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.

n= 155, approx. 20% of responses from ‘faculty’ Having used NSDL, how likely/ very likely are you to … (%) Educators like NSDL!

NSDL supports TAs Seymour et al.: Partners in Innovation - Teaching Assistants in College Science Courses. Rowman and Littlefield  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

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 

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 Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Pre-print:  Seymour, E., and N. Hewitt Talking About Leaving. Westview Press.  Seymour, E., et al 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:  Carl Wieman:  NSDL user survey:  SERC ‘Faculty Participation in NSDL’ surveys: