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Congratulations to Tracy Johnson on
$1 million HHMI grant to reinvigorate undergrad science education!
View full article in UCLA Newsroom
UCLA has been awarded a five-year $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as part of its Inclusive Excellence initiative. The effort aims to help colleges and universities encourage participation and cultivate the talent of students in the natural sciences, especially underrepresented ethnic minorities, first-generation college students and working adults with families.
More than 500 colleges and universities applied for the Inclusive Excellence 2017 awards, and 24 were selected.
UCLA will use the funding to reinvigorate undergraduate education, especially for transfer students, so that larger numbers of undergraduates receive an “authentic research experience” in which their education is collaborative, interactive and evidence-based, with a focus on problem-solving, said Tracy Johnson, a professor who holds the Maria Rowena Ross Chair of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, is an HHMI Professor and is director of the new program. More...
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Conversations with Carl Wieman:
Taking a Scientific Approach to Teaching Science
(and most other subjects)
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: California Room at the UCLA Faculty Center
Author of: Improving How Universities Teach Science (Harvard Press, 2017).
The talk is preceded by a reception at 12 noon in the same location
Abstract: Guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science has advanced rapidly in the past 500 years. Guided primarily by tradition and dogma, science education meanwhile has remained largely medieval. Research on how people learn is now revealing much more effective ways to teach and evaluate learning than what is in use in the traditional science class. Students and instructors find such teaching more rewarding, and it also shows students how to learn most effectively. This research is setting the stage for a new approach to teaching and learning that can provide the relevant and effective science education for all students that is needed for the 21st century. I will also cover more meaningful and effective ways to measure the quality of teaching. Although the focus of the talk is on undergraduate science and engineering teaching, where the data is the most compelling, the underlying principles come from studies of the general development of expertise and apply widely.
Bio: Carl Wieman holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Wieman was the founder of PhET which now provides online interactive simulations that are used more than 100 million times per year to learn science in grades 4-16. Wieman directed the science education initiatives at the Universities of Colorado and British Columbia which carried out large scale change in teaching methods across university science departments. He also served as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House in 2010-12. He has done extensive experimental research in both atomic physics and science education at the university level. Wieman has received numerous awards recognizing his work in atomic physics, including the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001 for the first creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate. He has also studied student learning and problem solving and the comparative effectiveness of different methods for teaching science. The education work has been recognized with a number of awards including the Carnegie Foundation US University Professor of the Year in 2004, the Oersted Medal for physics education, and a lifetime achievement award from the National Science Teachers Association.
To register for Carl Wieman’s talk visit: https://ucla-heri-stem.eventbrite.com
Carl Wieman’s talk is part of the HERI STEM institute on June 22-23, 2017.
To attend the 2-day STEM institute, register at https://heri.ucla.edu/stem-institute/
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Save the Date (and RSVP!) -
CEILS Annual Faculty Workshop on
Best Practices in Teaching
DATE: Wednesday, September 20, 2017
LOCATION: 158 Hershey Hall
This is a full day event. A detailed agenda will be available later in the summer.
Join CEILS for this annual event for faculty where we will explore current data on student outcomes at UCLA, provide evidenced-based strategies for inclusive teaching, and offer opportunities for collaborative discussion and resource sharing.
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Upcoming Events: On-Campus
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HERI Summer Institutes
June 21-23, 2017
- Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Diverse Community College Students
June 21-23, 2017
The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA invites community college faculty from all places/regions in California to join us this summer to talk about our pedagogical practices, and to learn how to become more effective instructors. Community colleges are wonderfully complex institutions where terms take on a different meaning than they do in the four-year context.
- CIRP Data Institute
June 21-23, 2017
In this intensive, hands-on, three-day program you will learn how to design, analyze, and report your own study using CIRP data. You will also learn about the latest research findings on relevant issues ranging from retention and student-faculty interaction to campus climate and diversity.
- Social Network Analysis Institute
June 22-23, 2017
The Social Network Analysis (SNA) Institute offers participants the opportunity to learn key network concepts (e.g., centrality, extensity, and power) and to conduct sophisticated network analyses with software that is freely available to the public.
- STEM Institute
June 22-23, 2017
This two-day workshop will feature the latest findings on best practices in postsecondary STEM education.
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National Events & Conferences
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Transforming Research in Undergraduate STEM Education (TRUSE) Conference
July 5-9, 2017 | University of St. Thomas, Minnesota
This conference will bring together researchers in undergraduate STEM education to transform and integrate research across disciplines. Building a cross-disciplinary STEM DBER community that will advance and disseminate knowledge and theory that promote learning and success for all students across STEM fields. For more information on the Alliance and how to join, please see the following flyer.
View the website for more information and to register for the con.
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2017 Gordon Research Conference on Undergraduate Biology Education Research
July 9-14, 2017
| Stonehill College, Easton, MA
Application Deadline: June 11th
Education research in undergraduate biology teaching and learning has led to significant advances in our understanding of how teaching, assessment and other undergraduate education practices can be changed to improve student learning as well as persistence in programs, particularly for students from underrepresented minority (URM) populations. This conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, and national leaders to discuss how new research and trends are improving undergraduate biology education for all.
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2017 Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) National Meeting
July 21-23, 2017
| University of Minnesota
SABER is the professional society of biology education researchers. This meeting will have keynote addresses from leading researchers, concurrent talks, poster sessions, and round-table discussions.
Register and view agenda here.
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Making Meaning through Modeling: Problem Solving in Biology
July 23-28 ,2017 | Michigan State University
Application Deadline: April 23rd
At this summer workshop participants will explore how to engage students more productively with models and the process of modeling.
The summer workshop is appropriate for faculty teaching all levels of undergraduate biology, quantitative biology, and life science-oriented mathematics, including advanced high school and AP Biology. Discussion topics range from effective pedagogical approaches, to sharing excellent resources, and building community around effective use of models.
To learn more about the event and how to register, please see the website here: https://qubeshub.org/groups/summer2017/
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ASM Conference for
Undergraduate Educators
July 27-30, 2017
| Sheraton Denver Downtown
Application Deadline: June 21st
Now in its 24th year, the ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE) gathers more than 350 microbiology and biology educators for an interactive four-day conference. Educators come from colleges, universities, and international institutions to learn and share the latest information in the biological sciences and education research. The Conference program includes plenary, concurrent, poster, and exhibit sessions. Participants engage in formal and informal small group discussions between colleagues all focused on the same goal: to improve teaching and learning in the biological sciences.
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2017 SENCER Summer Institute
August 3-6, 2017
| Stony Brook University, New York
Deadline to propose a poster or session is May 19th
In addition to the newest iterations of core sessions on course design and research-based approaches to learning, SENCER has announced a slate of plenary speakers such as Fotis Sotiropoulos (Stony Brook University), Elyse Eidman-Aadahl (National Writing Project), and Davis Asai (HHMI) who will lead the program and address a variety of these critical areas:
- conversations about the changing landscape for civic engagement as a pedagogical approach,
- educational synergies between STEM and the humanities,
- strategies for scaling STEM education reform efforts,
- challenges related to diversity and inclusion in science, and
- examples of the impact of SENCER practice on career advancement.
The institute also will feature a special panel focusing on communities of transformation. The panel will include Karen Kashmanian Oates (SENCER), Rick Moog (POGIL), and Myles Boylan (NSF).
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Save the date for these upcoming webinars from the Summer Institutes Webinar Series: Scientific Teaching in Practice [ONLINE]
Inclusive Teaching
Friday, September 29, 3-4 PM Eastern time
Featured Guest: Kimberly Tanner
Facilitator: Beth Luoma, Ph.D. - Helmsley STEM Education Program Director, Yale University
Further details will be available in the fall.
Measuring the Impact of Scientific Teaching
Friday, October 13, 3-4 PM Eastern time (12-1PM Pacific time)
Featured Guest: Jenny Knight
Facilitator: Tracie Addy, PhD, MPhil – Howard Hughes Medical Institute Program Director, Associate in Faculty Teaching Initiatives, Yale University
Further details will be available in the fall.
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Resource: A favorite listserv for STEM education news:
Subscribe to STEM|PROF
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Student Feedback on Quality Matters Standards for Online Course Design
A study asks students to share about the impact of effective use of the Quality Matters framework on their experiences in online courses, with positive findings outlined in several areas.
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Student Course Evaluations Get An 'F'
A study of course evaluations finds that instructors who are better teachers, as measured by their students' grades in later classes, get lower ratings from their students.
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How to Be an Ally to New Minority Scholars
Here are some key strategies for white faculty members who are mentoring new minority colleagues.
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O
nline learning has reached a tipping
point in higher education. It has
grown from a peripheral project of
early tech adopters or a practice
of the for-profit industry into an
accepted way of delivering education that is now
deeply embedded in the majority of colleges and
universities.
In a March 2017 survey conducted for The Chronicle
of Higher Education by Maguire Associates, 1,287
administrators involved in online learning and
decisions about online learning reported on the
growth of online education at their colleges and
universities. The findings demonstrate the maturing
of online education and how its positive effects have
ramifications for the wider educational system.
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Evaluating Discipline-Based Education Research for Promotion and Tenure
Innovative Higher Education
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of DBER and its involvement of social science, senior STEM faculty members may find it challenging to evaluate the quality or impact of DBER scholarship. The authors of this essay aim to address this issue by providing guidance on evaluating the scholarly accomplishments of DBER faculty members in a way that is useful to departmental colleagues and administrators during the tenure and promotion evaluation process.
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Predicting Which Undergrads Will Succeed in Chemistry -- And Which Might Struggle
A tool developed by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis shows whether chemistry students tend to extrapolate from concepts or rely on memorization. The difference can predict how well they fare academically.
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Hey Higher Ed – Why Not Focus on Teaching?
In a new book, Carl Wieman continues his efforts to spark systemic changes in how universities teach science. (nprEd)
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Postdoctoral Scholars & Graduate Students
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Join the CIRTL community to access resources and events.
Summer Workshop: Developing a CV or Resume
June 22 and 29 | 8-9:30am PT
In this two-part online workshop, participants will learn how CVs and resumes vary for academic positions, non-academic positions, and grant applications. After learning about strong CV content, style, and organization, participants will develop long form academic CVs and short form resumes, and then refine them through a collaborative peer review process.
Registration will be open from 11AM Central Time on May 29 through June 14. Cap of 60 students.
Level Up: Designing a Game-Based Learning Environment
June 27 | 10a-12p PT
In this online workshop, we will look at the various elements of game design that can help engage and motivate students such as collaboration, autonomy, purpose, competition, feedback, and scaffolding. As a group, we will explore activities that are based around familiar game formats, design frameworks around existing games re-purposed to address specific learning objectives, and examine how to embed game structures within a course's design.
Registration will be open from 11AM Central Time on June 5 through June 19. Cap of 100 students.
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APPLY TODAY!
UCLA Postdocs Longitudinal Investment in Faculty Training (UPLIFT)
The UPLIFT Program at UCLA supports postdoctoral scholars in the biological sciences who have a demonstrated interest in teaching, research, and supporting diversity in the STEM fields. UPLIFT combines a traditional mentored postdoctoral research experience with an opportunity to develop academic skills, including teaching and mentoring undergraduate STEM students, through workshops, courses, and a faculty mentored mentored teaching practicum at our partner institution California State University Los Angeles
For more program information, and how to apply for an UPLIFT fellowship, please visit the CEILS website at the following link:
https://ceils.ucla.edu/uplift/
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Opportunities for Funding & Collaboration
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Scholarship Opportunities to the 2017 Fall Conference on Case Study Teaching in Science
September 16-17, 2017
| Buffalo, NY
One scholarship given to one person in each of the three categories: 1. Post-Doctoral Fellow/Graduate Student, 2. K-12 Teacher, 3. College Faculty Member
Please see the
following page
for more details and application instructions.
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NIH Bridges to Baccalaureate Program (R25)
The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The over-arching goal of this National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) R25 program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Courses for Skills Development, Research Experiences, and Curriculum or Methods Development. A program application must include each activity, and describe how they will be synergized to make a comprehensive program.The Bridges to Baccalaureate Program is intended to provide these activities to community college students to increase transition to and completion of Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. Click here for a link to the program website.
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Featured Job Opportunities
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Connect with UCLA's Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences
For more information about CEILS events and resources, including a list of STEM education events from previous mailers, please visit the CEILS website at
www.ceils.ucla.edu
or stop by the CEILS office in Hershey Hall (Rooms 122 & 126 & 210).
If you wish to be added to the CEILS mailing list for future newsletters and special announcements, please send your request to
media@ceils.ucla.edu
.
Please note, this Bi-Monthly Newsletter is circulated through many departmental listservs. Most other CEILS correspondence, including special event announcements and reminders, are sent to CEILS mailing list recipients only. Thanks!
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