I³: Towards a Center for STEM Education

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The University of Colorado is establishing a Distributed Center for STEM Education Research and Transformation that integrates education projects across the campus. The Center addresses the three themes outlined in the National Academy of Science report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”. These are: (1) Teachers in K-12 education (10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds), (2) Research (Sowing Seeds), and (3) Higher Education (Best and Brightest). This Distributed Center involves eight traditional departments in three colleges and schools, including: Education, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering. Existing education projects being integrated into the center include: ADVANCE (Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers); Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement projects; Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship project; Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship projects; and Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering projects.

Project Work:
• Resource: The Benefits of Using Clickers in Small-Enrollment Seminar-Style Biology Courses
• Resource: Combining Peer Discussion with Instructor Explanation Increases Student Learning from In-Class Concept Questions
• Resource: The construction of different classroom norms during Peer Instruction: Students perceive differences
• Resource: Characterizing the gender gap in introductory physics
• Resource: Not all interactive engagement is the same: Variations in physics professors’ implementation of “Peer Instruction”
• Resource: Understanding Randomness and its Impact on Student Learning: Lessons Learned from Building the Biology Concept Inventory (BCI)