Premium
The t‐STEM Initiative: Faculty Inquiry in the Context of Institutional Commitments to Student Success
Author(s) -
Jewett Sarah,
LaCourse William
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.105.3
Subject(s) - coursework , context (archaeology) , curriculum , community of practice , pedagogy , medical education , psychology , sociology , political science , public relations , medicine , paleontology , biology
In the midst of busy semester schedules, it is often difficult to create time and space for faculty to meet with colleagues in their own departments, much less the colleagues at other institutions. Within the context of the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative (t‐STEM), a broad inter‐institutional commitment to student success, chemistry faculty across institutions committed to a collaborative inquiry in which they exchanged professional knowledge to determine how best to support student learning. The chemistry faculty members who are engaged in this generative process represent the partner institutions of Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), Howard Community College (HCC), Montgomery College (MC) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).* This shared faculty experience led to a deep awareness of the curriculum and pedagogy of general chemistry coursework across institutions. Beginning from the analytic framework of the Significant Discussions publication (League for Innovation in the Community College, 2010), the team identified key differences and similarities in course experiences. Because the comparative analysis yielded many more similarities than differences, the team focused on shared curricular challenges, and created content for new instructional resources. Rather than supplementing resources for transfer students at four‐year institutions, as is a more typical outcome of this kind of work, these resources were designed to promote the success for all STEM students across institutions at any point in their academic journey. This work was undergirded by three critical and collaborative aspects of the process, including awareness, analysis, and action. In this way, the work reaches beyond the traditional boundaries of articulation and curricular alignment, and creates a new analytic space for curricular inquiry and collaboration around student learning. This focused attention contributes to a compelling national model for STEM student success, especially within the broader context of a significant inter‐institutional initiative that also addresses pre‐transfer advisement, peer mentorship, professional engagement and campus involvement. This presentation will highlight key aspects of the model, and share practices that can help other two‐year and four‐year teams to establish or enhance their own collaborative work.