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AAU Undergraduate STEM Initiative

AAU Undergraduate STEM Initiative. Tobin Smith AAU Vice President for Policy.

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AAU Undergraduate STEM Initiative

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  1. AAU Undergraduate STEM Initiative Tobin Smith AAU Vice President for Policy

  2. The goal of the AAU Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative is to help influence change in the culture of STEM departments at AAU universities so that they will use evidence-based, student-centered, active, sustainable pedagogy in their classes, particularly at the freshman and sophomore levels. Mission Statement

  3. The Motivation… The Five Minute University

  4. Workforce needs → Competitiveness • Desire for a scientifically-literate population • New scholarship on what works in the classroom: evidence-based teaching methods • Several AAU institutions are already at the forefront of improving STEM undergraduate education Rationale

  5. Completion • Broad based literacy • Research universities don’t produce as many STEM majors as other colleges and universities Problem

  6. Framework (Goal #1) • Demonstration Projects (Goal #2) • Incentives (Goals #3 and #4) • Promising Practices (Goal #5) Key Components

  7. What is the Framework? A taxonomy of evidence-based practices that can be used to improve STEM teaching and to measure these improvements. Core Component  Pedagogy Who will use it? The framework is designed to be used by several different stakeholders including: • Faculty • Administrators • Departments • Institutions How will it be used? The framework is usable along several dimensions: • To improve teaching and learning in the classroom • To coordinate courses within the department • To determine how broadly evidence-based techniques are being used Framework [Goal #1]

  8. Out with the old…

  9. In with the new…

  10. A subset of AAU institutions will be identified to serve as demonstration sites that will implement the framework. Activities will include developing tools to measure: • The quality of teaching and learning in STEM classes • How evidence-based teaching methods are being used • The effects of improved teaching on STEM and Non-STEM majors Vs. Demonstration Projects [Goal #2]

  11. Federal Institutional • Work with federal agencies on mechanisms to encourage good teaching Explore institutional and departmental incentives for good teaching Including: • Working with HHMI and others on promising practices for evaluating teaching in promotion and tenure Incentives [Goals #3 and#4]

  12. To develop effective means for sharing information about promising & effective undergraduate STEM programs, approaches, and methods. Key Projects • Promising Practices Resource Booklet& Workshop • Program Evaluation Techniques Promising Practices [Goal #5]

  13. Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) • Business Higher-Education Forum (BHEF) • Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) • Bay View Alliance (BVA) • Many others… Other Parallel Efforts

  14. President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST): Engage to Excel Report • National Research Council (NRC): Discipline-Based Education Research Report (Expected mid-2012) Complementary Reports

  15. Discussion and Q&A

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