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How Faculty Use NSDL. Michael Khoo, Evaluator, NSDL Core Integration BEN Workshop, Washington D.C., December 2006. The wider context. Increased STEM capacity is a long-term goal of US educational, economic, and strategic policy
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How Faculty Use NSDL Michael Khoo, Evaluator, NSDL Core Integration BEN Workshop, Washington D.C., December 2006
The wider context • Increased STEM capacity is a long-term goal of US educational, economic, and strategic policy • Undergraduate STEM student retention is key component of long-term US STEM capacity National Academies Press: Rising Above The Gathering Storm - Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future
STEM retention builds on student engagement • Ability is not the primary predictor of STEM retention • The quality of the STEM educational environment is a crucial factor • Engagement vs. isolation: both influence students’ desires to become scientists and/or science educators • Seymour and Hewitt. Talking About Leaving, Westview Press • Seymour, Wieman. Testimony to US House of Representatives Hearing: Undergraduate Science, Math an Engineering Education - What’s Working?
Digital Libraries (such as NSDL) support STEM education DLs engage students • visualization • collaboration • conversation • etc. • DLs support educators • lesson planning • curriculum development • just-in-time professional development • etc.
Educators like NSDL! Having used NSDL, how likely/ very likely are you to … (%) n= 155, approx. 20% of responses from ‘faculty’
NSDL supports TAs • TAs are key STEM educators (Seymour et al.) • NSDL supports TAs • Classroom resources • Images • Just-in-time professional development for • Positive response to NSDL from TAs/usability tests • Images, animations • Lecture supplement • Powerpoint material Seymour et al.: Partners in Innovation - Teaching Assistants in College Science Courses. Rowman and Littlefield
Faculty use of NSDL • Science Education Resource Center (SERC), Carleton College • 2005: 11 groups and 60 participants • 1 research university • 1 community college • 4 teaching colleges • 2 historically black colleges/universities • 1 liberal arts college • 2 at MERLOT International Conference • http://serc.carleton.edu/facultypart/
Search goals • Popular search categories • Images, animations/videos/simulations, real world data/examples • Popular uses • Lectures, labs, demonstrations • Own professional development • Few interactive uses reported
Search behavior • Focus on top results • Diminishing returns and time/resource constraints lead to cost-benefit analyses and prioritizing • Selections based on ‘good enough’ • Frequent return to favorite sites • Short timeframe of use (pre-class, not curriculum planning)
Summary • NSDL provided engaging STEM educational resources • NSDL supports faculty and TAs • Just-in-time classroom resources • Just-in-time professional development • NSDL supports students • Engaging resources, pedagogical environments and practices • NSDL supports STEM retention - we hope!
More Information • National Academies Press. 2006. Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Pre-print: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html • Seymour, E., and N. Hewitt. 1997. Talking About Leaving. Westview Press. • Seymour, E., et al. 2005. Partners in Innovation. Teaching Assistants in College Science Education Courses. Rowman & Little. • Testimony to US House of Representatives Hearing, “Undergraduate Science, Math an Engineering Education - What’s Working?” • Elaine Seymour: http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/research06/march%2015/seymour.pdf • Carl Wieman: http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/research06/march%2015/wieman.pdf • NSDL user survey: http://eval.comm.nsdl.org/reports.html • SERC ‘Faculty Participation in NSDL’ surveys: http://serc.carleton.edu/facultypart/