Systemic Transformation of Evidence-based Education Reform (STEER)

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to transform the culture of STEM departments in research universities by balancing the values of research and teaching. It accomplishes this by rewarding the adoption of evidence-based teaching strategies by faculty and graduate students. The project helps these educators to adopt these practices through training programs, work assignments, and support structures. The increase in student learning and retention will lead to improved rewards and prestige for faculty. The project also focuses on the special needs of under-represented groups and of students transferring from community colleges. The ultimate goal of transforming institutional culture is to increase the retention and preparation of STEM majors and to produce a greater number of STEM graduates who are well prepared for life, citizenship, and careers. The project is centered at the University of South Florida. This University is partnering with Hillsborough Community College, which provides a large number of transfer students. Implementation will be guided by the extensive planning conducted over the past two years, supported in part by an NSF WIDER planning grant. This process resulted in the development of a systemic approach to creating a culture that balances research and teaching. The theory of change guiding this project is a combination of bottom-up and top-down strategies described in the research literature, notably the work of Adrianna Kezar. This project will produce new research knowledge about deliberate institutional change in the form of validation, testing, and efficiency assessment of the underlying change strategies. Six explicit change strategies are being implemented. These have been found to represent effective approaches to cultural change in research-intensive STEM departments. A Transition Implementation Leadership Team (TILT) has been formed to lead these efforts. This team is broadly representative of faculty, administrators, and staff. The change strategies include: partnering with a feeder community college to improve STEM student transfer and success; establishing interdisciplinary and departmental retreats that foster convergence in course design and adoption of evidence-based teaching; supporting faculty development; focusing initially on gateway courses then on other STEM courses; revising university policies to enhance the rewards for improved teaching; and training Graduate Teaching Assistants and student advisers. The project will provide an analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of the results of its change efforts in formats understandable and useful for non-scientists in order to stimulate policy formulation by local, State and Federal agencies. A second knowledge goal is to develop understanding of the key elements driving change in a generalized context that is useful as an adaptable model for other colleges and universities to guide their self-improvement efforts.