This project is designed for Two-Year College (2YC) faculty and staff interested in enhancing undergraduate education in a STEM academic department or unit. Project participants will explore and collectively define approaches to change that are supportive of STEM-related units in 2YCs. Outcomes of participating include creating a Change Exploration Team (CET), exploring ways of implementing department-wide educational change in a 2YC context, gaining individual skills to support educational change, and testing ideas through a small-scale project on campus.

A CET is a working group of a minimum of 3 faculty, staff, administrators, and potentially students, formed to explore change processes in 2YC STEM academic contexts. Up to fifteen CETs from a variety of 2YCs are participating in a four-part workshop series taking place between August 2023 and August 2024. Teams supporting a STEM department or another STEM-related academic unit within a 2YC within the US are eligible to apply. A workshop series will support CETs in collectively choosing, designing, and carrying out a small, local change-related project.

The project team is being led by two 2YC STEM faculty members with professional development experience and supported by researchers with expertise in evidence-based institutional change. The project team will facilitate the workshops and focus on exploring and supporting change topics and CET project work. Their primary goal is to create an environment in which CETs are likely to achieve success. 

Applications are now closed.

Questions about the project can be directed to Tara Jo (TJ) Holmberg:
tarajoholmberg@gmail.com

 

PROGRAM FOCUS: Faculty development, Professional development/continuing education, Program evaluation, Undergraduate education, Institutional change, Department-level change. DISCIPLINES: Biology, Chemistry, Computer science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Geosciences, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology. EDUCATION CONTEXT: Two-Year Colleges, Undergraduate.

https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2230271&HistoricalAwards=false