Cross-Pollination Between Independent Projects to Broaden Culture Change and Sustain Curricular Reform

Engaging students in authentic work, like novel research and design, is a high-impact classroom practice that has been gaining popularity. While early projects sought to show that CUREs (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences) and PBL (Project-Based Learning) were feasible and had positive student impacts, funded projects now include efforts to further refine and encourage greater use of these practices. This symposium will examine four NSF-funded projects, connected not only by the authentic-practice theme, but also by a university system and shared team members. The four projects (from two masters granting, HSI- and AANAPISI-designated institutions) all utilize a community of practice approach to help faculty design and implement what we call "course-based Authentic Learning Experiences" (cALEs). These cALEs engage students in novel work that requires them to use skills and thought processes that professionals in a particular discipline would use. Each project has a unique element: SIRIUS (Sustainable Interdisciplinary Research to Inspire Undergraduate Success) and SIRIUS II include a local waterway theme in cALEs faculty develop; CEMUR (Cultivating a Culture of Entrepreneurial Mindset and Undergraduate Research) adds an entrepreneurial mindset component, and the recently-funded Project-ACE (Active-learning based engineering Curriculum-transformation for Excellence in Equity) will implement scaffolded cALEs in a critical-path course sequence for electrical and computer engineers. As we describe individual projects, we will highlight ways that leveraging prior experiences and exchanging ideas has resulted in unexpected benefits. For example, re-purposing core modules in faculty development events freed time for developing new modules that dive deeper into ways to enhance equity and inclusion in cALEs. In addition, our collaborations are leading to broader culture change and the potential for enhanced sustainability. We will invite participants to reflect on ways they can leverage expertise and "cross-pollinate" ideas in their contexts, creating combined outcomes that are greater than the sum of their parts.