1. The Northwest PULSE Regional Network: Investigating a Systems-Thinking Approach to Department-level Vision and Change
For More Information about NW PULSE:
William B. Davis, Washington State University and Jenny McFarland, Edmonds Community College
Northwest PULSE: A network for change
How does the network support change?
In 2012, The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE) was formed to catalyze departmental-level transformation in response to the recommendations in Vision and Change. To this end, the Northwest (NW) PULSE Fellows have established a network of higher education institutions equipped with knowledge of a systems-thinking approach to change and dynamic governance to develop and implement departmental transformation plans.
The Education Development Center (EDC) conducted an analysis of department action plans, NWBio posters (Fig 5), and pre/post participant surveys. Reported here are results from the 42 teams in the first three NW PULSE cohorts ( ).
Observation #2. Most institutions achieved their transformation goals.
Pacific NW PULSE Fellows conduct 3-day workshops each October for teams of three or more faculty members, including a department chair, from institutions in AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, and WY.
Workshop participants evaluate their departments using PULSE rubrics, identify curricular needs to address, and devise an action plan. They learn about “systems thinking,” regarding their department as a embedded in system of interacting parties—individual, institutional, societal—and best ways to bring about change in their system by leveraging their efforts.
In May, representatives from the institutions convene at the Northwest Biology Instructors Organization (NW BIO) annual meeting to present in a poster session their progress in meeting the goals they established at the October workshop.
The network consists of 53 institutions from AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, and WY.
Fig. 5. Institutional teams use a poster template to report their outcomes at the NWBio conference each Spring. These are saved electronically* and were thematically analyzed by EDC.
*Outcomes posters for cohorts 1-4:
Table % of institutions providing sufficient information met most/all of their goals. 27% of institutions provided insufficient information to determine whether or not they met their goals.
Who comprises the NW Network?
The NW PULSE Network includes over 40% (63/148) of higher education institutions in the region (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY).
Fig 1. NW PULSE Network members. Colors indicate year of entry into network (yellow=2013; red=2014; green=2015; purple=2016; cyan=2017), and location of NW PULSE Fellows’ institutions (blue).
Fig 6. Comparison of reported barriers between more and less successful institutions.
Observation #1. Institutional teams leverage change through a systems-thinking approach.
Sought
Fig 2. The NW PULSE Network is institutionally diverse, including community colleges (CC), liberal arts colleges (LA), research-intensive institutions (R1), and regional comprehensive (RC) universities (63 institutions; 67 teams).
Observation #3. Barriers to change varied by institution type, but ALL struggled with raising awareness of and garnering buy-in to their action plans. 9 11 27
Created 15
Implemented 1
How was the NW Network formed?
To date, five cohorts of ~13 institutional teams have attended a 3-day workshop, developed transformation plans, and implemented their plans with sustained mentorship from NW PULSE Fellows (Fig 3).
Fig 3. Timeline of participant activities in 8-month mentored program
Table 2. Different institution types had distinctive combinations of barriers but some barriers were ubiquitous (i.e. increasing awareness).
Applications
Teams of 2-4 (1 administrator)
Goals for participating
Complete PULSE Rubrics
NWBio Meeting
Present posters with outcomes
Share ideas with network
Fig 6. Teams implemented changes at multiple levels, consistent with a systems-thinking approach to change. Almost 60% (25/42) of institutional teams report aligning curriculum with V&C and ~50% report assessment as an explicit outcome of department plan implementation.
Conclusions
October
Acknowledgments
Summer
Ongoing coaching by NW PULSE Fellows
May
Workshops that utilize PULSE V&C rubrics and introduce systems-thinking help life science departments adopt the V&C recommendations.
Actions taken by departments reflect systems-level thinking.
All institutional types benefit from workshop participation, with some differences in outcomes observed by type.
Anticipating common personal and structural barriers can help departments plan to overcome these issues.
Systems Thinking Consultants
Nalani Linder, N.P. Linder Consulting
Steven Byers, Helping Human Systems
Ann Austin, Michigan State University
Graphic Facilitator
Claire Bronson, Viz-Spark, Inc.
NW PULSE Project is supported by:
NSF EAGER #
NSF RCN-UBE #
MacMillan Publishers
Pearson Publishing
Other NW PULSE Fellows
Gary Reiness, Lewis and Clark College
Pamela Pape-Lindstrom, Harford Community College Joann Otto, Western Washington University
Erika Offerdahl, Washington State University
Alyce DeMarais, University of Puget Sound
Gita Bangera, Bellevue College
NW PULSE Steering Committee
Mary Pat Wenderoth, University of Washington Stasinos Stavrianeas, Willamette University
Carol Pollock, University of British Columbia
Education Development Center (EDC)
Ginger Fitzhugh and Carrie Liston
Fig 4. Change occurs by recognizing departments as embedded in a system of interacting parties (Ann Austin)
Workshop
Reflect on department using V&C and PULSE rubrics
Identify curricular needs
Design action plan
Learn about systems thinking approach to change (Fig 4)