| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 7, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 7, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1832558 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Sonja Montas-Hunter
smontash@nsf.gov (703)292-7404 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,462,263.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,462,263.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
ONE UNIVERSITY CIRCLE TURLOCK CA US 95382-3200 (209)667-3493 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
One University Circle Turlock CA US 95382-0256 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | HSI-Hispanic Serving Instituti |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (HSI Program) aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge about how to achieve these aims. This project at the California State University-Stanislaus (Stanislaus State), will advance the aims of the HSI Program by improving STEM student retention, graduation, and success by developing a STEM faculty culture of evidence-based teaching and student-centered learning environments. Over a four-year period, cohorts of faculty will attend summer teaching institutes, academic year workshops, and peer support groups. It is predicted that this faculty-led professional development program will transform teaching and improve student success across all STEM disciplines at Stanislaus State. If successful, this project could serve as a model for institutional change efforts to improve STEM education at other universities.
The overall goal of this project is to transform the culture of STEM teaching and learning at Stanislaus State by increasing the use of evidence-based and culturally-engaging teaching practices. The project aims to generate new knowledge about: (1) the effectiveness of a faculty-driven professional development program to broadly influence STEM teaching practices; (2) whether implementation of the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Model among faculty results in measurable improvements in psychosocial indicators of student success at an HSI; and (3) the ways that sustained and collegial professional development activities can produce meaningful changes in the teaching culture of college faculty. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed. Project impact will be evaluated by measuring the benefits realized by the students it serves. The project will also assess faculty, and will track the processes used to develop, implement, and sustain project activities, to facilitate the adoption of similar programs at other institutions. Through a holistic professional development program that produces widespread changes in the culture of teaching and learning at Stanislaus State, this project plans to double the use of evidence-based teaching practices and decrease the non-pass rate in all STEM gateway courses. In turn, these improvements are expected to support increased performance of students in STEM courses, and increased sense of belonging and higher retention rates among STEM majors.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Collaboration for Inclusive and Engaging Curriculum, Instruction, and Achievement (CIENCIA) is a faculty development initiative at the College of Science at California State University Stanislaus. The overall goal of CIENCIA is to improve student retention, graduation, and success in STEM by transforming the culture of STEM teaching and learning at Stanislaus State. Specifically, CIENCIA is focused on enhancing student success in gateway courses, which represent a critical transition for many students, by supporting faculty in improving pedagogy and curriculum in these courses through professional development activities. The program is designed around a cohort model where a small group of faculty members from multiple disciplines engage together in a multi-day summer institute and weekly collaborative activities during the academic year that encourage reflection and peer-feedback on teaching practices. Across three cohorts of faculty, there were 80 attendees at summer institutes (33 unique individuals) and 35 participants in the academic year activities (25 unique individuals). Analysis of participant interactions and written products indicates that many participants struggled to reconncile the culture of STEM that they had been trained in as researchers (that values objectivity and meritocracy) with humanized and student-centered teaching and learning (that values equity and justice). Nevertheless, many participants adopted a variety of new approaches to their teaching that supported student-centered learning environments. Across the College of Science, faculty members have increased their use of evidence-based teaching practices, and failure rates in several gateway classes have declined. While much work remains, the CIENCIA program has succeeded in supporting a cultural shift towards teaching and learning that enhances student success in gateway STEM courses.
Last Modified: 02/12/2024
Modified by: Matthew R Cover
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