Improving the Center's Lever: Strategic Addition of a Co-curricular Activity to Improve STEM Faculty and Student Success

After the 2015 annual meeting of the POD Network in Higher Education, leaders from POD and the Network of STEM Education Centers (NSEC) came together to host a workshop called "Collaborating at the Centers." The resulting report, by the same name, concluded that strategic collaborations between Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and STEM Education Centers (SEC) can serve as "levers of change" to improve undergraduate STEM Education. We propose that the inclusion of certain co-curricular activities, such as learning assistant programs, can further improve this lever.
In 2016, the Teaching, Learning & Professional Development Center (TLPDC), Texas Tech University's CTL, created the STEM Teaching, Engagement and Pedagogy (STEP) Program. To date, the STEP Program has continued to provide evidence-based teaching and professional development to nearly 100 STEM faculty from all STEM departments across the university system. In 2019, the STEP Program piloted a one-course Learning Assistant Program, modeled loosely after two STEM faculty members who leveraged experienced undergraduates in their individual courses. Prior to the STEP Program LA pilot, these individual efforts had not gained widespread adoption or financial support by the university. Since joining the Learning Assistant Alliance, the STEP LA Program has grown to serve students and faculty in over twenty courses, with over 120 LAs, thanks to significant investments by upper administration, which in large part, were awarded to the TLPDC because of its centrality and record of programmatic success.
During this presentation, we will describe how STEM-specific efforts within a CTL are best positioned to enhance co-curricular programming. This strategy leverages the convergence of faculty development, institutional resources, and student success. Specifically, CTLs' deep understanding of evidence-based teaching practices, existing networks, learning spaces, and institutional data help engage and incentivize faculty while building partnerships with student success initiatives to improve student persistence and success.