Advancing STEM teaching nationwide through 500+ trained local learning community facilitators

There has long been an undeniable need for more inclusive learning environments in higher education, particularly in STEM courses. Due in part to alienating classroom climates and marginalizing instruction, historically excluded and minoritized students leave STEM majors – and hence careers in STEM – at significantly higher rates than majority students. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project (ISTP) has developed and implemented a free, open, online course that centers identity, power, positionality and privilege prior to focusing on evidence-based teaching and learning strategies. Our course demonstrably shifts educator mindsets and abilities through embodied case studies, optional local learning communities led by trained facilitators, and facilitated, virtual, affinity-based discussion groups. The course has run eight times through fall 2025 with 13,748 registrants, 3,072 course completers composed largely of STEM instructors. Coupled with the online, asynchronous interactive course are local learning communities led by project-trained facilitators. We developed content for and trained 544 facilitators at 165 unique institutions in 9 sessions spread across four years. ISTP facilitators represent R1, R2, comprehensive, 2 year technical and community colleges. These facilitators have run 146 local learning communities with 1095 participants. Research on the ISTP national community of facilitators demonstrates very high fidelity to course norms, pedagogy, and content delivery and a remarkable consistency of participant experiences, lending high confidence to our dissemination model. ISTP-trained facilitators leading local learning communities is a national example of 'rowing in the same direction.' Further, recent studies identify ISTP facilitators as leading change within the contexts of their institution and positionality. We will report on the modes of departmental and institutional change that ISTP facilitators are finding work best and why.