STEM Education Workshop Overview and Lessons from the HERI STEM Summer Institute at UCLA Paul Whitney

Goals for Today’s Workshop Share ideas on best practices to benefit our students Stimulate collaborations to promote an institution-wide culture of effective STEM education. Assist the building of teams that can be competitive for extramural funding for STEM initiatives. Change the world for the better!

It will take patience and perseverance, but we can succeed!

Our Schedule 9:00 Broad initiatives at WSU 10:30 Breakout sessions I &II 11:30 Lunch 12:00 Group discussion of morning topics 1:30 Funding opportunities 1:45 Wrap-up/Next steps Engage Illuminate Elaborate Integrate Organize

UCLA’s HERI STEM Summer Institute: Lessons Learned Comments from Funders (NSF; HHMI; Helmsley) Evidence-based practices with measures of baselines Rigor as scholars brought to the educational research enterprise Efforts guided by a logic model Build communities of practice Use funding to create catalytic, sustainable activity Pay attention to how your innovative practice will scale up

UCLA’s HERI STEM Summer Institute: Lessons Learned Persistence (draws heavily from IES/IPEDS data) Some key factors in persistence in the major – Prior preparation; Research opportunities; Science clubs; Climate (welcoming vs stereotyping; Pre-med hyper-competitiveness); Early success; Finances Completion rates at doctoral research intensive universities < masters universities (holding selectivity constant) There are often pockets of productive programs that are driven by individuals rather than comprehensive university approaches to persistence.

UCLA’s HERI STEM Summer Institute: Lessons Learned Role of Active Learning in Institutional STEM Productivity “If lectures were a medical procedure, the evidence on its effectiveness would make it unethical to continue the procedure.” Both faculty and student resistance to change. TA training models have been used successfully to get techniques to catch on. See for an example of an institutional approach to coordination and assistance in active learninghttp://iamstem.ucdavis.edu/

UCLA’s HERI STEM Summer Institute: Lessons Learned Factors common to successful university initiatives – See Auchincloss et al. ort ort Accessibility: Teach scientific practice as a means to an end Discovery: Answer not already known Relevant: Make broad relevance of the research clear Collaboration: Science as a team effort Iteration: Findings inform next efforts of same or new students

And finally an appeal for a broader STEM agenda…