Initial Publication Date: August 26, 2013

Update -- September 15, 2013

Workshop Agenda


All meals except breakfast will be served at Carmine's Restaurant, adjacent to the hotel.

A hard copy of the agenda will be available at the workshop in St. Louis.

Sunday, September 15

4 - 6 pm -- Check in and registration in the hotel lobby

5 pm -- Reception at Carmine's Restaurant

Reception will include an ice-breaker activity to reveal the diversity of STEM Education Centers participating in the workshop.

6 - 8 pm -- Dinner at Carmine's Restaurant

Workshop Goals and Objectives (10 minutes)

  • Noah Finkelstein and Cathryn Manduca, STEM Education Center Project Co-chairs

Dinner Address (20 minutes)

  • Linda Slakey, Former Director of NSF's Division on Undergraduate Education; Senior Advisor to AAU's Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative

Discussions over dinner

Informal gatherings at the hotel after dinner

Monday, September 16

The day will be organized around a sequence of discussions. Participants will be assigned to facilitated groups of approximately 8-10 to elicit as much dialogue as possible during each session. In each group, key ideas and conclusions will be captured in real time via use of the STEM Education Center content management system.

7 am -- Breakfast in hotel lobby

8:15 am -- Setting the stage (Lewis, Room 430)

Review of the day's plans and the web-based content management system.*

  • Noah Finkelstein and Cathy Manduca (10 minutes)

*Carleton College's SERC Content Management System will enable the STEM Education Center Project Team to capture key ideas and conclusions of each group's discussions in real time. We will then prepare a summary report by the end of October 2013.

8:30 - 10:00 am (Lewis, Room 430)

Session A: Summary of Surveys/Profiles of STEM Education Centers

Plenary session with summary presentation by Noah Finkelstein about survey data and profiles and introduction of the idea of a classification scheme for STEM Education Centers, followed by small group discussions and Q&A.

Part A -- 30 minutes (Lewis, Room 430)

Purpose: Create common ground among workshop participants about STEM Education Centers.

Anticipated outcome: Creating common understanding of interim findings among participants.

Powerpoint (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.1MB Sep15 13)

Part B -- 60 minutes (Lewis, Room 430)

Purpose: Group discussion and Q&A about a classification scheme.

Anticipated outcome: Agreement/consensus as to whether or not a detailed classification scheme of STEM Education Centers would be needed, useful, or possible.

  • 30 minutes for the table rounds of 8-10 to discuss the utility of a classification scheme and to identify additional elements that are not included in the preliminary scheme derived from the survey/profiles.
  • 30 minutes for group reports out and facilitated discussion

10:00 am -- Break

10:30 - 11:30 am Various rooms (see below)

Session B: Striking Innovations and Approaches to Working Within Institutions

Purpose: While recognizing that all institutions face challenges in today's economic climate, this session aims to identify novel ideas and approaches to meeting STEM Education Centers' stated missions.

Anticipated outcome: A set of examples of innovations in STEM Education Centers that align with various missions and audiences.

Participants should attend a group to which they can make the largest contribution.

Group A: Programming, e.g., scholarly programs, seminar series, graduate/undergraduate tracks in STEM education, professional development workshops of students, staff, and/or faculty.
Lewis, Room 430

Group B: Incentives , e.g., fellowships/awards; funding; promotion/tenure, public showcasing of projects/programs/center.
Lewis, Room 430

Group C: Resources/services, e.g., funding/people for programmatic work; evaluation of course/programs, etc.; advising/PD: staff support; data management/showcasing/publicity, and communications.
Marquette, Room 129

Group D: Identity/space, creating and disseminating language and information about STEM education, e.g., newsletters, websites, blogs, annual events
Laclede, Room 201

Group E: Networking among existing people and programs doing work; among levels of system (individual, department, campus administration); and between system and extramural stakeholders.
Chouteau, Room 203

11:30 - 11:45 am -- Three-minute group reports in plenary session (Lewis, Room 430)

11:45 am - 12:45 pm -- Lunch at Carmine's Restaurant

12:45 - 1:45 pm

Session C: Addressing the Challenges of Building Sustained Institutional Support for STEM Education Centers

Purpose: Survey results identify challenges and concerns that STEM Education Centers face.

Anticipated outcome: Greater understanding of strategies used to build and sustain institutional support for STEM Education Centers.

Groups will self-select based on challenges of interest to them and capacity to address those challenges.

Group A -- Funding

Group B -- Aligning Missions

Group C -- Structure

Group D -- Culture

Group E -- Function

  • Lewis, Room 430 -- Groups C and D
  • Marquette, Room 129 -- Group E
  • Laclede, Room 201 -- Group B
  • Chouteau, Room 203 -- Group A

1:45 - 2:00 pm -- Three-minute group reports in plenary session (Lewis, Room 430)

FIRST REMINDER: WORKSHOP EVALUATION

2:00 pm -- Break

2:15 - 4:15 pm

Session D: Moving forward: Creating a National Network of STEM Education Centers?

Purpose: If the consensus view is that STEM Education Centers do add value both on campuses and as a network, we will discuss what needs to be done and by whom. For example, is there a role for national organizations like APLU, and if so, what should it be?

Anticipated outcome: Consensus as to whether or not to proceed with follow-on projects and preliminary plans and commitments to achieve them.

2:15 - 2:30 -- Brainstorm in plenary group to identify up to five big ideas.(Lewis, Room 430)

2:30 - 3:30 --Break out into five groups, each focusing on one detailed idea.

  • Lewis, Room 430 -- Groups D and E
  • Marquette, Room 129 -- Group A
  • Laclede, Room 201 -- Group C
  • Chouteau, Room 203 --Group B

3:30 -- Five-minute reports from Group Discussions in Session D(Lewis, Room 430)

Purpose: Five-minute summaries from each group in Session D to ensure that all ideas are shared with the full group.

SECOND REMINDER: WORKSHOP EVALUATION

4:15 pm -- Closing Remarks (Lewis, Room 430)

Noah Finkelstein and Cathy Manduca

4:30 pm -- Adjourn