NSF PR 98-83 - December 7, 1998
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NSF Awards Drive Comprehensive Reform of Undergraduate
Education
The increasing complexity of the American workplace
and culture has convinced officials at Prince George's
Community College in Maryland that traditional approaches
to science and mathematics teaching are no longer
adequate to meet the needs of its students. And not
just science, math or technology majors.
The college is undertaking a major effort to upgrade
teaching technology and to fully integrate the content
of science and mathematics curricula to increase the
technological literacy and skills of its students,
say officials.
These new ideas will have a chance to blossom at the
college, thanks in part to a $200,000-grant from the
National Science Foundation (NSF), which is awarding
17 colleges and universities nationwide a total of
$3.4 million for their commitment to changing the
status quo.
Through NSF's three-year-old Institution-wide Reform
of Undergraduate Education (IR) program, "these schools
are shepherding in a new era in the institution-wide
reform of science, mathematics, and technology-related
higher education," said Luther S. Williams who heads
NSF's education programs.
Prince George's initiative is one of many such efforts
to impress upon students the interdisciplinary nature
of science and mathematics, and is among many of the
progressive curricula and infrastructure changes being
made by two- and four-year colleges and universities
NSF recognizes by virtue of these awards.
"The problems that the nation's future citizenry and
workforce -- managerial and trade, as well as scientific
and technical -- will face in their years following
college will demand a more sophisticated and integrated
view of life and the technology that governs 21st
Century civilization," said Norman Fortenberry, who
heads NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education. "Too
many institutions still have not gotten the word that
an institution-wide commitment to breaking down the
artificial barriers between departments and disciplines
is necessary and inevitable," he elaborated.
NSF launched the Institution-wide Reform of Undergraduate
Education as a three-year pilot program in 1996 to
reward colleges and universities that had made measurable
improvements in the quality of undergraduate education
and that are now prepared to initiate the next step
of introducing sweeping changes to extend the innovations
to benefit all students -- not just majors in the
science, mathematics, and technology areas. The changes
reflect the institutions' responses to the new demands
that undergraduates will encounter in a highly technological
society.
The IR initiative addressed serious and continuing
national deficiencies in undergraduate education that
were highlighted in a 1996 NSF report (NSF 96-139),
Shaping the
Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education
in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology.
IR grants were open to all institutions that enroll
undergraduate students and focus on planned new programs
to improve education in science, mathematics, technology
and engineering.
Attachment: 1998 Awards
for Institution-wide Reform of Undergraduate Education
Attachment
RECIPIENTS OF 1998 NSF AWARDS FOR INSTITUTION-WIDE
REFORM OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
Science Education for Tomorrow
Barnard College
Elizabeth S. Boylan, eboylan@barnard.columbia.edu
Faculty are modifying introductory science and statistics
courses by incorporating real-world data and expanding
multimedia technology for teaching. Modules are being
developed by interdisciplinary teams of faculty on
issues at the intersection of science and public policy,
which make use of role-playing as a learning technique.
Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Across
the Curriculum
Bellevue Community College
Michael Talbott, mtalbott@bcc.ctc.edu
The college is developing workshops, symposia, electronic
courseware, tutorials, technical support and peer
assistance to provide faculty with new tools that
will allow them to include critical thinking and information
literacy skills.
Building Bridges: Science Education Reform
Bryn Mawr College
Alfonso M. Albano, aalbano@brynmawr.edu
Bryn Mawr is: developing workshops for faculty from
diverse disciplines who are teaching in a new cross-disciplinary
College Seminar program; developing courses that incorporate
the new pedagogical approaches and that bridge mathematics
and science with teacher education; and developing
a peer tutorial program.
A Problem-solving, Simulation, and Teamwork Approach
to Teaching Integrated Science
California State University
Roger J. Lederer, rlederer@oavax.csuchico.edu
California State-Chico is changing its core curriculum
to one that uses educational technology to teach integrated
science by tying together courses from different disciplines.
Students working in teams attempt to solve complex
and significant real world problems, whose solutions
require knowledge and skills drawn from several scientific
fields.
Rediscovering the Liberal Arts: Regaining Lost Linkages
to Science
Columbia College
Roger C. Strickland, rstrickland@colacoll.edu
A summer institute will enable faculty to create general
education courses that will focus on the similarities
and differences with which the science, social sciences,
fine arts and humanities approach problem solving
and provide opportunities for non-science majors to
engage in a research project designed to connect with
each student's major field of study.
Creation of a Faculty/Student Information and Instruction
Technology Cluster for SME&T Education Reform
Columbia University
Nicholas Turro, turro@chem.columbia.edu
An interdisciplinary team of faculty is employing informational
and instructional technologies to recognize and accommodate
different student preparation, as well as different
skills and learning styles. Partnerships are being
established with a variety of institutions including
high schools in the New York City area, small liberal
arts colleges and historically black and minority
colleges.
Achieving Institutional Reform: The Full Integration
of Science Into the General Education Curriculum
Drury College
Donald G. Deeds, ddeeds@lib.drury.edu
Drury College is conducting seminars for faculty development
and for constructing materials for general education
core courses to integrate methods and ideas that will
lead students to a greater understanding of the complex
connections between the sciences and the humanities.
Institution-wide Implementation of the Inter-professional
Projects Program
Illinois Institute of Technology
John Kallend, kallend@charlie.iit.edu
An Inter-professional Projects Program will include:
a summer leadership institute for graduate student
project leaders and program development workshops
for faculty; a colloquium on project-based learning
and multi-functional teams across professions that
will attract faculty and other specialists in academia
and industry to share effective teaching and learning
approaches via team projects; and a project sponsorship
program with private companies. The program also involves
demonstrating a collaborative web-based scientific
laboratory to bridge disciplines, campuses and sponsors.
Furthering Advances Toward Learner-centered Education
Miami University (Middletown, Ohio)
Baird W. Lloyd, governmp@muohio.edu
Multi-disciplinary teams of faculty, staff and students
are developing a resource guide for faculty that includes
successful models of learner-centered instructional
strategies and assessment tools. Competitive mini-grants
will be awarded to faculty to apply innovative reform
initiatives.
Building a Teaching and Learning Community at Montana
State University
Montana State University
Michael Malone, aprmm@bigtop.oscs.montana.edu
Three complementary initiatives are being developed.
The Start-Up program provides incentives for new science,
mathematics, engineering and technology faculty to
team with experienced faculty and graduate students
to improve learning and teaching. The Campus Profile
initiative is a resource for campus-wide formative
assessment of reform efforts. A Faculty Teaching and
Learning Portfolio facilitates rewarding the practice
and scholarship of teaching.
Institution-wide Reform of Science Laboratories
Mount Holyoke College
Stan P. Rachootin, srachoot@mhc.mtholyoke.edu
More than 20 science faculty are revising laboratories
in most introductory and core science courses that
will not only teach techniques but also develop students'
ability to ask interesting, insightful, testable questions,
and enhance their use of formal reasoning, mathematics
and statistics.
Technology-based Problem-solving Method in Learning
Prince George's Community College
Vera Zdravkovic, vz1@pgstumail.pg.cc.md.us
The College will increase the technological literacy
and skills of its students and their understanding
of the interdisciplinary nature of science and math
by engaging faculty from several disciplines to design
and develop technology-rich, interdisciplinary modules
for use in courses and curricula across the institution.
Improving Scientific Competence in Undergraduates
Rutgers University
Susan G. Forman, sgforman@rci.rutgers.edu
A set of introductory core science courses is being
developed to link science to important societal issues
and minimize lectures in favor of discourse, minilabs,
collaborative learning and "hands-on" problem-solving.
Courses are being developed and taught by senior faculty
from the core science departments.
Institution-wide Reform of Science, Mathematics
& Technology Instruction
SUNY College-Oswego
Suzanne Weber, stanley@oswego.edu
Faculty are developing new required courses that provide
all students with direct experiences with inquiry
and active learning of important science, mathematics,
engineering and technology concepts in a real-world
context. New partnerships are being formed with regional
businesses across departments to improve course offerings.
Engaging Non-science Majors in Methods of Investigation
and Exploration
University of Tulsa
Gordon H. Purser, pursergh@centum.utulsa.edu
Science, mathematics and engineering faculty are developing
new student-centered, inquiry-based science courses
for non-majors. Interdisciplinary scientific literacy
courses are team taught and immerse students in a
research experience that focuses on real-world problems
that have ties to societal concerns. Courses employ
an integrated classroom/laboratory/field format, communicating,
and appropriate use of mathematics and technology.
A Mathematics, Science and Technology Program for
Non-technical Majors
University of Virginia
Kathryn Thorton, kt4n@virginia.edu
The University is providing a broad background in SMET
so that teachers are better able to evaluate scientific
information and make informed judgments about technical
issues. Hands-on math and science courses for K-8
teachers will allow prospective teachers to become
leaders in education reform.
Investigative Approaches in the Natural Sciences
Youngstown State University
Charles R. Singler, tel. 330-742-3604
Faculty are creating new investigative laboratory courses
for non-science majors. Reform of existing non-laboratory
science and mathematics courses will provide experiences
in formulating and testing hypotheses, collecting
and analyzing data, thinking critically, and working
in cooperative groups to solve problems through their
active participation in a scientific investigation.
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