SENCER-21

SENCER(新公民参与和责任的科学教育)是一个由NSF支持的国家传播项目，旨在鼓励和协助科学和数学学院为非STEM专业的学生创建新的课程和计划。Sencer的方法是通过重要的、当代的、复杂的、广阔的公民挑战来教授基础科学和数学。在其五年的运营中，Sencer涉及数十个机构、数百名教职员工和数千名学生。Sencer的本质是利用强大的教育学基础，将所有学生的科学教育与科学可以解决的真实和可见的问题联系起来。这是一种以人们自然学习的方式教授科学的方法。根据课程评估和项目评估数据，Sencer已被证明是一个有效的模型。独立评估研究证实，Sencer方法增加了学生(特别是女性)发展科学技能的信心，并提高了他们对科学的兴趣。Sencer-21正在应对Sencer校友确定的新挑战，并直接建立在前五年的活动基础上。Sencer-21正在(1)通过Sencer暑期学院和其他为追求高级目标的新人和校友团队举办的研讨会，继续发展教师的专业知识和能力，以实施教育创新；(2)建立和支持Sencer区域组织和特殊兴趣合作(“核心会议”)，(3)从一系列专注于关键新核心问题的形成性研究和开发项目中贡献新知识(例如，将Sencer方法应用于STEM专业、职前教师和社区学院)，以及(4)开发新的教育资源，丰富Sencer虚拟社区。智力价值：通过重要的公民问题教授科学和数学已被证明是改进STEM教育的有效战略。Sencer-21正在通过在重要的新应用中测试和改进该模型以及通过更广泛地使用经过验证的评估策略来促进知识的发展。对STEM教育研究基地的贡献包括对数十个仍未成熟的校园项目的结果进行分析，并在同行评议的期刊上发表结果。正在为Sencer社区和其他学者制作新的教育材料和在线资源。广泛的影响：Sencer-21正在将这种方法的好处扩展到更广泛、更多样化的机构。校园影响包括加强跨学科联系，鼓励职前教师科学教育，以及刺激学生参与。以社区为基础的研究和外联活动将影响扩大到有需要的人和社区。

SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) is an NSF-supported national dissemination project that encourages and assists science and mathematics faculties in creating new courses and programs for non-STEM majors. The SENCER approach is to teach "to" basic science and math "through" important, contemporary, complex, capacious civic challenges. During its five years of operation, SENCER has involved scores of institutions, hundreds of faculty, and many thousands of students. The essence of SENCER is to link science education for all students to the real and visible problems science can address, using a strong pedagogical foundation. It is an approach that teaches science in the way that people naturally learn. Based on course assessment and the project evaluation data, SENCER has proven to be an effective model. Independent evaluation research confirms that the SENCER approach increases the confidence of students (especially women) in developing science skills, and raises their interest in science. SENCER-21 is responding to new challenges identified by SENCER alumni and builds directly on the activities of the first five years. SENCER-21 is (1) continuing to develop faculty expertise and capacity to implement educational innovations through the SENCER Summer Institute and other workshops for newcomers and alumni teams pursuing advanced goals, (2) establishing and supporting SENCER regional organizations and special-interest collaborations ("caucuses"), (3) contributing new knowledge from a suite of formative research and development projects focused on critical new core issues (e.g., applying the SENCER approach to STEM majors, pre-service teachers, and community colleges), and (4) developing new educational resources and enriching the SENCER virtual community. Intellectual Merit: Teaching "to" science and mathematics "through" important civic issues has been shown to be an effective strategy for improving STEM education. SENCER-21 is advancing knowledge by testing and refining this model in important new applications and through broader use of validated assessment strategies. Contributions to the STEM-education research base include analysis of outcomes from dozens of still-maturing campus projects and publication of results in peer-reviewed journals. New educational materials and on-line resources for the SENCER community and other scholars are being produced.Broader Impacts: SENCER-21 is extending the benefits of this approach to a broader, more diverse set of institutions. Campus impacts include strengthening interdisciplinary connections, encouraging pre-service teacher education in the sciences, and stimulating student engagement. Community-based research and outreach activities extend the impacts to people and communities in need.