NSF I3: Towards a Center for STEM Education

1. NSF I3: Towards a Center for STEM Education National Science Foundation Reverse Site Visit 26 Mar 2012 Noah Finkelstein Robert Parson University of Colorado Boulder and Rachel Scherr (external evaluator)

2. Introduction • Who are we? • Program Activities • Institutional Integration • Impacts • Conclusions / Discussion

3. Introduction – Principal Investigators • Phil DiStefano, Chancellor • Russ Moore, Provost • Todd Gleeson, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences • Lorrie Shepard, Dean of the School of Education • Rob Davis, Dean of the College of Engineering & Applied Science • Noah Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Physics

4. Introduction – Project Management Team Noah Finkelstein, Physics Mike Klymkowsky, MCD Biology Valerie Otero, School of Education Robert Parson, Chemistry & BioChemistry, JILA Derek Reamon, Integrated Teaching & Learning Program, &Mechanical Engineering DariaKotys-Schwartz, Mechanical Engineering Diane Sieber, Herbst Program of Humanities for Engineers Eric Stade, Mathematics Katherine Kidder, Project Manager

5. Introduction – Goals of I3 grant Establish a center of STEM education research and transformation Currently beginning year 4 Towards a Center for STEM Learning

6. Program activities

7. Program Activities – Creating a Center • The University of Colorado as a national hub of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education research and reform • University of Colorado is a national center for: • Education in STEM disciplines • Research on STEM education • STEM teacher preparation

8. Program Activities – Addressing National Need Better education U.S. ranks: 21 out of 30 in science 25 out of 30 in math - PISA 2006 International Rankings (science)

9. Physics Teachers with degrees in: Program Activities – Addressing National Need Better education 2/3 Physics Out of Field Less than 50% stay More and better teachers

10. Program Activities – Addressing National Need Better education 1 Million more STEM grads needed by 2018 and growing More and better teachers More and better STEM grads

11. Program Activities – Addressing National Need Better education US surpassed by Europe and Asia in S&E PhD production PhD Production More and better teachers More and better STEM grads Europe Higher education & research U.S. Asia

12. A Era of Significant Attention: Program Activities – Addressing National Need • the National Academies • the White House • Professional Societies

13. Program Activities –Creating a Center • The University of Colorado as a national hub of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education research and reform • University of Colorado is a national center for: • Education in STEM disciplines • Research on STEM education • STEM teacher preparation

14. Program Activities –Creating a Center STEM Educational Transformation Teacher PrepCollege & K12 Discipline-BasedEducation Research

15. STEM Education(K12) STEM Educ. Research (DBER) STEM Research (college teaching) Program Activities –Creating a Center Undergraduate STEM Students Graduate STEM Students Current STEM and Education FacultyAdministrative Structures / Support

16. Program Activities – Creating a Center • Organizational Structures: • Organizational structure (PMT & Pis) • Mission and vision statements • By-laws, Center proposal • Developed a budget • Communication: • Branding/marketing/PR strategy • Communication structure/ plan • Funding: • Long term funding avenues • Programmatic Activities – Institutional Integration • Community building • Symposia, Seed Funding, Seminars . . .

17. Program Activities – Creating a Center • Organizational Structures: • By-laws, Center proposal • Developed a budget • Communication: • Branding/marketing/PR strategy • Communication structure/ plan • Funding: • Long term funding avenues • Programmatic Activities – Institutional Integration • Organizational structure (PMT & PIs) • Mission and vision statements • Community building • Symposia, Seed Funding, Seminars . . .

18. Program Activities – Mission & Vision Mission: To improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the University of Colorado Boulder, and to serve as a state, national, and international resource for such efforts.

19. Building on Four Categories of Change Strategies Program Activities – Theoretical Foundations • For more details: • C. Henderson, A. Beach and N.D. Finkelstein, ““Facilitating Change in Undergraduate STEM Instructional Practices: An Analytic Review of the Literature” J. Research Science Teaching, 48 (8), 952-984(2011).

20. Project Activity – Center Structure

21. Institutional integration

22. Integration – Building Community Infrastructure DBER Seminars Symposia Evaluation Chancellor Awards IT Infrastructure Programmatic support / linking Communication, Policy, PR

23. Integration – Annual Symposia & Events • Third annual symposium, October 10th 2011 • More than 160 people • Representing 55+ departments, programs, & partners. • Introduction by Lt. Gov. Garcia • Participation by: Legislators, media, public, & university

24. Integration – Chancellor’s Awards • These awards fund: • faculty (up to $10,000) and • graduate students (25% RA) • for DBER and/or educational course transformation. • iSTEMhas supported 45 individuals through this award program.

25. Integration – Chancellor’s Awards Kimberly Trenbath: First CU graduate ATOC Education Researcher. The materials key to revision of two courses in atmospheric sciences at CU. Continuing to faculty position

26. Integration – Chancellor’s Awards Drs. Falconer & Nicodemous, Engineering, Develop & teach with screencasts posted on our iTunes U at Colorado. More than 500screencasts over 200,000hits in the last two months. Leading to TUES proposal

27. Integration – DBER DBER • Weekly Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) seminars • For Faculty, staff, and graduate students • Ave 20+ participants, 80+ faculty, grads, staff in last year. • 40 different programs and departments • 4 schools/colleges

28. Integration – DBER 2009: 09 September - Leilani Arthurs, Geological Sciences  16 September - Clayton Lewis, Computer Science  23 September - Eric Frew, Aerospace Engineering  30 September - Steven Pollock, Physics  07 October - Laurie Landgon, Chemistry  14 October - Valerie Otero, School of Education  … 2010: 22 February- John Basey, Environmental Biology 01 March- Mike Klymkowsky, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology 15 March- Angel Hoekstra and Bethany Wilcox, Sociology and Physics  29 March- Garret Nicodemus & Falconer , Engineering 12 April- Laura Border, Graduate Teacher Program …. 27 April - Kim Trenbath, Atmospheric Science … 2012: 28 February- Luana Prevost, MSU 06 March- Jamie Engel, Students for Education Reform 13 March- Tiffany Ito, Psychology and Neuroscience …

29. Integration – DBER as a Communication Hub DBER

30. Integration – Evaluation • Three levels of evaluation: • Increased capacity forconstituent programs. • Integration of constituent programs. • Institutional capacity and commitment to a center • Internally: • (under the direction of the iSTEM directors) • Externally • (external evaluator, Dr. Rachel Scherr).

31. Integration – Evaluation • Colorado Learning Assistant Program: • Model for educational transform • Impacting ~10,000 students/year, • 200+ LAs/year, • dramatically increased the learning gains in large-enrollment classes, • nearly tripled the number of K12 teachers, esp. in hard to staff areas

32. Longitudinal Impacts on Content Knowledge Same Electricity and Magnetism Test* but taken after completing junior-level E&M Score on Test Students enrolled in traditional intro course as freshmen (no LAs) Students enrolled in course transformed with LAs as freshmen Students who served as LAs in intro course

33. Recruitment to Teacher Certification Approximately 15% of undergraduates (UGs) who participate in LA program go on to enroll in a teacher certification program

34. Recruitment into Teaching by Discipline

35. Integration – STEM Education Research Our research is published in leading journals For example: in a recent study, we have found a brief intervention (values affirmation) can eliminate the gender gap in physics. (Science,330(6008), 2010).

36. Integration – Publications • More than 75 Publications in the past 2 years • Science • J of College Science Teaching • J of Res. on Science Teaching • Change • J of the ACM • J Chem Education • ACS Symposium Series • CBE Life Sciences • Physical Review • AERA • Il NuovoCimento C • J of Science Education and Technology

37. a broad network on campus LA Program

38. Integration – Synergies

39. Integration – Program Growth • Growth of Individual Programs, for example: • LA program development (near tripling) • Science Education Initiative Expansion (more departments) • CUTeach growth (Engineering) • More programs offered through Science Discovery • More Opportunities, for example: • PhD programs in DBER (Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, ATOC, APS, Education) • Development of CEERA • New Campus programs, for example: • Annual fall symposium • Mini-symposia by topic • Funding, publicity, and communications • Inter-programmatic collaboration,for example: • LA program – SEI – CU Teach • DBER / Science Discovery

40. impacts

41. Impacts – Infrastructures Communication Center Structure Foundation Support Information Technology

42. Impacts – Publicity Articles Featuring CU STEM Education in:

43. Impacts – Regional & State Engagement

44. Impacts – National Policy

45. Impacts – National Policy Serving the Nation: Otero advising Nat’l Governor’s Assoc Race to the Top DiStefano at the White House Educate to Innovate Finkelstein testifies Congressional COMPETES Act

46. Impacts – Replication University of Colorado at Boulder Auburn University Black Hills State University Boise State Boston University California Polytechnic State California State University - LB Cornell University Florida International University Indiana University (UTA Program) James Madison (Planned 11/12) Louisiana State University Marshall University (Planned 11/12) New Jersey Institute of Technology North Dakota State University Rutgers University Seattle Pacific University South Dakota State Towson University UNC Chapel Hill University of Arizona University of Arkansas University of Maine University of Maryland University of Minnesota - St Paul University of Oklahoma University of Texas - Austin University of Texas - El Paso Utah State University Virginia Tech Western Kentucky University

47. NSF i3 at CU Boulder • Enhancing the quality and access to STEM education for CU, the state and the nation: • Tools, resources and models for: • DBER • educational transformation • teacher and faulty professional development • Integrating 50 programs across 4 colleges at CU: • Active educational transformation across 14 departments / programs • Dozen PhDs supported • Dozens of faculty supported • Hundreds of faculty staff and grads engaged • Thousands of undergrads students impacted • Establishing CU Boulder as a national hub: • Education in STEM disciplines • Research on STEM education • STEM teacher preparation This material is based upon work supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation, Award number: DRL 0833364.Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.