Work In Progress: Developing a Faculty Community of Practice to Support a Healthy Educational Ecosystem
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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9
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41642
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41642
- Download Count
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245
Paper Authors
Nancy Warter-Perez California State University, Los Angeles
Nancy Warter-Perez is the chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department and a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles. For more than twenty-five years, Nancy has been dedicated to improving STEM education and outreach, particularly for minoritized students.
Daniel Galvan California State University, Los Angeles
Jose Mijares California State University, Los Angeles
Corin Bowen California State University, Los Angeles
Corin (Corey) Bowen (she/her/hers) is a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology at California State University, Los Angeles, where she is working on the NSF-funded Eco-STEM project. Her engineering education research focuses on structural oppression in engineering systems, organizing for equitable change, and developing an agenda of Engineering for the Common Good. She conferred her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor in April 2021. Her doctoral research included both technical and educational research. She also holds an M.S.E. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and a B.S.E. in civil engineering from Case Western Reserve University, both in the areas of structural engineering and solid mechanics.
Gustavo Menezes California State University, Los Angeles
Lizabeth Thompson California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Dr. Lizabeth Thompson is the Director of General Engineering and a professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO, a MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an MBA from University of Southern California, and a PhD in Education from University of California, Santa Barbara. She has been at Cal Poly for nearly 30 years and has held various positions on campus including Co-Director of LAES, Director of Women’s Engineering Programs, and CENG Interim Associate Dean. Although she has taught over 25 different courses she current teaches Financial decision making, First year engineering, Senior project, and Change management. Her research is in Engineering Education where she has received $9.8 million of funding from NSF as either PI or Co-PI. She researches equitable classroom practices, integrated learning, and institutional change. She spent the 2019-2020 academic year at Cal State LA where she taught and collaborated on research related to equity and social justice. With her colleagues at Cal State LA she recently received an NSF grant called Eco-STEM which aims to transform STEM education using an asset-based ecosystem model. She is also a Co-PI on an NSF S-STEM grant called ENGAGE which is working to make a more robust transfer pathway for local Community college students. Dr. Thompson is a Co-PI on an NSF ADVANCE grant called KIND with other universities within the CSU. She is a co-advisor to Engineers without Borders, Critical Global Engagement, and oSTEM at Cal Poly.
Abstract
We often hear that so many of our STEM students fail because they are not college ready. But interventions at various levels, despite the hard work of implementation, have not resulted in dramatic improvements. What if, instead, the problem is that the institutional system—including instructional approaches and policies—is not student ready? The goal of our NSF-supported Eco-STEM project is to establish a healthy educational ecosystem within the context of our Very High Hispanic Enrolling Hispanic Serving Institution to allow all individuals to thrive. Guided by ecosystem paradigm measures, the project focuses on 1) creating a supportive and culturally responsive learning/working environment for both students and faculty; 2) making teaching and learning rewarding and fulfilling experiences; and 3) emphasizing assets of our community to enhance motivation, excellence, and success.
One fundamental aspect of this project is the Eco-STEM Faculty Fellows Community of Practice (CoP). The year-long Eco-STEM Faculty Fellows CoP supports the fellows to develop and implement their critical participatory action research teach (ART) project through five half-day sessions each semester. During the fall semester, the sessions include readings, videos, active-learning activities, and critical reflective dialogue to facilitate discussion and reflection on identity, teaching identity, community cultural wealth, teaching practice, and action research. The CoP starts with fellows reflecting on their social identity, their college student identity, and their professional identity. Fellows then discuss and reflect on how their identities influence their teaching philosophy and teaching identity. Fellows then learn about community cultural wealth and reflect on how they can help students bring their whole selves into their educational environment.
Before proposing their ART project, fellows use the Eco-STEM peer observation tool to observe each other’s classroom and reflect on how they can improve their classroom/course climate, structure, and vibrancy to better support a healthy classroom ecosystem. Fellows are also invited to participate in two other programs that offer more insights into our students’ identities and lived experiences in addition to various inclusive teaching pedagogies and practices. Fellows then propose their project at the end of the fall semester and develop and implement their ART project with support from the CoP during the spring semester.
We are currently in the middle of our first Eco-STEM Faculty Fellows CoP which started in Fall 2021. The first cohort of twelve fellows consists of a diverse group with respect to racial, ethnic, and gender identities and in terms of their department – with adjunct and tenure-line faculty of all ranks from mathematics, computer science, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. In this paper we will present the details of the Eco-STEM Faculty Fellows CoP including the formation of the fellow cohort, community building, the structure of the CoP sessions, and initial facilitator reflections of the effectiveness of the CoP in supporting a shift towards an ecosystem mindset where the assets of students and faculty are embraced and utilized to help everyone thrive.
Warter-Perez, N., & Galvan, D., & Mijares, J., & Bowen, C., & Menezes, G., & Thompson, L. (2022, August), Work In Progress: Developing a Faculty Community of Practice to Support a Healthy Educational Ecosystem Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41642
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