Jeanne L. Narum, PKAL Director Confronting the Math and Science Challenge:

1. Best Practices in STEM ReformSome A, B, C’s from The Project Kaleidoscope Experience 1989 – 2009 Jeanne L. Narum, PKAL Director Confronting the Math and Science Challenge: Building Momentum for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Eastern Tennessee State University May 28, 2009 1

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4. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOccupational Outlook Handbook, 2008 – 2009 Teachers:  • …act as facilitators or coaches. • …use a ‘hands-on’ approach…to help students understand abstract concepts, solve problems, and develop critical thought processes. • …encourage collaboration in solving problems by having students work in groups to discuss and solve problems. • …[understand that] to be prepared for success late in life, students must be able to interact with others, adapt to new technology, and think through problems logically. 4

5. PKAL’s Kaleidoscopic Perspective Patterns Connect Piece Piece Patterns Connect Patterns Connect Piece Connect Patterns Connect Piece Piece Patterns 5

6. From Problems to Recommendations • Define the problem. • Drill down into the context. • Develop solutions. • Design recommendations. 6

7. PKAL’S Vision …have access to robust learning experiences that motivate them to persist and succeed in the study of STEM fields so they are motivated to enter into careers in STEM fields, prepared for contemporary careers that require depth of understanding/literacy in regard to scientific, quantitative, and technological worlds, and equipped with the breadth of skills and capacities that empower them to be contributing members to our nation’s 21st century economy and democracy. 7

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9. What Works: • Learning is experiential and steeped in investigation from the very first courses for all students through capstone courses for students majoring in STEM. • Learning is personally meaningful for students and faculty, making connections to other fields of inquiry, and suggests practical applications related to the experience of students. • Learning takes place in a community where faculty are committed equally to undergraduate teaching and to their own intellectual vitality, where faculty see students as partners in learning, and where institutions support such communities of learners. - PKAL Volume I: What Works: Building Natural Science Communities, 1991. 9

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11. TIME TO TALK Note on the white card one experience that ‘turned you on’ to math and/or science. In pairs, share your reflections. 11

12. Best Practices from the PKAL Experience • I. Aim High: Have a Bold Vision and Act. • II. Build Bridges: Be Bricoleurs, Boundary-crossing agents, and Butterflies. • III. Create Communities: Communicate, Collaborate, Connect. 12

13. I. Aim High:Have a Bold Vision and Act • Ask questions others are not yet asking. • Audit the current reality- internally and externally. • Adapt best practices and act strategically to achieve your vision. 13

14. Story #1: University of Maryland Baltimore County • What do we know about the success of our African-American Students in our undergraduate science programs? 14

15. Story #2: Georgia Institute of Technology • What do we want our entering bioengineering students come to know and be able to do after their first bioengineering course? 15

16. Story #3: University of Notre Dame • I am convinced that my teaching is good, but what doI know about the learning of my students? 16

17. Audit: Why Change? 17

18. Audit: Why Change? • Because I listen carefully to my students… • Because I continue to ask myself what is working right and what does not seem to be working right • Because I remember what worked for me when I was a student their age. 18

19. PKAL: Act Boldly • GOAL A. To determine what works NOW in building sustainable communities of STEM agents of change • Strategy 1. Understand what STEM faculty need to know and be able to do to achieve the vision.  • Strategy 2. Understand how cultures nurture STEM leaders. • GOAL B. To facilitate wide adaptation of best practices and lessons learned from leading agents of change • Strategy 1. Make it easy for expert and novice agents of change to communicate and connect. • Strategy 2. Gather, analyze and disseminate stories and data about what works. • Strategy 3. Build intentional communities of practice. 19

20. II. Build Bridges • Be “boundary-crossing agents.” • Be bricoleurs. • Be butterflies. 20

21. The Practice & Learning & Reform of 21st CenturySTEM (thanks Jim)

22. 21st CenturyBoundary-Crossing Agents THEN Uni-disciplinary Single purpose spaces Teacher-directed Passive learning Independent learning Limited technologies Focus on STEM majors Unconnected NOW Multidisciplinary Multi-use / user spaces Learner-centered Engaged learning Collaborative learning Ubiquitous technologies Focus on all students Connected 22

23. How do people learn best? Not, in most cases, through lecturing, though far too many instructors continue this centuries’ old practice. Effective learners are active & engaged with their learning NEW CONVERSATIONS

24. NEW CONVERSATIONS • New knowledge is always built on a foundation of existing knowledge and experiences • Students often bring misconceptions that are sometimes remarkably resilient to change • Deeper learning comes from having ideas challenged– apparent knowledge is sometimes quite shallow when appropriately tested. “Challenge” implies “feedback.”

25. NEW CONVERSATIONS Sometimes learning is actually better when students learn with people who are closer to their own knowledge level Research shows that often working peers can help students learn more effectively at some points…because they have implicit knowledge of the problem points that sometimes experts have forgotten. 25

26. Bricoleurs: STEM practitioners, learners, reformers (thanks Carl) • “I am willing to tinker and borrow and steal ideas from just about anybody if I think they might work.” • President Obama,in an interview Friday with C-Span’s Steve Scully • The Washington Post. 25 May 2009. Politics & The Nation. 26

27. Become Bricoleurs (thanks Bob) • Take small steps toward your vision. • Tinker, reflect, and tinker again. • Leverage what works. 27 SCALE-UP Classroom

28. TIME TO TALK & SHARE • Reflect on one small step, one occasion for tinkering, or one way you have leveraged existing resources to get students more engaged in their learning. (Note on white card.)  • Share in self-assembled groups. 28

29. III. Create Communities • Communicate. • Collaborate. • Connect. 29

30. Communities Communicate Parents BART GORDON School Board Members Students Lou GrossJack RhotonIT coordinatorLibrarians ??????????? MSPnet GK-12 Colleagues $23,928,934 !!! http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/home 30

31. Communities Collaborate The BHEF calls upon business and higher education leaders— and, through them, policymakers— to commit to new and collaborative roles to improve the teaching and learning of P-12 mathematics and science. In addition, the BHEF urges business and higher education leaders to champion the promising initiatives already begun by P-12 educators and to work with them to develop and implement new strategies, policies, and programs that will raise the mathematics and science achievement of all of America’s students. 31 Handbook for a Commitment to America’s Future: A Toolkit for Leaders of State-Level P-16 Councils. 2005.

32. Communities Collaborate National Institute for Mathematical& Biological Synthesis(NIMBioS) • The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) has an objective to provide educational opportunities at the interface of mathematics and biology and to diversify participation in collaborations across these disciplines to enhance the diversity of future researchers. The Teacher Collaboration Program hosted by NIMBioS is intended to provide links between teachers, scientists, and educators with interest in mathematical biology. Math or biology/science teachers interested in making connections between the fields are encouraged to participate. http://nimbios.org/education/education 32

33. Communities Connect 33

34. People Connect • What is the first new connection that I might make during the summer to create new communities? • What new tinkering can I do with current connections? • What existing resources can I leverage now to make these connections possible?

35. ChaosCustomize Conflict ContextCommunityCurriculum CoincideCadenceCommitConnectCreate Culture Converse Canvas Collaborate CapitalComprehensive 35

36. Principles for Creating Community • Partnerships require continuous attention. • Leadership must be shared. • Partners must be given flexibility to accomplish project goals. • Decisions must be data-driven. • Communication is critical. GA Math/Science Partnership: PRISM 36

37. The PKAL VisionThe Ideal Graduate: Engaged 37