Strategic Transformation: Fostering an Interdisciplinary Community of Practice to Sustain Implementation and Research in Undergraduate STEM Education

以循证课程和课外实践为形式的优质教学是学生对科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的兴趣和保留的最强和最一致的预测因素之一。 然而，到目前为止，在为STEM教师和教育/社会科学研究人员制定成功的教学实践的共同语言方面取得的成功微乎其微。 在美国学院和大学协会的主持下，项目团队计划建立和维持一个跨学科的实践社区，其中包括STEM教师和教育/社会科学研究人员，以增加循证实践的实施，并检查与学生成功，保留，学位完成和STEM机构变革相关的因素和条件。 该项目，战略转型：培养跨学科的实践社区，以维持本科STEM教育的实施和研究，计划提供三种形式的教师发展，以中介和维持教师和研究人员的共同努力，从事研发项目。 这一创新模式将用于发展STEM教师和研究人员的跨学科团队，并将测试该模式的有效性，以解决与低收入学生在STEM中的成功和保留相关的问题。在过去的十五年中，随着学者和政策制定者认识到这种方法的好处，跨学科研究和开发有所增加，以产生新的解决长期存在的问题和新问题的思路。 随着国家继续寻求提高学生成功和完成本科STEM课程学位的途径，该项目汇集了两组本科教育专家，以了解和解决低收入学生在追求梦想成为STEM专业人士时所面临的挑战。 高等教育机构STEM项目的教师沿着教育/社会科学研究人员为克服这些障碍提供了必要的领导。 AAC U正在推出一种雄心勃勃的创新方法，通过开发跨学科方法来设计，实施和调查与STEM教学和学习相关的因素，来解决学生成功和坚持STEM的问题。 将实施和测试三种类型的教师发展活动。 知识工作室/交流旨在培养思想领袖和以行动为导向的团队，以创建研发工作，以解决低收入学生在追求STEM学位时面临的挑战。 区域诊所的设计将保持势头，并为团队提供支持，推动他们的项目，以促进对循证课程和课外实践的吸收和研究。 STEM Central网络平台将得到加强，以促进互动，并以维持跨学科实践社区可行性的方式不断连接STEM教育研究人员和学科教师。

Quality teaching, in the form of evidence-based curricular and co-curricular practices, is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of student interest and retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). To date, however, there has been only minimal success in developing a common language for articulating successful teaching practices to STEM faculty and education/social science researchers. Under the auspices of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the project team plans to establish and sustain an interdisciplinary community of practice that includes STEM faculty and education/social science researchers in increasing the implementation of evidence-based practices and the examination of factors and conditions associated with student success, retention, degree completion, and institutional change in STEM. The project,Strategic Transformation: Fostering an Interdisciplinary Community of Practice to Sustain Implementation and Research in Undergraduate STEM Education, plans to offer three forms of faculty development to broker and sustain joint efforts by faculty and researchers to engage in R&D projects. This innovative model for developing interdisciplinary teams of STEM faculty and researchers will be developed and the effectiveness of the model will be tested as an approach to tackling the issues associated with the success and retention of low income students in STEM.In the past fifteen years there has been an increase in interdisciplinary research and development as academics and policy makers recognize the benefits of this approach to generate new ideas for addressing long-standing and new problems. As the nation continues to pursue avenues to increase student success and degree completion in undergraduate STEM programs, the project brings together two groups of experts in undergraduate education to understand and address the challenges facing low income students as they pursue their dreams to become STEM professionals. Faculty members in STEM programs at institutions of higher education along with education/social science researchers provide the essential leadership to overcoming these impediments. The AAC&U is launching an ambitious and innovative approach to tackle the problem of student success and persistence in STEM, by developing an interdisciplinary approach to designing, implementing, and investigating factors associated with the teaching and learning of STEM. Three types of faculty development activities are to be implemented and tested. Knowledge Studios/Exchanges are designed to develop thought leaders and action oriented teams to create R&D efforts to address the challenges facing low income students in their pursuit of STEM degrees. The Regional Clinics will be designed to sustain momentum and provide support for teams to move forward on their projects to foster the uptake of and research on evidence-based curricular and co-curricular practices. The STEM Central web platform will be enhanced to foster interaction and to continuously connect STEM education researchers and disciplinary faculty in ways that sustain the viability of the interdisciplinary community of practice.