Workshops

What's been standing in the way of efforts at your institution to transform STEM education? We've learned a lot about such barriers from case histories of six institutions, each covering 10-20 years of their development. Each of the six (Georgia State, Governors State, Guttman Community College, Southern New Hampshire University's College for America programs, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Central Oklahoma) has had some success in improving institutional outcomes related to the quality of learning, equitable access, and affordability.

Their experience suggests that it's essential for STEM reform to be conceived in terms of large educational and organizational changes at the institution. For STEM reformers to go it alone makes it unlikely that enough support can be garnered for needed organizational changes, e.g., of rewards and role definitions; building confidence in cross-silo collaboration; in how the institution markets itself to potential new students, staff and faculty; etc. Transforming teaching and learning must co-evolve with a wide range of mutually supportive organizational changes, which is one reason why real gains in the quality of learning, equitable access, and affordability take 10-20 years to develop . At this workshop, we'll discuss, step by step, how your institution could develop the capacity to make such 3fold gains in its STEM and other programs.

This session invites representatives from across disciplines, administrative roles and institution types to learn about recent and ongoing developments to reform the academic system of reward and advancement within and across institutions, disciplines, and scholarly practices. Facilitators will present a conceptual overview on the 21st Century academic workforce and the role of the reward system in realizing higher education's social contract with civic society. We will host an open discussion on ongoing scaled reform efforts. Small break out groups will have the opportunity to discuss 1) the merits and challenges of coordinating reform efforts and taking a systems level view on evolving incentives; and 2) envisioning what equitable and inclusive reward and advancement could look like in 2050.

Networks are a powerful lever for advancing improvements in STEM education by leveraging sustained collaboration focused on a common goal. This workshop will provide an opportunity for ASCN attendees to learn about and discuss results from a study of major networks focused on effecting change in STEM education and to apply those findings to networks to which they might belong. The workshop will draw on a National Science Foundation-funded multi-year study of six organization-focused networks (networks of organizations or focused on change within organizational units, such as departments). Informed by theory concerning collaboration and alliances, network improvement communities, and communities of transformation, the project uses robust qualitative methods (including interviews, document analysis, participant observation, and case studies). The study has examined the features defining these networks, the processes characterizing their functioning, and the outcomes and impacts of their efforts. Furthermore, the project has been particularly attentive to the complex environmental contexts in which these networks sit, which require their attention to the interests and goals of multiple stakeholders.

This 3-hour workshop guides participants through the systems design for organizational transformation workshop utilized by the (STEM)2 Network. The workshop is designed for single participants from individual institutions, or teams of individuals either from one institution or from neighboring institutions. We encourage you to invite a colleague as the workshop benefits are multiplied when experienced as a team.