Project Purpose and Approach

Purpose of 5-year Project

Prepare and guide Biology and Chemistry faculty of all ranks to create an inclusive environment for students from groups underrepresented in STEM by implementing active learning and inclusive pedagogies.

Approach

• Focus on two departments for proof-of-concept
• Co-led by Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence
• Professional Development workshops 2x/year
• Course Transformation Grants:
  • Phase 1: Course Transformation - $5000 stipend
  • Phase 2: Advanced Course Transformation or Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - $2500 stipend
  • Consultation through proposal development, design, and implementation
  • Continued peer support through Communities of Practice

Timeline: A year at-a-glance

Fall Implementation Cycle

• January: Workshop & Request for Proposals
• April-May: Proposals due and decisions
• May-September: Transformation Design Phase
• September-December: Implementation Phase
• February, March, April, September, October, November: Community of Practice Meetings

Spring Implementation Cycle

• February-May: Implementation Phase
• June: Workshop & Request for Proposals
• August-September: Proposals due and decisions
• September-December: Transformation design phase

Project Outcomes

Courses, Faculty, Students

• 10 workshops
  • Ten 2-day workshops, 20-30 participants each. (e.g., Cultural Identity, Inclusive Pedagogies, Equity-Based Assessment)
• 22 faculty
  • 12 Biology, Chemistry, 2 Mathematics
• 23 courses
  • 23 courses transformed by 22 faculty (13 Biology, 9 Chemistry, 1 Mathematics)
• 27 grants
  • 27 course transformation grants (22 Phase 1 & 5 Phase 2)
• 1000+ students
  • 1000+ students reached each year

Research-Based Instructional Practices Adopted

• Observable student learning outcomes
• Small-scale in-class active learning practices
• More complex in-class assignments
• Structural changes to course design
• Practices that highlight diversity among scientists
• Newly developed and redesigned lab courses

Expansion and Sustainability

• Year 5 – expanded to Mathematics
• No-cost extension proposal in process
• Office of Research and College of Arts and Sciences are partnering to sustain and expand the project to other STEM programs at SU

Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Collaborative High-impact Activities in Natural Science Education (CHANcE) Project through HHMI Inclusive Excellence in STEM.

Selected Sources

1. Dolan, E. L., & Collins, J. P. (2015). We must teach more effectively: here are four ways to get started. Molecular biology of the cell, 26(12), 2151-2155.
2. Dewsbury, B., & Brame, C. J. (2019). Inclusive teaching. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(2), fe2.
3. Tanner, K. D. (2013). Structure matters: twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student engagement and cultivate classroom equity. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 12(3), 322-331.
4. Wieman, C. (2017). Improving how universities teach science: Lessons from the science education initiative. Harvard University Press.