Advancing STEM Learning and Institutional Change through Faculty Training, Resources, and Support to Adopt Evidence-based Instructional Strategies

About This Grant

This project aims to serve the national interest by implementing evidence-based instructional practices in undergraduate STEM courses to improve student outcomes, persistence, and retention—particularly for the Appalachian region. The project intends to increase faculty capacity to deliver engaging instruction by training science and engineering faculty in active learning strategies and other evidence-based pedagogies and assessment techniques. The significance of this project lies in its focus on high-enrollment STEM courses with elevated D/F/W rates that serve large numbers of first-generation college students, transfer students, and students from rural backgrounds. By equipping faculty with research-based instructional tools and fostering a sustainable professional learning community, the project supports student success in foundational STEM courses and contributes to building a skilled workforce that meets both regional and national needs. This Level 1 Institutional and Community Transformation project includes a structured professional development program, the use of Mobile Summer Institutes (MoSI), competitive minigrants that provide faculty with resources to implement course innovations, and the creation of Communities of Practice (CoP) to cultivate faculty collaboration, peer learning, and institutional culture change around STEM instruction. The project is expected to lead to sustained improvements in undergraduate STEM education through enhancements in teaching effectiveness, student engagement, and institutional policies related to faculty recognition and reward systems. The project goals are to increase faculty adoption of evidence-based teaching, improve instructional effectiveness, and advance understanding of institutional factors that sustain pedagogical change. The scope includes two MoSI in partnership with the National Institute on Scientific Teaching—training 35 faculty across disciplines in the College of Science and College of Engineering in evidence-based instructional practices, especially active learning. Faculty will design active learning materials, implement them in high-impact STEM courses, and participate in CoP supported by the university's Center for Teaching and Learning. These efforts will be reinforced through minigrants, peer mentoring, and institutional incentives such as course designations and recognition in promotion and tenure processes. Evaluation methods include pre/post faculty surveys, student feedback, and course performance data, with oversight by an external evaluator. The project's theory of change is based on a path model which emphasizes the dynamic interaction between individual motivation, faculty development opportunities, and institutional supports. By starting with motivated faculty and administrators, the project aims to create a positive feedback loop where increased knowledge and instructional reform catalyze shifts in culture and policy that reinforce long-term adoption of active learning. The project plans to study the effectiveness of faculty development models, investigate the conditions under which instructional changes improve student outcomes, and contribute new knowledge about mechanisms and institutional conditions that support sustained adoption of active learning in undergraduate STEM education. Results will be disseminated locally and nationally through workshops, conferences, and publications. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the project supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.