Board # 86 : How Many Hats Do You Wear: Building Research Capacity for STEM Faculty Development Workshop
- Conference
- Location
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Columbus, Ohio
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2017
- Start Date
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June 24, 2017
- End Date
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June 28, 2017
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
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13
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--27942
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/27942
- Download Count
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429
Paper Authors
Dennis M Lee Clemson University
Dennis M. Lee is a doctoral student in the Engineering and Science Education Department and Graduate Research Assistant in the office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Sciences at Clemson University. He received his BA and MS in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to his studies at Clemson University, he taught introductory biology at Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, SC. His research interests include the development of researcher identity and epistemic cognition in undergraduate STEM students.
Shannon K Stefl Clemson University
Shannon Stefl: is a doctoral student and research assistant in the Engineering and Science Education department at Clemson University. She received her M.S. degree in physics from Clemson University, and B.S. degree in physics from Kent State University. Her research interests center on cultivating cultures of inclusion within science and engineering education; promoting inclusive and equitable research, instruction, and practice within science and engineering by examining and challenging exclusionary norms and culture within STEM education. Contact: sstefl@g.clemson.edu
Sandra Linder Clemson University
Sandra M. Linder is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Mathematics Education in the Eugene T. Moore College of Education at Clemson University. Her research centers on improving teacher quality in mathematics through professional development. She has taught in third through fifth grade settings and has worked intensively with in-service and pre-service mathematics educators from preschool through fifth grade.
Dr. Linder is a co-author of multiple preschool, prekindergarten, and K-5 mathematics curricula. She has also worked to implement professional development models for preschool, prekindergarten, and K-5 teachers across the United States.
In addition to her work in curriculum, Dr. Linder has multiple national publications relating to early childhood and elementary mathematics motivation and achievement, preservice and inservice teacher quality and professional development, cross-curricular and technology integration in mathematics, and teacher beliefs related to mathematics pedagogy.
Cindy M. Lee
Clemson University
orcid.org/0000-0003-4058-8251
Cindy M. Lee serves as the department chair of Clemson University's Engineering and Science Education Department, a graduate-only department that offers a graduate certificate program in STEM education pedagogy and introduction to education research methods as well as a PhD program in STEM education research. Cindy's research and teaching has focused on graduate education, sustainability education, and environmental chemistry. She has served as the founding program manager for the NSF Environmental Sustainability program. Cindy is an associate editor for environmental chemistry for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and a member of the EPA Science Advisory Board. She is on the board of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, a professional society focused on education and research.
Faiza M. Jamil Clemson University
Dr. Faiza M. Jamil is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations—Psychology at the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University. She is an affiliate faculty member of Clemson’s Learning Sciences Doctoral Program and Undergraduate Teacher Education Program. She has taught in K-12 classrooms in three countries, and currently teaches doctoral, masters, and undergraduate courses at Clemson University in Child Development, Human Development, and Contextual Influences on Learning and Development.
Dr. Jamil received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology-Applied Development Science at the University of Virginia. During her doctoral study, Dr. Jamil was a research fellow of the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the United States Department of Education. Dr. Jamil’s research focuses on the measurement of teacher effectiveness and psychosocial functioning, as well as the design and implementation of professional development interventions that support teacher-student interactions, as well as teacher reflection, wellbeing, and effective practice across content areas. Dr. Jamil has significant expertise in teacher assessment and the use of assessment data from teachers and students as the basis of teacher coaching, program evaluation, and instructional planning.
Karen A High Clemson University
Dr. Karen High holds an academic appointment in the Engineering Science and Education department and joint appointments in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department as well as the Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences department at Clemson University. Prior to this Dr. Karen was at Oklahoma State University where she was a professor for 24 years and served as the Director of Student Services as well as the Women in Engineering Coordinator. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Michigan in 1985 and she received her M.S. in 1988 and her Ph.D. in 1991 in chemical engineering both from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Karen’s educational emphasis includes: STEM faculty development, critical thinking, enhancing mathematics, engineering entrepreneurship in education, communication skills, K-12 engineering education, and promoting women in engineering. Her technical work and research focuses on sustainable chemical process design, computer aided design, mixed integer nonlinear programing, and multicriteria decision making.
Abstract
How Many Hats Do You Wear: Building Research Capacity for STEM Faculty Development Workshop Expectations for faculty members in the 21st century are high: Early career STEM faculty are expected to establish a sustainable research trajectory, a teaching practice, and a leadership role all while pursuing tenure success. Many colleges and universities have established faculty development programs, but there remains a deficiency in holistic professional support that integrates these disparate professional activities and aligns them with desired individual and institutional goals, especially for faculty in STEM. This paper will summarize the proceedings for a NSF funded workshop (NSF grant #1638888) designed to bring together multiple stakeholders in academia, government, and industry to establish a research agenda for STEM faculty development. This workshop will be held February 16-18, 2017.
The preparation and continued education of STEM faculty is more important than ever as we face a significant deficit in STEM graduates needed for workforce development. It is therefore important that holistic faculty development reinforce the importance of all aspects of faculty responsibility, including research, leadership, service and teaching. Unfortunately, many faculty struggle with balancing the sometimes competing goals of these responsibilities, and are often influenced by a reward structure that pushes research. However, research on teaching suggests that external motivation such as university reward structures can transition to more internal motivation through professional development experiences. Furthermore, research suggests that faculty support beyond the initial introductory workshop is needed for continued implementation of new teaching strategies. The same may be true for implementation of new strategies to enhance research, mentoring of graduate students, publishing, and the other requirements for tenure, highlighting the importance of sustained holistic faculty development.
To meet the grand challenges facing society, it is imperative that all are given an opportunity to contribute, including women and underrepresented minorities. Several efforts have used mentoring as a strategy to broaden participation in STEM. For example, women who were mentored as assistant professors were more likely to win grant funding than women who were not mentored. Other initiatives recommend that faculty development include topics such as teaching, service, collegiality, and racism to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented minority faculty at predominantly white institutions. These kinds of strategies build an inclusive environment that is likely to improve job satisfaction and productivity leading to enhanced retention of all faculty.
Many other aspects of faculty development remain to be discussed and studied, including managing research agendas, participating in college service programs, and navigating the complicated requirements of tenure. Thus it is essential that proper professional support is provided to STEM faculty. This paper will present the proceedings of the 2017 faculty development workshop and the research agenda intended to 1) establish the characteristics of needed professional support; 2) construct a community of practice centered around evidence-based professional development; and 3) initiate changes in institutional reward structures that could encourage faculty engagement in professional development. It is our hope that these recommendations will spark a national conversation on STEM faculty development.
Lee, D. M., & Stefl, S. K., & Linder, S., & Lee, C. M., & Jamil, F. M., & High, K. A. (2017, June), Board # 86 : How Many Hats Do You Wear: Building Research Capacity for STEM Faculty Development Workshop Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27942
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