Redesigning Education for Learning Through Evidence and Collaborative Teaching

高质量的本科STEM教育对于国家的成功，科学的进步，国家健康计划的推进以及日益技术化的经济中的整体国家繁荣至关重要。 然而，STEM领域的保留率极低，特别是对于妇女和其他代表性不足的群体。改革STEM教育引起了全国的关注，但无效的教学实践继续占主导地位。该项目的目标是通过在波特兰大学实施一个新的教学改革框架，作为持续教学改革的典范，来满足全国对改善STEM类本科生学习环境的呼吁。该大学在以下STEM领域设有教师：生物学，化学，物理学，数学，环境科学，工程学和计算机科学。参与教师将学习纳入有利于主动学习的研究知情的教育实践。持续的支持，以维持这些新的教学实践将培养内的教师群体，因为他们从事定期同行观察的反思过程。由此产生的教学变革将提高STEM学生的保留率和成功率，同时以持久的方式塑造教学的机构文化。此外，这种通过共享实践支持教学变革的模式将为其他地区性综合大学的制度变革提供信息，这些大学的反思性教学至关重要。为了促进系统性的教学变革，该项目将邀请波特兰大学共计25名STEM教师参加为期一周的夏季研讨会，为期两年。他们将探索目前的研究支持的教学实践。项目负责人将协助参与者制定和实施以证据为基础，以学生为中心的课程创新，并在整个实施期间与参与者会面。为了确保参与者持续进行教学改革，项目领导人还将促进实践社区的发展，其中参与者群体将相互观察，并就教学和学习进行有条理的反思性对话。参加者将接受形成性评估和以过程为导向的教学评估协议方面的培训。项目领导人将在项目结束时主办一次地方专题讨论会，向其他可能同样受益于系统变革努力的区域大学传播成果和战略。

Quality undergraduate STEM education is critical for national success, progress in science, the advancement of national health initiatives, and overall national prosperity in an increasingly technical economy. However, retention in STEM fields is critically low, particularly for women and other underrepresented groups. Reforming STEM education has drawn national attention, but ineffective instructional practices continue to dominate. The goal of this project is to address the national call for improved learning environments for undergraduate students in STEM classes by implementing a new framework for instructional change at the University of Portland that will serve as a model for sustained instructional change. The University has faculty in the following STEM fields: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Engineering, and Computer Science. Participating faculty will learn to incorporate research-informed educational practices that favor active learning. Ongoing support for sustaining these new instructional practices will be fostered within cohorts of faculty as they engage in a reflective process of regular peer observation. The resulting instructional changes will improve the retention and success of STEM students while shaping the institutional culture of teaching in a lasting way. In addition, this model for supporting instructional change through shared practice will inform institutional change at other regional, comprehensive universities where reflective instruction is paramount.To foster systemic instructional change, the project will invite a total of 25 STEM faculty members at the University of Portland to participate in week-long summer workshops across two successive years. They will explore current research-supported instructional practices. Project leaders will assist participants in the development and implementation of evidence-based, student-centered curricular innovations and meet with participants throughout the implementation period. In order to ensure that instructional change is sustained by participants, project leaders will also foster the development of communities of practice, wherein cohorts of participants will observe one another and engage in structured, reflective conversation about teaching and learning. Participants will be trained in formative assessment and in process-oriented protocols for evaluating teaching. Project leaders will host a local symposium at the end of the project to disseminate results and strategies to other regional universities that could similarly benefit from systemic change efforts.