TRANSFORMING STEM EDUCATION WITHIN AND ACROSS INTERLINKED 2- AND 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS: CHALLENGES, INSIGHTS, AND IMPACTS

Change at the Core: A Collaborative Model for Undergraduate STEM Education Reform (C-Core) is an NSF-funded institutional transformation project. Western Washington University (4yr), Whatcom Community College (2yr), and Skagit Valley College (2yr), are working together to transform courses in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Geology, Mathematics, and Physics from teacher- to student-centered learning environments. Currently, 90 STEM faculty are participating in professional development workshops, implementing and observing evidence-based teaching and learning practices, and collaborating on curriculum changes and course alignment across the three institutions. Challenges to reform include: student resistance to change, classroom and laboratory spaces not designed to support student-centered learning, assessments and policies poorly aligned with student-centered learning practices, time to collaboratively develop and implement changes in courses and course sequences, and faculty uncertainty about how to address the needs of diverse students. Data from student focus groups, faculty surveys, and case studies suggest that these challenges can be at least partially addressed through a sequence of faculty workshops on student-centered, inclusive teaching and learning, development of learning progressions around core disciplinary concepts, creation and support of faculty learning communities, regular use of formative assessment to guide instructional decisions, and active engagement of department chairs, deans, and other campus administrators. This poster will discuss how students, faculty, departments, and institutions are being impacted by these reform efforts.