Creating a Faculty Fellows Community: Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

1. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community: Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation Ellene Tratras Contis Creative Scientific Inquiry Experiences - CSIE Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti MI 48197 Transforming STEM Education: Innovation, Inquiry, and Evidence AAC&U San Diego 1 November 2013

2. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community Goals and Activities Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

3. Setting Up Goals of this Workshop Goals By the end of this workshop you will: • Develop a basic understanding of the CSIE Program by learning about its design, its implementation and results. • Know how to explore possible implementations at your institution. • What things to look out for in order to have a successful implementation of this approach. Goals and Activities

4. Activities of this Workshop Activities CSIE Program Overview (presentation) Exploring Possible Implementations (group activity) Keys for a Successful Implementation (presentation and discussion) Goals and Activities

5. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community CSIE Program Overview Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

6. Motivation – Decreasing Disparity in Workforce • Faculty and Administration: • Concern about progress towards graduation • Intervention strategies to retain students • Faculty committed to student success and teaching; • Maintaining their own intellectual vitality; • Partnering with students in making connections The overall motivation is to increase graduation rates of students entering the STEM and STEM-related fields. CSIE Program Overview

7. Why do Undergraduates leave STEM fields? • Three-year comprehensive study (E. Seymour and N. Hewitt) found that there is a national loss between 40–60 % undergraduates from STEM majors to non-science disciplines. • Reasons: • Lack or loss of interest in science; • Belief that non-STEM majors hold more interest; • Poor teaching by STEM faculty; • Overwhelmed by pace and workload of the curriculum. CSIE Program Overview “Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences”,Elaine Seymour and Nancy M. Hewitt.

8. Changes in STEM Education • STEM education has moved beyond the discipline-based model to outcomes-based instruction that enables students to: • Construct their own understanding of concepts; • Internalize relationships between concept/processes; • Develop critical thinking skills; • Integrate concepts with everyday experiences. CSIE Program Overview Treisman Model, Mathematics at Berkley, L. Gilman (1990)

9. Outcomes-based Instruction • Programs that attract/sustain student interest feature learning that is: • Experiential (hands-on); • Investigative; • Personally significant to students/faculty; • Connected to other inquiries; • Suggestive of practical application to students’ lives. CSIE Program Overview

10. Means to Increase STEM Graduates • CSIE project is focus on innovative pedagogical design and course delivery including: • Academic Service-Learning; • Customized academic support; • Career exploration and mentorship; • Interdisciplinary theme-based experiences (faculty developed). CSIE Program Overview

11. FacultyDevelopment Course Development CSIE Student Development CSIE STEM CSIE Program Overview

12. CSIE Program Goals • Improve retention of students who are academically prepared and interested in STEM; • Provide cohesive learning experiences for both faculty and student; • Progress students to upper-level courses • With a deeper understanding of course content; • Participation in community-based problem solving. The Creative Scientific Inquiry (CSIE) approach focuses mainly on STEM students in the first two years of studies. CSIE Program Overview

13. CSIE Course Development Identified gateway courses in STEM curricula Computer Science - Introduction to Programming - Programming Data Structures Physics - Mechanics Sound & Heat - Electricity & Light Biology - Introductory Biology I - Introductory Biology II CSIE Program Overview Mathematics - College Algebra - Plane Trigonometry - Pre-Calculus - Calculus I - Calculus II Chemistry - General Chemistry I - General Chemistry II Geology - Dynamic Earth Systems

14. CSIE Student Development CSIE Student Perspective: • Since first-year students are unsure of themselves, faculty need to become aware / employ strategies for success; • Second semester students are more mature and more easily adapt to CSIE Program; • One-credit seminar is perceived as too much work; • Students perception of “Academic Support” means study hall; • Entering students do not know what to expect in a research environment; • Students appreciate the Book / Supply Loan. CSIE Program Overview

15. CSIE Faculty Development • CSIE Faculty Fellows: • Participate in Faculty Development Institute; • Are tenure-track faculty at the University; • Develop course clusters with faculty from different STEM • fields; • Provide cross discipline discussion on connections; • Learn about Academic Service-Learning and pedagogy strategies; • Develop team approach to research-oriented • community-based research. CSIE Program Overview

16. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community Implementing a Faculty Fellows Community Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

17. Resource Guide • CSIE Model • Creating a Faculty Learning Community • Academic Service-Learning • Resources Implementing Faculty Community

18. CSIE Model • Course Development • Faculty Development • Student Development Implementing Faculty Community

19. Creating a Faculty Learning Community • Creating an Atmosphere of Collaboration • Activities to Encourage Collaboration • Selected readings • Brainstorming and reflections • Process checks with evaluators • Team statements of direction • Team concept map • Syllabus collaboration Implementing Faculty Community

20. Lessons Learned… CSIE Faculty Professional Development: • Faculty Fellows are committed, creative and dedicated and have good rapport with students; • Discussion on an integrated STEM curriculum continues; • Concept mapping on integrating course content was developed; • Faculty fellows developed a team approach to research- oriented community based research; • Fear of working across disciplines and with community partners caused anxiety about participation in the program. Implementing Faculty Community

21. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community Keys for Successful Implementation Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

22. Meals on Wheels Routing and Cost • College Algebra (three credits) • Introduction to Computer Programming (three credits) • CSIE Seminar “When will We Ever Use This?” (1 credit) • Students are using algebraic methods, graphical analysis, and computer programming to produce efficient routing systems for the Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels program. • Faculty Fellows: Joanne Caniglia, Krish Narayanan Implementing Faculty Community

23. Cyanobacteria in the Huron River Watershed • Introductory Biology I (four credits) • General Chemistry I (five credits) • CSIE Seminar “Natural Nature?” (one credit) • Students are characterizing Cyanobacteria in Ford Lake and are collecting, analyzing, and reporting on their algae samples to the Huron River Watershed Council. • Faculty Fellows: Steve Pernecky, Steve Francoeur • Marty Brown Implementing Faculty Community

24. Chemistry / Biology CSIE Example • Project: Analyzing the cyanobacteria in Ford Lake along with and for the Huron River Watershed Council, which is the ‘go-to’ group for any issues of water quality in the area. • • Doable for freshmen biology and chemistry students--something that we can train them to do and they can complete within the semester. • Service will reinforce the academic content of both classes. • Service that meets community partner needs. Implementing Faculty Community

25. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community Time to Explore! Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

26. STEM Course Development • Faculty Partners and Common Themes • Community Partner and Theme Selection • Review of Literature • Course Development • Learning Outcomes • Course and Student Assessment • Implementation Keys to Successful Implementation

27. Creating a Faculty Fellows Community Why are we doing this? Developing Collaboration Through Facilitation

28. Goals to Increase STEM Graduates • CSIE project is focused on innovative pedagogical • design and course delivery including: • Academic Service-Learning; • Customized academic support; • Career exploration and mentorship; • Interdisciplinary theme-based experiences developed by faculty. Implementing Faculty Community

29. Project Success: • An increased number of EMU STEM graduates and majors, especially those from underrepresented groups; • A faculty using innovative pedagogy; • An improved and sustainable integrated curriculum. Implementing Faculty Community

30. Contact Information For more information visit our website: www.emich.edu/csie Funded by the National Science Foundation STEP Type I program (#0525514)