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

In the Spotlight

April 18, 2012 - Southern California Regional Network (SoCAL PKAL)

The PKAL Southern California Regional Network held a conference in January at Pomona College entitled “Engaged STEM Teaching - What Works?” Attended by over seventy individuals from twenty-three institutions in the Southern California region, the conference showcased some of the most innovative developments in STEM education and featured a keynote address by Dr. David Drew, author of eight books on STEM education reform and former Dean of the Claremont School of Education. Presentations included Diane O'Dowd (University of California-Irvine), who discussed lecture-free teaching and mentoring of students; a panel discussion of the Claremont Accelerated Integrated Science Sequence; and breakout sessions in a number of disciplines. Leading science, math, and engineering professors from across Southern California were in attendance, all sharing ideas about what works best in their teaching and how they can take advantage of the latest research in STEM education. To learn more, click here for the post event report and other event resources.

Interested in learning more about PKAL Regional Networks? Visit our information page.

March 15, 2012 - Mobilizing Disciplinary Societies on Behalf of Our Students
. . . and Our Planet

This initiative leverages the influence of 11 STEM disciplinary societies as the professional voices of their disciplines to contextualize STEM teaching and learning in terms of 21^st century sustainability challenges. These challenges require citizens and professionals who not only understand the scientific and societal dimensions of the sustainability challenges we face, but who also are motivated and equipped to help solve the underlying problems. Along with Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future and the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability, PKAL is enabling and supporting the partner societies in using sustainability to underpin their programs, policies, and member activities. With funding from FIPSE through 2013, the initiative will culminate in a convocation at the National Academies to widen the circle of involved societies beyond STEM and to plan for sustaining the work beyond the grant period.

Several of our partner societies have highlighted their commitment to the goals of the initiative within their publications and communication channels. Three such examples include:

• “Teaching Biology for a Sustainable Future” from the American Institute for Biological Sciences’ Eye on Education
• “Going Green” from the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology
• “Chemistry and the Challenge of Sustainability” in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Chemical Education

For more information, please visit the initiative website here.

February 15, 2012 - PKAL Launches Project to Develop STEM Education Framework

PKAL announces a new initiative aimed at developing a comprehensive institutional STEM Effectiveness Framework that will help campus leaders translate national recommendations for raising STEM achievement into scalable and sustainable actions that will improve STEM learning and success for all students. The project will bring together twelve colleges and universities in California to test evidence-based strategies that will ultimately lead to institutional transformation. The project is supported by a grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. For more information, see the project web page.

December 2, 2011 - PKAL Launches Project on Two-Year/Four-Year Partnerships to Facilitate STEM Transfer Student Success

With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PKAL recently launched a series of national summits or “action labs” on developing effective models for transfer of students in STEM fields from two-year institutions to four-year institutions. At the first Action Lab, held in Indianapolis on September 30 – October 1, 36 people from six different institutional clusters from California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan and Texas convened to share models and discuss factors that contribute to their success, barriers they have faced, and next steps for continuing development of partnerships. The next Action Lab will be in March 2012 and will be an opportunity for many of these same institutions to share their progress. Following these two convenings, PKAL & AAC&U will plan the next steps for further engagement of institutional and system partnerships in developing and disseminating best practices -- the overarching goal to develop replicable and scalable models for student success across transfer, emphasizing general education and entry into STEM baccalaureate programs. For more information, see the Ramping Up for STEM Success project web page. Other PKAL resources on community colleges and transfer programs are also posted on this website.

October 24, 2011 - PKAL: Leadership for implementing change in undergraduate STEM education

Transforming undergraduate STEM education is a hot topic these days! As a committed voice in bringing positive, engaging and inclusive change to STEM environments, PKAL shared its efforts in cultivating change through its community members at the recent conference sponsored by Purdue University’s Discovery Learning Center. Judy Dilts (James Madison University), Lynn Zimmerman (Emory University) and Susan Elrod (PKAL) facilitated an interactive session with 40 participants on PKAL's Summer Leadership Institutes (SLI) (now in their 14th year) and regional networks.The presentation focused on how these initiatives are central to helping PKAL achieve its strategic goals to have a greater impact on STEM education across the nation. To date, more than 200 STEM faculty have participated in PKAL's SLI and PKAL's regional networks engage over 650 faculty members in four regions around the country. For the presentation, click here.

In addition, the current issue of AAC&U's Peer Review is focused on STEM education. It features articles from both the PKAL and AAC&U communities that exemplify recent advances across an array of disciplines and campus contexts. To access the issue, click here.

September 13, 2011: The Learning Spaces Collaboratory - Why Spaces Matter

Why spaces matter and how we know is the fundamental driver for Learning Spaces Collaboratory, of which both PKAL and AAC&U are collaborating partners. Partners share a conviction that sustainable and creative transformation of the undergraduate learning environment—for all students—cannot be achieved without incorporating attention to the quality and character of learning spaces. At a recent meeting, an LSC project team began exploring the feedback loop addressing questions about 21st century learners, learning, and learning spaces. These explorations are a first step in developing a rubric for assessing learning spaces within a particular institutional context.

Opportunities for the community to be engaged with the LSC include:

• an LSC webinar September 15 focusing on questions to be asked about learning in the context of considering upkeep and renovations of existing spaces—about the process of progressive "tinkering"
• an LSC National Colloquium in November.
  

The Learning Spaces Collaboratory (LSC) is a multi- partner organization that is led independently by Jeanne Narum, PKAL Director Emerita and AAC&U Senior Scholar.

July 12, 2011: PKAL 2.0: Planning the Next Five Years

Friends,

As the transition of PKAL into partnership with AAC&U has unfolded, the PKAL advisory board has drafted a revised plan of goals and strategies to shape PKAL's priorities over the next five years. We invite you to review this draft plan and provide your feedback.

Over the years, PKAL's projects, workshops, and reports have been shaped by priorities identified by the community. These priorities have shaped PKAL's influence in making significant contributions to advancing "what works" in STEM education. Thus, we would like your opinion on what PKAL's priorities should be for the next five years. In other words, what should PKAL be doing - with respect to national projects, conference themes, reports, and resource development - to translate our goals into actions that will help us take STEM education reform to the next level? Click here to let us know.

May 26, 2011: Planning Meeting for "Mobilizing Disciplinary Societies on Behalf of Our Students...and Our Planet Project"

On May 19-20, twenty representatives from eleven scientific disciplinary societies joined PKAL and its partners, the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability and Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future, at the American Center for Physics for the first joint meeting of the FIPSE-funded project to advance the work of societies in educating for a sustainable future. At the meeting, hosted by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), society representatives created plans for implementing specific strategies they could work on collaboratively to advance the goals of the project. For more, see the project web site. This work grows from PKAL's long-standing partnerships with disciplinary societies and educational associations (DSEA).

April 26, 2011: PKAL Regional Networks

In April, over 100 STEM faculty and campus leaders attended PKAL regional network meetings in Georgia and Oregon. At the PKAL-Atlanta meeting, hosted by North Georgia College and State University, the focus was on Collecting and Sharing Evidence of Student Learning in STEM. During the meeting, attendees learned about different ways to assess the efficacy of different teaching methods in various STEM fields.  Click here to learn more. At the Oregon WVBEN event, STEM leaders met at Mt. Hood Community College to talk about New Biology: From Courses to Competencies. Using the AAMC-HHMI 2009 report "Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians" participants discussed how current courses and programs address the competencies presented in the report, and possible strategies for revising introductory courses to better meet them. Click here for more details. To learn more about PKAL networks, click here.

In other network news, the Upper Midwest PKAL network is planning a Leadership Workshop for mid-career faculty in STEM departments from upper Midwestern colleges and universities who are moving into leadership positions at St. Olaf College, June 10-12, 2011. Applications are due Monday, May 16; more information is available here.

March 15, 2011: Summer Leadership Institute on STEM Reform

Application deadline extended to April 11.

Improving undergraduate STEM learning environments takes vision, planning and leadership. Since 1996, PKAL has been offering its annual summer leadership institutes to help STEM faculty leaders be effective change agents on their campuses. Participation is often a life changing experience that provides the inspiration, support and skills for faculty members to move into both informal and formal leadership positions at their institutions.

This year, two Institutes are planned: July 12-17 and July 19-24, both in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the Baca Grande campus of Colorado College in Crestone, CO. Each week will accommodate up to 24 participants, and we have two stellar teams of facilitator-mentors. We are also pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships for participants from minority serving institutions, community colleges, or colleges with limited or no professional development funds. The application deadline has been extended to April 11, 2011. More information, including program goals, fees and application information can be accessed at: http://www.aacu.org/pkal/events/sli/index.cfm.

February 18, 2011: SoCal PKAL Regional Network
On February 5th, 30 faculty members from across the STEM disciplines from 13 campuses in Southern California came together at the University of La Verne for the inaugural meeting of the new SoCal PKAL regional network. The first meeting explored how existing toolboxes of assessments can be used to improve teaching and promote learning.   They also discussed the challenges being faced by institutions in Southern California and how a regional network of STEM faculty could be empowered to face these challenges. Christine Broussard (University of La Verne), Sara Johnson (Cal State Fullerton) and Bryan Penprase (Pomona College) shared innovative techniques they use for assessment:

• Pre/post-surveys, reflection essays, and focus group interviews
• Personal Response Systems (i.e., "clickers")
• E-portfolios

Anne Houtman (Cal State Fullerton) led the group in establishing ideas for future network meetings. Besides sharing local expertise regarding best practices, building stronger collaborations between 2-year and 4-year institutions was identified as a key issue that cross-insitutional conversations in the Southern California area might address. Learn more about these assessment tools, the meeting outcomes and upcoming SoCal PKAL activities here. 

January 21, 2011: Perspectives on STEM Education: From the Disciplinary Societies  
January 2011 marks the 20th Anniversary of Project Kaleidoscope, from its beginnings with a National Colloquium at the National Academy of Sciences and the presentation of PKAL’s seminal report: What Works: Building Natural Science Community. A major thrust of discussions at the 1991 colloquium was on partnerships and collaborative efforts, including those with the scientific disciplinary and professional societies. Over the past decade, these communities of practice have taken a leadership role in shaping the STEM agenda, facilitating informed action, and building a sense of purpose grounded in a common vision.

Thus we inaugurate celebrations of PKAL’s 20th Anniversary with essays from the community of disciplinary and professional societies. No matter your discipline or your sphere of responsibility for undergraduate learning in STEM fields, these essays—in reviewing the past and anticipating the future—will inform and inspire. We begin with two essays, one from the American Chemical Society (ACS): Chemistry Education—Transforming the Human Elements, and one from the Mathematical Association of American (MAA): Challenges and Transitions: Undergraduate Mathematics,1990 – 2010. For these and subsequent essays, click here.

December 20, 2010: Undergraduate Research-Faculty Roles and Student Impact
Everyone is talking about undergraduate research; yet while one of the top high-impact practices, it creates many challenges. One of the biggest is defining and supporting the role of faculty. At AAC&U's recent Undergraduate Research network conference, PKAL sponsored a workshop that explored strategies for moving this kind of engaged learning to the center of faculty work. Facilitators Jeff Osborn (The College of New Jersey) and Beth Paul (Stetson University) led in a discussion of course-based models of faculty workload to spur participants to thinking how new models of faculty work could be created on their campuses. Also at the conference, Elaine Seymour (University of Colorado at Boulder) and Jillian Kinzie (National Survey of Student Engagement Institute) discussed new evidence regarding the impact of undergraduate research on various student learning outcomes.

November 18, 2010: PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory (LSC)
The PKAL Learning Spaces Collaboratory (LSC) held its first national colloquium on November 5 - 7, exploring the issues:What We Know About Planning Learning Spaces and What We Still Need to Know. This event set the stage for PKAL LSC activities in 2011 and beyond. This included identifying key questions to address in the process of linking the theory and practice of shaping learning spaces, and considering means to develop and disseminate resources for campus leadership teams with responsibility for the quality and character of the undergraduate physical learning environment. The initial report from the colloquium can be found here.

October 26, 2010 : QuIRK Strikes Again
Along with Carleton College's Quantitative Inquiry, Reasoning, and Knowledge (QuIRK) initiative, on the weekend of October 8-10 PKAL co-hosted the workshop "Quantifying Quantitative Reasoning in Undergraduate Education: Alternative Strategies for the Assessment of Quantitative Reasoning." A total of 110 participants including teams from 24 institutions worked to develop action plans to advance quantitative reasoning (QR) on their campuses through improvements to professional development, student support, and assessment. Assessment tools discussed at the workshop include:

• QuIRK's rubric for the assessment of QR in student writing
• Wellesley's QR screening test
• James Madison University's QR test
• The Collegiate Learning Assessment
• AAC&U's rubric on Quantitative Literacy

Details from the workshop will be posted to the workshop webpage shortly.

The PKAL/QuIRK workshop coincided with a meeting of the board of the National Numeracy Network (NNN). The National Numeracy Network supports a vision of a society in which all citizens possess the power and habit of mind to search out quantitative information, critique it, reflect upon it, and apply it in their public, personal and professional lives. Through national meetings, faculty development workshops, research initiatives, and information sharing -- especially via our on-line, open-access journal, Numeracy -- the National Numeracy Network aims to strengthen quantitative reasoning at all levels of education and across all disciplines. If you would like to take part in the national QR conversation represented in the weekend workshop, consider becoming an NNN member.

September 29, 2010: PKAL Announces New Advisory Board
Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) has announced a new advisory board to lead the initiative in its next phase of work. The new PKAL board of advisors held its first meeting over the summer and is chaired by Elizabeth McCormack, dean of graduate studies and professor of physics at Bryn Mawr College and F21 (year). The PKAL board will assist the PKAL Executive Director Susan Elrod and AAC&U in establishing and executing a successful strategic plan that builds on PKAL's strengths and experience as well as its new alliance with AAC&U.

At its first meeting in July 2010, the board discussed the current status of STEM higher education and ways in which PKAL could leverage its expertise and community of STEM leaders to continue to advance “what works” in STEM education within the context of its new partnership with AAC&U. The board affirmed PKAL’s commitment to its work in STEM faculty development and leadership capacity building required to make significant changes in STEM education. PKAL will also continue to link together broad communities to disseminate best practices, focusing more deliberately on regional networks, institutional leaders and external stakeholders, such as disciplinary societies.

Learn more about the PKAL Advisory Board in the press release or at: http://aacu.org/pkal/board.cfm

July 30, 2010: Leadership Development: Helping Faculty Learn to “Lead Up”
In early June 2010, PKAL held a regional STEM education leadership workshop in the Upper Midwest, hosted at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. The thirteen attendees - early career faculty from public and private colleges and universities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and South Dakota - embarked on a leadership development journey that started with the identification of their own professional goals. They were then challenged to link these goals to the bigger picture of their departments and institutions. This necessarily involved thinking deeply about shifting focus from their individual agendas to one that is more collective or institutional in nature. In other words, making the transition from “I” to “we” and becoming “servant leaders.”

One of the highlights of the workshop was a session led by MaryAnn Baenninger, President of The College of St. Benedict, in which she elaborated on her views of leadership. From her perspective, a key aspect of leadership is about building and nurturing communities focused on common goals. One way that faculty members can be leaders even without a formal title is to “lead up.” What does this mean? It means, in part, that faculty members understand the work of administrators, their real constraints and pressures (including budgets!), and the language they use in their administrative culture. More concretely, faculty should think about how what they are doing connects to the campus strategic plan, how resources are allocated (and ask if you don’t know), and how to coordinate and leverage with other projects. Also, being a solution, as opposed to another problem, will make conversations with chairs, deans and senior leaders about support and resources more fruitful. One of the key issues we have been discussing as part of the Keck/PKAL Facilitating Interdisciplinary Learning project is how to connect the leadership of faculty more intentionally with the institutional mission and leadership. Leading up is certainly one effective grassroots strategy.

As we move forward together, PKAL is planning more leadership workshops in partnership with existing and emerging regional PKAL networks around the country. Also, these kinds of conversations were part of PKAL’s Summer Leadership Institute on July 17-22. Stay tuned for more perspectives on leadership here and on PKAL’s blog – Through the Kaleidoscope