The Role of Scientifc Societies in STEM Faculty Workshops

American Association Of Physics Teachers, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Evidence suggests that existing STEM faculty workshops have been reasonably effective in meeting the goals of introducing faculty to pedagogical practices well-grounded in discipline-specific education research and motivating faculty to try these ideas and materials to enhance student learning. Current workshops, however, reach only a small fraction of STEM faculty in colleges and universities and they offer a wide range of models for faculty development. This project is to organize and hold a national symposium focusing on the role of scientific societies in STEM faculty professional development workshops. The symposium will bring together the leaders of these workshops to find a set of best practices for these workshops and discuss ways of extending these workshops to a larger fraction of STEM faculty members. It is an important attempt to catalyze large scale adoption of effective teaching practices in this country and will contribute to the transformation of undergraduate STEM education.