Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) — Advancing what works in STEM education

Keck/PKAL Institutional STEM Education Framework Project

Funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation

Overview
This initiative aims to develop a comprehensive, institutional STEM Effectiveness Framework that will help campus leaders translate national recommendations for improving student learning and success in STEM into scalable and sustainable actions. The project will engage up to twelve selected colleges and universities in California to test evidence-based strategies that will lead to program, departmental, and eventually, institutional transformation.

The project leverages PKAL’s twenty years of STEM education research and reform experience in creating more effective curricular, teaching, and program strategies. Participating campuses will contribute to the development of a new framework that colleges and universities can use to measure their effectiveness in promoting more learner-centered campus cultures in STEM. The project will pay specific attention to program and institutional data that can be used to evaluate student achievement, experiences, and progress (e.g., rates of transfer, retention, and completion) with a focus on minority student success.

The Framework will include two major components:

An institutional readiness audit that will consist of key questions and metrics that campus leaders should address when working to improve STEM learning and success.
A rubric with benchmarking tools to evaluate educational effectiveness in STEM courses and programs.

The four-year project will involve selected teams of faculty, administrators, and assessment experts. The following institutions and organizations have confirmed participation in the project:

California State University, East Bay
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
W.M. Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges
University of San Diego
University of La Verne
The California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB)
University of California, Davis

Community colleges participating in Project Meeting I:

Citrus College
Cypress College
Fullerton College
Santa Ana College

Project Contacts

PKAL at AAC&U:

Susan Elrod, Executive Director
elrod@aacu.org; x804

Sean Penny, Program/Administrative Assistant
penny@aacu.org; x434