About Integrating STEM Education at CU Boulder
Chancellor's Graduate and Faculty Awards for Excellence in STEM Education
Current Faculty Fellows:
Heidi Bustamante, Janet Casagrand, and Teresa Foley, College of Arts & Sciences - Integrative Physiology
Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Success of Inquiry-Based Laboratories in IPHY
The purpose of this proposal is to request support to evaluate the effectiveness and success of the revised physiology laboratories in Integrative Physiology (IPHY). Under the direction of a formal Physiology Lab Revision Committee, the physiology laboratories in IPHY have been transformed from an expository (“cookbook”) style of instruction to a more inquiry-based approach. These laboratories serve about 500 majors and non-majors each year, and employ a combination of human and animal experimentation to explore basic physiological principles. Specifically, we are requesting support for Eric Homestead to help conduct student interviews, and to analyze pre-post assessment and student attitude data on the revised physiology laboratories. Eric is currently the lead graduate teacher in IPHY and has been a teaching assistant for the physiology laboratories for several semesters.
proposal
John Falconer and Garrett Nicodemus, College of Engineering & Applied Science - Chemical and Biological Engineering
Biologically-Focused Screencasts and ConcepTests for Chemical and Biological Engineering Courses
The goal of this proposal is to increase the use of biological engineering topics in three core courses in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department: Material and Energy Balances, Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, and Fluid Mechanics. We propose to prepare teaching materials that can be readily used by faculty who do not have backgrounds in biological topics. We propose to develop two types of teaching materials that incorporate biological concepts: 1) ConcepTests, which are multiple choice conceptual questions, used in class with clickers to emphasize the important concepts in the course, 2) Screencasts, which are short screen captures of writing and narration on a tablet PC, can be used to solve example problems and provide further explanations. Creating these teaching materials will allow students in these three courses to be exposed to biological concepts earlier in their majors. These courses are taken by both Chemical Engineering majors and Chemical and Biological Engineering majors, and were originally developed for Chemical Engineering majors and thus did not incorporate biological concepts or examples. pdf
Kris Gutierrez, School of Education
When Scientific and Everyday Knowledge Grow into One Another: Designing for Robust Science Learning for Students from Non-dominant Communities
This project joins CU professors, PhD and undergraduate students, and a local school in an interdisciplinary effort to create and study an innovative technology-based after-school program called El Pueblo Mágico (EPM). Joining students from CU and Alicia Sanchez Elementary, a school with low-income and Emerging Bilingual student populations, EPM engages students collaboratively in computer, science, and health science based activities to engage students in multi modal forms of learning about science. In fall of 2010, we launched EPM, piloting new technology and science-oriented activities, supported by our CU collaborators in Computer Science: design software by Alex Repenning & Andri Ioannidou (AgentSheets); and a computer-mediated fabrication curriculum by Michael Eisenberg & Jane Meyers (Craftopolis). We aim to examine how multi-age groups learn together in technology-mediated activity as designers who will also gain valuable forms of multi modal expertise within a vibrant, technology-rich learning community. An overarching goal of this design experiment is to introduce undergraduates and children to high status knowledge about digital design, energy-use, science, and health in ways that helps them leverage their everyday understandings to develop robust science concepts, practices, and dispositions. pdf
Victoria Hand, School of Education
Examination of shifts in content understanding and imagined trajectories for underrepresented high school students serving as mentors for Science Explorers
The proposed grant will support a research study that investigates a mentoring opportunity for high school students from underrepresented backgrounds who excel in mathematics and science. The STEMsation mentoring program represents a collaboration between the School of Education, the CUTeach program, Science Explorers, and several STEM-focused high schools in Colorado. The program will train underrepresented high school students as mentors for the Science Explorers workshop in their district. We hypothesize that participation in STEMsation will provide the mentors with: (1) a deeper and more connected understanding of STEM domains; (2) an ability to distinguish between higher- and lower-level scientific and mathematical reasoning, and (3) an opportunity to reflect on and potentially overcome negative stereotypes and structural barriers faced by underrepresented groups of individuals in STEM fields. proposal
Tiffany Ito, College of Arts & Sciences - Psychology
A Classroom Intervention to Reduce the Gender Achievement Gap in College Science
The proposed research focuses on the effectiveness and dissemination of a classroom intervention designed to reduce the gender gap in the achievement of women in STEM disciplines. We have conducted an initial test at CU of the effectiveness of a writing exercise that affirms self-worth, finding that it raises the grades and conceptual mastery of women in introductory physics (Miyake et al., 2010). These initial findings are very promising, but we currently lack any funding to explore them further. Funds are requested to extend our findings through studies both at CU and elsewhere. This will allow us to (1) better understand the mechanisms through which women’s STEM performance can be improved, focusing specifically on the psychological changes that are produced by self-affirmation which in turn improve performance. Knowing this is important theoretically and can also be used to refine and sharpen our intervention. The proposed research will also (2) test the effectiveness of our intervention in other contexts (e.g., courses with different content, professors with different teaching styles, students of various demographics), (3) provide necessary data for a larger grant focusing on dissemination of the intervention, and (4) bring psychological perspectives more explicitly into CU’s work on STEM education. proposal
Current Graduate Fellows:
Lindsay Anderson, College of Arts & Sciences - Psychology
Advisor: Alice Healy
Understanding the Components of the iClicker System that Promote Learning, Retention, and Generalization of Classroom Knowledge pdf
Nathan Canney, College of Engineering & Applied Science - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Angela Bielefeldt
An assessment for teaching methodologies for instilling social responsibility in undergraduate civil engineering students proposal
Corrie Colvin Williams, College of Architecture & Planning
Adviser: Louise Chawla
Significant Life Experiences: Exploring the lifelong influence of environmental and science education in program participants proposal
Krista Marshall, School of Education
Advisers: Alexander Repenning and David Webb
Targeting the Technology Gender Gap: Making Computer Science Engaging and Accessible for All Students proposal
Jane Meyers, College of Engineering & Applied Science - Computer Science
Adviser: Michael Eisenberg
Learning Computer Science the Craftopolis Way proposal
Michael Ross, School of Education
Adviser: Valerie Otero
Transforming the Classroom Power Structure to Impact Physics Learning pdf
Kim Trenbath, College of Arts & Sciences – Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Adviser: Linnea Avallone
Undergraduate Students’ Climate Change Conceptions pdf
Ben Van Dusen, School of Education
Adviser: Valerie Otero
Empowering Students through the Use of iPad Technology pdf