ACM-Project Kaleidoscope Pedagogies of Engagement Workshop
With support from National Science Foundation and the ACM FaCE project, Grinnell College will host a workshop on December 5-7, 2008, to extend consortial involvement with the Project Kaleidoscope “Pedagogies of Engagement” initiative. The PKAL project aims to strengthen expertise within and across networks committed to adapting, implementing, and assessing research-based approaches that strengthen student learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields. This workshop also responds to the long-standing desire of ACM deans and presidents to find ways for ACM colleges to collaborate in supporting excellence in undergraduate science education.
The workshop, running from Friday evening through Sunday noon, ultimately aims at using regional and national networks to advance tested and effective pedagogies in the STEM disciplines, promoting both faculty and pedagogical development. In this inaugural meeting, campus groups of 3-4 faculty and administrators will work on developing a plan to effectively collaborate using both face-to-face and electronic means.
ACM is one of several regional partner organizations on this project. With support from NSF, PKAL is undertaking a coordinated series of activities that build from and extend the expertise of collaborating networks working to promote excellence in undergraduate STEM learning. The workshop will begin with a description of the PKAL project and then focus on what each campus perceives as the problems to be solved in undergraduate science education. The group will consider various pedagogies of engagement as ways to address problems and discuss how to get started on a continuum of improvement. The final morning will be dedicated to mapping out next steps for ACM colleges to collaborate on improving undergraduate science education. An outcome of this meeting should be both a long-range plan for STEM pedagogy and establishing a platform for collaborative development and sharing of curricular and pedagogical materials to be used on the member campus
The goals of the PKAL project are to assemble a faculty development handbook focused on helping STEM faculty members use engaged pedagogies, to using existing regional and national networks for faculty development, and to encouraging and enabling collaborative materials and faculty development. PKAL has teamed with the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton for organizing and dissemination of materials, and ACM has agreed to be a pilot organization for this work.
We invite each campus to send a team of three or four; ideally, several faculty leaders from STEM disciplines and a member of the academic administration will comprise each group. The grants will cover all on-site expenses; the individual campuses will cover transportation costs.
In advance of the workshop we will ask each campus team to identify pedagogical problems they want to solve, which will then be a basis for considering collaborative efforts. The workshop will allow each campus team to a) find partners with one or more ACM schools so that small groups of schools are working on similar problems, and b) develop a specific, realistic, task-driven plan for advancing the ideas from the workshop once the team returns home. Grinnell College will create a workspace on its course management system for each campus and attendee to share their ideas and to work on a collaborative basis.
Please nominate a team of 3-4, including role (e.g. associate professor of biology, associate dean, etc.) and contact information (address, phone, email) to attend the workshop and by October 24, 2008. Nominations should be sent to
James Swartz
Department of Chemistry
Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA 50112-0806
Email: swartz@grinnell.edu
