faculty and staff to fulfill the goals of the alliance and in particular their individual and campus goals related to the alliance goals.
- Provide some resource materials for campuses using models and strategies to inform new activities in support of students within the alliance and beyond.
- Assist faculty and staff from the alliance in working collaboratively to support improving their individual and community practices in support of sustained work.
- Facilitate co-creation and sharing of materials developed in a way that they can inspire and be used by others.
- Highlighting community accomplishments.
Professional development supported the creation of summer bridge programs and workshops that helped faculty learn strategies for building inclusive community, using societal issues to attract and support students, designing for inquiry and research-like or course-based research experiences, and planning programs such as a bridge program or cross program approach to STEM inclusive excellence.
Professional development
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Workshops
See the workshop series that supported faculty in learning and building community together to improve ideas for student success. In total 14 workshops were held, several in conjunction with the annual meeting, some with campus hosts, and others virtually. Alliance building was encoded through building participant collaboration into each session. Sessions focused on establishing a bridge program, program planning for equity and excellence, and supporting faculty in building skills with inclusive practices, research mentoring, or teaching societally relevant topics in engaging ways that support student success
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A Virtual Lunch and Learn to Explore Community Needs
After a few years of collaboration and demonstrated value through a successful bridge program, a lunch and learn brought together faculty engaged in the IINspire-LSAMP to identify opportunities for cross-site learning and collaboration that could inform education and student support across alliance sites. The experience ended with a needs assessment survey to capture ideas for future faculty collaboration. Read more about the lunch and learn...
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Summer Bridge Programs
Summer bridge programs are an effective way to increase incoming students' confidence and basic skills required for success in STEM fields. Explore descriptions of summer bridge programs, including an in-depth view of 2 summer bridge programs and read summaries of several summer bridge programs offered by colleges and universities across the U.S. Read more...
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Building Community
Explore a comprehensive compilation of resources about building community from a variety of projects. Find information about building community at the program level, building community through teaching approaches, and building community through faculty/student interactions. The page also presents information specific to building community in 2-year colleges. At whatever level it is addressed, building community is an important part of attracting and retaining students in the STEM fields, particularly students who are historically under-represented in STEM. Read more...
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Supporting the Whole Student
Robust support is critical to recruiting and retaining students. Explore the types of support that students may need, get ideas for how to build a network using a team approach, and peruse ideas for overcoming common challenges such as time constraints and funding difficulties. Read more...
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Using Societal Issues to Recruit and Retain STEM Students
Societal issues provide a mechanism for engaging students in STEM and can help students bridge what they learn in class to the real-world, and potentially lead them to pursue a career in STEM. Learn about how to use societal issues to connect students to their community, with example programs and interdisciplinary teaching activities as a guide. Read more...
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Authentic Inquiry and Research-like Experiences
Authentic inquiry and research-like experiences can provide bridge classroom knowledge with hands-on approaches to explore STEM-related issues. These experiences can engage students in the material as well as can build students' experience with research methods, critical thinking, quantitative skills, and communication skills. In turn, they may also lead to a STEM-related career by providing the requisite skills or opening a network of contacts for students. Read more...