Quantitative and Mathematics Support Center Workshop to Develop Handbook of Best Practices, Professional Organization and STEM Infrastructure

该项目正在召开一次来自一系列不同类型机构的定量和数学支助中心(QMaSC)主任讲习班。这样的中心每年为全国数以万计的学生提供服务，即使不是数百名，也是数万名；它们出现在大型大学、文科学院和社区学院。虽然每个中心都为其特定机构的不同需求提供服务，但总的来说，它们都有一系列共同的关切和问题。然而，目前QMaSC的董事及其工作人员还没有任何资源可供借鉴。为了填补这一空白，PI团队为这次研讨会设定了三个主要目标：1)开始一场关于指导QMaSC的全国性对话，以支持校园STEM基础设施的这一关键方面；2)建立一个参与QMaSC工作的可持续网络，以便提供和共享资源；3)为QMaSC的负责人或未来可能指导QMaSC的人创建一本最佳实践手册。研讨会领导人正在与与会者合作，为QMaSC的工作人员制定一个框架，以建立这样一个专业组织。此外，讲习班的主要产品是QMaSC主任手册，仿照全国校园使用的写作中心主任手册(Murphy and Stay，LEA出版商，2006)。QMaSC手册预计将是一份公开提供的文件，旨在为QMaSC主任提供材料和经过验证的实践，包括关于指导中心的各种共同方面的章节，以及反映QMaSC开展的广泛活动的案例研究。

This project is convening a workshop of directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers (QMaSCs) from across a range of different types of institutions. Such centers serve tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of students across the country each year; and they are present at large universities, at liberal arts colleges, and at community colleges. While each center services a diverse set of needs at its specific institution, collectively they all share a common set of concerns and issues. Yet, there is currently no body of resources from which directors of QMaSCs and their staffs can draw. To fill this void, the PI team has set three principal goals for this workshop:1) to begin a national conversation on directing QMaSCs, in support of this key aspect of the STEM infrastructure on campuses; 2) to establish a sustainable network of people involved in the work of QMaSCs in order to provide and share resources; and3) to create a handbook of best practices for those who direct QMaSCs or those who may direct QMaSCs in the future.Workshop leaders are working with the participants to formulate a framework for establishing such a professional organization for staff members of QMaSCs. In addition, the primary product of the workshop is a handbook for directors of QMaSCs, modeled after the Writing Center Directors Handbook (Murphy and Stay, LEA Publishers, 2006) used on campuses nationwide. The QMaSC handbook is expected to be a publicly available document geared at providing materials and proven practices for QMaSC directors, including chapters on the various shared aspects of directing a center and case studies that reflect the broad range of activities undertaken by QMaSCs.