National Dissemination Project for Improving Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) Education

该项目正在探索设计教师和管理人员发展研讨会的有效性，以改善围绕SMET本科教育的连贯改革议程的本科教育，而不是专注于单一的主题，如入门科学的教学。正在设计讲习班和辅助材料，以涵盖本科SMET教育改革运动的四个主题：(1)确保将科学技术进步纳入本科课程，(2)利用教育技术的改进，(3)建立牢固的K-16联系，以及(4)调整本科课程，以适应新的劳动力需求和日益多样化的学生群体的需求。两个为期一周的名为“Keystone Summer Institutes”的学院正在计划之中。一个研究所将作为两个讲习班的保护伞，从部门和学科的角度重点讨论本科生MMET教育的改革。第二个研究所将从体制角度处理改革问题。它计划在即将于1999年10月举行的万花筒项目十周年讲习班上讨论的主题基础上再接再厉。这些学院旨在容纳相对较大的机构团队，并将审查其在支持大型大学本科生MMET教育改革方面的有效性。该项目还检查了教员、系和机构在参加完一个改革研讨会后的需求。过去，研讨会结束后，研讨会参与者基本上都是独自一人，而对特定校园改革的进一步讨论(和规划)在很大程度上取决于参加会议的教职员工和管理团队的热情和精力。该项目将制作一套连贯的印刷材料和电子材料，供本科教育体制改革研讨会之前、期间和之后使用。这是可能的，因为经验表明，无论具体的教育重点是什么，改革都遵循相同的一般道路，受到类似的机会和价值观的推动，并面临类似的障碍。

This project is exploring the effectiveness of designing faculty and administrator development workshops to improve undergraduate education around a coherent reform agenda for undergraduate education in SMET, rather than focusing on single topics such as the teaching of an introductory science. Workshops and supporting materials are being designed to cover four themes of the reform movement in undergraduate SMET education: (1) ensuring that advances in science and technology are incorporated into undergraduate courses, (2) taking advantage of improvements in educational technology, (3) establishing strong K-16 connections, and (4) adapting undergraduate curricula to accommodate new workforce needs and the needs of an increasing diverse student body. Two one-week institutes titled "Keystone Summer Institutes" are planned. One institute will be an umbrella for two workshops focused on the reform of undergraduate SMET education from the departmental and disciplinary perspective. The second institute will deal with issues of reform from an institutional perspective. It plans to build on the themes addressed at the forthcoming Project Kaleidoscope 10th Anniversary Workshop in October, 1999. The institutes are designed to accommodate relatively large institutional teams and will be examined for effectiveness in supporting reform of undergraduate SMET education in large universities. This project is also examining the needs of faculty, departments, and institutions after completing participation in a reform workshop. In the past, workshop participants have largely been on their own after a workshop has ended, and further discussions of (and planning for) reform on a given campus have largely depended on the enthusiasm and energy of the faculty and administrator teams that attended. This project will produce a coherent set of print materials and electronic materials for use before, during, and after a workshop on institutional reform of undergraduate education. This is possible because experience has demonstrated that reform follows the same general path no matter what the specific education focus, fueled by similar perceptions of opportunities and value, and facing similar barriers.