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

Upcoming Events

2013 PKAL Summer Leadership Institutes for STEM Faculty

July 23-28, 2013 and July 30 - August 4, 2013
Baca Campus of Colorado College
Crestone, CO
Meeting website

The PKAL Summer Leadership Institute is designed for early and mid-career STEM faculty engaged in leading projects aimed at transforming undergraduate STEM education in their classrooms, departments and institutions. These five-day intensive institutes provide faculty participants with the theory and practice required to act as agents of change in their home institutions or professional societies. They are held in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the Baca Campus of Colorado College in Crestone, Colorado. PKAL is in its 15th year of offering the Summer Leadership Institutes.

Past Events

2013 PKAL Upstate New York Regional Network Spring Meeting

April 13, 2013
Nazareth College
Rochester, New York
Meeting website

The theme of the 2013 PKAL Upstate New York spring meeting is Wake Up Your STEM Classroom! Active Learning and Hands-On Techniques.

2013 Spring North Carolina PKAL Network Meeting in Conjunction with the North Carolina Academy of Science Annual Meeting

April 5, 2013
University of North Carolina Pembroke
Pembroke, North Carolina
Meeting website

The North Carolina PKAL Regional Network (NC-PKAL) and the North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS) have agreed to meet jointly each spring. The first joint meeting will convene on the University of North Carolina Pembroke campus with the PKAL network meeting preceding the NCAS annual meeting.

Southern California (SoCAL) PKAL Regional Network 2013 Conference

February 2, 2013
University of Redlands
Redlands, California
Meeting website

The theme of the 2013 SoCAL PKAL conference is Interdisciplinarity and Assessment: Two Necessary Parts of STEM Education.

Project Kaleidoscope Sessions & Events at AAC&U's Annual Meeting

AAC&U Annual Meeting
January 23-26, 2013
Atlanta, Georgia / Hyatt Regency Hotel
Meeting website

PKAL Atlanta Regional Network Meeting

November 16, 2012
Spelman College
Atlanta, Georgia
Meeting website

Leadership for Change in STEM Education
A Post-Conference Workshop Following the AAC&U Network for Academic Renewal Conference: Next Generation STEM Learning: Investigate, Innovate, Inspire

November 10, 2012
Kansas City, Missouri
Meeting website

PKAL community members are invited to participate in a post-conference workshop to continue the conversation on “what works” in STEM education from conference speakers and sessions. The workshop will help participants reflect on the conference, and then frame what they have learned in terms of leadership actions back on campus. Enjoy fellowship with other STEM education leaders as we share and learn from one another. For PKAL F21 members, this will be an opportunity to reunite. With the aim of deepening participants’ thinking about their leadership strengths and capacities, the workshop will feature one of PKAL’s signature experiential leadership exercises. Participants will leave the workshop with a plan of action for improved STEM education on their campuses.

Network for Academic Renewal Conference

November 8-10, 2012
Kansas City, Missouri
Meeting website

Next Generation STEM Learning:  Investigate, Innovate, Inspire will focus on how colleges, community colleges, and universities of all sorts can articulate, expand, measure, and track what works to advance students’ achievement of key learning outcomes, emphasizing scientific literacy, quantitative reasoning, analytical thinking, and visionary leadership.

Leadership for Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching and Learning
A Pre-Conference Workshop Preceding the AAC&U Network for Academic Renewal Conference: Next Generation STEM Learning: Investigate, Innovate, Inspire

Co-sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) and the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD)

November 8, 2012
Kansas City, Missouri
Meeting website

This workshop will provide academic administrators the opportunity to explore practices for establishing and leading interdisciplinary academic programs in STEM areas. Although much of the discussion will be focused on STEM areas, the workshop is appropriate for those in non-STEM disciplines and programs. Key questions addressed will include: Why should higher education focus on interdisciplinary learning? How can educators foster interdisciplinary learning and problem-solving cultures? What leadership strategies for interdisciplinary programs work best in different institutional contexts? Participants will consider how to put ideas from the workshop into practice through a robust mix of interactive discussions and time to develop individual action plans.

Inaugural North Carolina PKAL Network Meeting

October 12, 2012
Elon University
Elon, North Carolina
Meeting website

The inaugural North Carolina PKAL Network Meeting will focus on high impact teaching, engaged learning and assessment in STEM.

PKAL Upstate NY Regional Network Meeting

October 12, 2012
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, New York
Meeting website

This is the second network event for Upstate New York and will focus on what works in STEM education research.

2012 PKAL Summer Leadership Institutes for STEM Faculty

July 17 - 22, 2012 and July 31 - August 5, 2012
Baca Campus of Colorado College
Crestone, CO
Meeting website

The PKAL Summer Leadership Institute is designed for early and mid-career STEM faculty engaged in leading projects aimed at transforming undergraduate STEM education in their classrooms, departments and institutions. These five-day intensive institutes provide faculty participants with the theory and practice required to act as agents of change in their home institutions or professional societies. They are held in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the Baca Campus of Colorado College in Crestone, Colorado. PKAL is in its 14th year of offering the Summer Leadership Institutes.

Mobilizing Disciplinary Societies on Behalf of our Students . . . and our Planet Project Planning Meeting

May 4-6, 2012
American Chemical Society
Washington, DC
Meeting website

Keck/PKAL STEM Education Framework Project Meeting I (by invitation only)

April 26-27, 2012
California State University, Fullerton
Fullerton, CA
Meeting website

Action Lab II (by invitation only)
Ramping Up for STEM Success project

March 20-22, 2012
Seattle, Washington
(in advance of AAC&U's Network for Academic Renewal Conference, Student Success: Pushing Boundaries, Raising Bars, March 22-24)
Meeting website

Willamette Valley Biological Education Network (WVBEN) Workshop

February 4, 2012
Lewis & Clark College
Portland, OR
Meeting website

At this meeting, we will discuss the recommendations of the AAAS/NSF report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education (http://visionandchange.org); look for the Final 2011 report), how they might affect the future of undergraduate biology education in our region, and how biology departments have begun to respond to these recommendations. Come join with colleagues to share your views and learn what others are doing in response to this mandate.

PKAL Sessions at AAC&U's Annual Meeting

January 25-28, 2012
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Washington, DC
Meeting website

SoCal PKAL Regional Network Meeting

January 21, 2012
Smith Campus Center, Pomona College
Claremont, CA
Meeting website

PKAL Upstate New York Regional Gathering/Planning Meeting

January 20, 2012
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY
Meeting website

The first PKAL Upstate New York Regional Gathering will focus on the many different approaches we use in the classroom and the methods we use to assess our effectiveness. Bringing everyone together will allow us to share the tools and knowledge we use to develop objective assessments of our activities. Demonstrating effectiveness serves many goals, both personal (tenure, promotion) and larger-scale (dissemination of curricula, getting external funding). In addition, we will take time to discuss the potential for the formation of a PKAL Upstate New York STEM (science, technology,engineering and mathematics) education network, focused on bringing together faculty in the STEM disciplines to discuss and collaborate on issues of regional relevance related to teaching, learning and leadership. We will explore the potential goals, benefits and activities of such a network.

2011 Learning Spaces Collaboratory National Colloquium

November 4-6, 2011
Westfields Marriott
Chantilly, Virginia
Meeting website

The 2011 LSC Colloquium is designed for the collective exploration of basic questions at the intersection of research and practice in the realm of planning 21st century learning spaces for 21st century learners. Attention will be given to research domains as diverse as cognitive science, learning sciences, social psychology, organizational and pedagogical change, and from communities of practitioners equally diverse: senior academic administrators, libraries, pedagogical pioneers, physical plant officers, architects, and other design and construction professionals.

PKAL Atlanta Regional Network 2011 Fall Meeting

November 4, 2011
Agnes Scott College
Decatur, Georgia
Meeting website

Many faculty are aware of national initiatives and trends associated with the improvement of STEM teaching and learning, however many often struggle in translating these ideas to their campus environments or lack a supportive critical mass of like-minded colleagues to achieve effective results. The PKAL Atlanta regional network fall meeting will highlight different types of programs and activities that local institutions have put in place to improve STEM teaching and learning and to support faculty development. These include formal programs and activities coordinated by centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) and less formal grass-roots efforts such as faculty-led STEM pedagogy groups.  Attendees will learn how different institutions are supporting STEM faculty and students and discuss steps individual faculty can take to initiate some of these activities on their home campuses.

Action Lab I (by invitation only)
Ramping Up for STEM Success project

September 30 - October 1, 2011
Indianapolis, Indiana
(in advance of STEMtech Conference, October 2-5)
Meeting website

Undergraduate Neuroscience Education: Resourcing the Curriculum, Improving Pedagogy and Programs, and Expanding our Disciplinary Horizons
The 2011 Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Workshop commemorating 20 years of training tomorrow's neuroscientists today.

July 29-31, 2011
Pomona College
Claremont, California
Meeting website

2011 PKAL Summer Leadership Institutes for STEM Faculty

July 12-17, 2011 and July 19-24, 2011
Baca Campus of Colorado College
Crestone, CO
Meeting website

The PKAL Summer Leadership Institute is designed for early and mid-career STEM faculty engaged in leading projects aimed at transforming undergraduate STEM education in their classrooms, departments and institutions. These five-day intensive institutes provide faculty participants with the theory and practice required to act as agents of change in their home institutions or professional societies and are held in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the Baca Campus of Colorado College in Crestone, Colorado. This year is the 13th summer PKAL has run the Summer Leadership Institutes.

PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory (LSC) Workshop

June 18, 2011
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA
Meeting website

PKAL Upper Midwest STEM Leadership Workshop

June 10-12, 2011
St. Olaf College
Northfield, MN
Meeting website

This weekend seminar is for mid-career faculty in STEM departments from upper Midwestern colleges and universities who are moving into leadership positions (chair, program director, or principal investigator).   Participants will learn more about the dimensions of leadership required to build and sustain excellence in undergraduate STEM programs. Through plenary seminars, experiential leadership exercises, group discussions, and personal reflection time, participants will gain strategic insights into their personal leadership qualities and program plans. Each participant will leave with new ideas for making a bigger difference on campus, an action plan for achieving their program goals, and an agenda for long-term personal growth. Participants will also become part of a network of colleagues from around the country who share similar goals regarding the creation of effective learning environments for all STEM learners.

Collecting and Sharing Evidence of Student Learning in STEM
PKAL Atlanta Regional Network 2011 Spring Meeting

April 15, 2011
North Georgia College and State University
Dahlonega, Georgia
Meeting website

STEM faculty increasingly use pedagogies of engagement to improve teaching and learning and to engage and retain students in their courses. How do faculty from different disciplines determine what students are learning and how do they use this information to inform and improve their teaching? Attendees will learn from faculty in various STEM fields about ways to assess the efficacy of different teaching methods and their impact on student learning.

Promoting Pedagogical Approaches to Robust Learning in Undergraduate STEM Workshop
A Mountain View College Workshop in Collaboration with PKAL

April 7-9, 2011
Mountain View College
Dallas, TX
Meeting website

This workshop is the culmination of a two-year College Cost Reduction Access Act grant from the U.S. Department of Education to Mountain View College supporting a wide range of activities designed to enhance success of MVC students studying in STEM fields. Facilitators for this workshop bring deep expertise and experience in exploring contemporary, research-based STEM pedagogies and in adapting them at the local and regional level.

New Biology: From Courses to Competencies
A Willamette Valley Biological Education Network (WVBEN) Workshop in Partnership with Project Kaleidoscope

April 2, 2011
Mount Hood Community College
Gresham, Oregon
Meeting website

One obstacle for reforming introductory biology courses may be the imposition - perceived or real - of the requirements that professional schools have for "coverage" of topics and concepts. For example, there is great pressure to prepare students to take the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) in order to apply for medical school, a common goal of many undergraduate science majors. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) published a report in 2009, entitled the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, which contains a list of "competencies" for undergraduate students to demonstrate in preparation for medical school. These competencies are proposed as an alternative to the usual list of specific courses. This workshop will examine how our current courses and programs address those competencies.

Engaged STEM Learning: From Promising to Pervasive Practices
Network for Academic Renewal Conference

March 24-26, 2011
Hilton Miami Downtown
Miami, FL
Meeting website

Project Kaleidoscope, in partnership with AAC&U, announces the 2011 Network for Academic Renewal conference, Engaged STEM Learning: From Promising to Pervasive Practices. This interactive, hands-on conference will help campuses adapt, scale up, and sustain effective practices in STEM teaching and learning. The conference is designed for participants who wish to develop faculty and institutional leadership in STEM reform, broaden student participation and success in STEM fields, better assess engaged STEM learning in both the majors and general education, and connect the revitalization of STEM learning with ongoing campus work in Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP).

PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory (LSC) Regional Workshop

March 19, 2011
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA

This PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory event will focus on getting the planning right, recognizing this time of limited financial resources for major facilities efforts is the ideal time for the analysis of current needs anddreams for spaces for learning (teaching and research) in STEM fields. The Dickinson story, and others to be explored, will outline the process of planning. As always with PKAL LSC activities, there will be time for academic participants to meet and consult with the facilitating architects. More information can be found here. If you have any questions, contact pkallsc@pkallsc.org.

To Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LM3QVZZ
Registration Fee: $100 per person, includes materials, breaks and lunch. Participants responsible for securing housing.
Registration Deadline: February 20, 2010.

Networking for Engaged STEM Learning
SoCal PKAL Regional Network Meeting

February 5, 2011
University of La Verne
La Verne, CA
Meeting website

PKAL Sessions at AAC&U's Annual Meeting

January 26-29, 2011
Hyatt Regency Hotel
San Francisco, CA
Meeting website

Facilitating Partnerships for STEM Pedagogy and Undergraduate Research
PKAL Atlanta Regional Fall Meeting

November 19, 2010
Brenau University
Gainesville, GA
Meeting website

For more information, click here.

Faculty Roles in Undergraduate Research Workshop
At the AAC&U Network for Academic Renewal Conference on Undergraduate Research In and Across the Disciplines

November 11, 2010
Washington Duke Inn
Durham, NC
Meeting website

Workshop participants will explore strategies for moving engaged learning to the center of faculty work.  Using undergraduate research as a case study, facilitators and participants will examine expanding mainstream pedagogies to include engaged learning; re-conceptualizing the faculty role as engaged teacher-scholar; and redefining faculty workloads to include a full array of high-impact experiences.

What We Know About Planning Learning Spaces and What We Still Need to Know
PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory National Colloquium

November 5-7, 2010
Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles
Chantilly, Virginia
Meeting website

2010 PKAL/Keck National Colloquium on Leadership in Interdisciplinary (ID) STEM Learning

October 15-16, 2010
Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel
Washington, DC
Meeting website

The Keck/PKAL National Colloquium is the conclusion and celebration of a three-year project, during which campus teams have been engaged in interdisciplinary STEM education projects, ranging from interdisciplinary general education and first year experience programs to interdisciplinary courses in teacher education and majors programs in environmental science, neuroscience and human biology. The work of the campus teams has been focused on making recommendations and defining successful strategies in three key areas:

• Interdisciplinary STEM learning and assessment
• Institutional vision, cultures and practices
• Leadership and institutional change

The National Colloquium is designed to engage participants, including members of Keck/PKAL project teams, in developing a strategic leadership action agenda to advance interdisciplinary STEM learning--for all students.

Leadership Strategies: Accidental vs. Intentional
Upper Midwest PKAL Regional Gathering

October 10, 2010
St. Olaf College
Northfield, MN
Meeting website

Taking on leadership roles is a difficult choice for many young or mid-career faculty.  Sometimes leadership responsibilities land in your lap and you become the “accidental leader.”  Other people make specific choices throughout their careers in order to take on leadership roles to achieve their and their institution’s visions.  At this gathering, we will discuss the challenges and rewards of leadership, explore your aptitude for leadership and share examples where effective leadership was applied.

Quantifying Quantitative Reasoning in Undergraduate Education: Alternative Strategies for the Assessment of Quantitative Reasoning
A workshop co-sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) and the QuIRK initiative

October 8-10, 2010
Carleton College
Northfield, MN
Meeting website

Too Little Time, Too Much to Cover? Effective Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Intro Biology Courses Workshop
Willamette Valley Biological Education Network (NSF-funded Research Collaborative Network Initiative)

October 2, 2010
Willamette University
Salem, OR
Meeting website

Teaching introductory science and mathematics courses is a challenge.  Typically the students who take these courses bring a wide range of backgrounds in previous experience and future goals. In biology, in particular, the rapid growth of knowledge and profusion of subdisciplines have made it difficult to come to consensus about what concepts and skills are most essential for introductory courses.  This workshop will allow participants to share their approach to these issues and will focus on learning methods that engage students in constructing their own knowledge.  Importantly, this workshop is part of an ongoing effort to build a sustainable STEM pedagogical community in the Willamette Valley across diverse educators and institutions.  We will engage in discussions about building robust communities of learners both within our immediate reach and across a network of institutions and about how to nurture leaders to promote best educational practices.

PKAL Summer Leadership Institute for Early Career Faculty

July 17-22, 2010
Baca Campus of Colorado College
Crestone, Colorado
Meeting website

The 2010 Summer Leadership Institute is for early-career STEM faculty engaged with transforming undergraduate STEM education in their classrooms and departments to apply for the 2010 PKAL Summer Leadership Institute. It is designed to enhance the leadership capacity and ability for early career faculty to act as agents of change within their home institutions or professional societies to reform STEM education. The Summer Institute will be held July 17 – 22, 2010 in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the Baca Campus of Colorado College in Crestone, Colorado. It is the 11th Summer Leadership Institute.

Upper Midwest Regional PKAL STEM Leadership Workshop for Early Career Faculty
Sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation 

June 11-13, 2010
St. John's University
Collegeville, Minnesota
Meeting website

A weekend leadership retreat for early career STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) faculty in the upper midwest region will be held at St. John's University on June 11-13, 2010. This workshop is designed for faculty who are thinking about leading transformative STEM learning projects in their classrooms, departments or institutions. The application deadline has been extended to May 7, 2010. 

Atlanta-PKAL Spring 2010 Meeting: Exploring Pathways from Classroom Pedagogy to Undergraduate Research

April 16, 2010
Georgia Gwinnett College
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Meeting website

Both classroom pedagogy and the undergraduate research experience are essential components of a vibrant undergraduate STEM experience. The implementation of effective pedagogies in introductory courses is important for gateways into STEM disciplines at the beginning of undergraduate study. At the end of undergraduate study in a STEM discipline, well prepared students must demonstrate the ability to engage in independent inquiry and/or research. This meeting will explore ways in which in-class mentoring with pedagogies can be programmatically connected with out-of-class mentoring in undergraduate research. The presentations, workshops and discussions will be led by STEM faculty who have been exploring pathways from classroom pedagogy to undergraduate research.

Spring Interdisciplinary Leadership Roundtable

April 9-11, 2010
Mt. Washington Conference Center
Baltimore, MD
Meeting website

The meeting goals included: 1) identification of key leadership factors required to foster successful and sustainable interdisciplinary programs in different campus contexts, including barriers and ways to overcome them 2) development of institutional models of institutional leadership - organizational structures, practices, and policies - that provide the administrative, financial, physical, and cultural infrastructures needed to facilitate interdisciplinary learning over the long-term and 3) outline of a leadership handbook and contributions to the Facilitating Interdisciplinary STEM Learning National Colloquium and final project report.

Welcome Reception and Conversation with PKAL Director, Susan Elrod

March 31, 2010
American Society for Microbiology
Washington, DC
Meeting website

Sharing Our Work: A MnSCU-PKAL Showcase Featured at Realizing Student Potential Conference

February 26-27, 2010
Minneapolis Community & Technical College
Minneapolis, MN
Meeting website

Learning Outcomes and Learning Spaces

February 6, 2010
Linfield College
McMinnville, OR
Meeting website

This workshop was of value to campuses at an early stage in shaping and reshaping learning spaces for undergraduate communities of learners. During the one-day workshop, participants: explored “learning spaces that work” to help students reach learning outcomes, identified key questions and processes by which those spaces were imagined, realized and assessed, and developed short- and long-term agendas for transforming learning spaces

PKAL Sessions at AAC&U Annual Meeting

January 20-23, 2010
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Washington, DC
Meeting website

AAC&U and PKAL have joined forces to advance and amplify work on improving undergraduate education in mathematics, technology, and the various fields of science and engineering (STEM) in colleges and universities across the country. The 2010 Annual Meeting marked a milestone in the partnership between AAC&U and Project Kaleidoscope with several PKAL sessions featured at the meeting.

PKAL Workshop at 2010 NCSE National Conference
An Integrated Approach to Addressing Sustainability in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Environments

January 20, 2010
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
Washington, DC
Meeting website