The Landscape of Undergraduate STEM Education Reform: A Snapshot of Current National Initiatives
12:00 pm-1:30 pm
Rayburn House Office Building, Banquet Room B339
The Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Business-Higher Education Forum, and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in conjunction with the U.S. House of Representatives STEM Education Caucus are hosting a congressional luncheon briefing, The Landscape of Undergraduate STEM Education Reform: A Snapshot of Current National Initiatives.
The need to improve undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is not a new issue, but in recent years it has increasingly become an important national priority. The STEM fields are critical to generating the new ideas, companies, and industries that drive our nation’s competitiveness, and recent projections indicate that over the next decade STEM occupations will continue to grow, particularly for those with post-secondary degrees. To address this need, several national organizations have launched major initiatives to advance new strategies for improving undergraduate STEM education. This briefing will highlight some of these initiatives.
Association of American Universities (AAU) Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative
The AAU STEM Undergraduate Education Initiative is a five-year effort intended to encourage STEM departments at AAU universities to adopt evidence-based teaching practices and to provide faculty with the necessary training and support to do so.
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Science, and Mathematics Teacher Imperative
The Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI) first launched by APLU in 2008, is an effort to transform middle and high school STEM education by better preparing a new generation of world-class science and mathematics teachers.
Business Higher-Education Forum (BHEF) National Higher Education and Workforce Initiative
The BHEF National Higher Education and Workforce Initiative was developed to forge new strategic partnerships among industry, higher education, and government in order to strengthen the STEM workforce and higher education. The project seeks to identify as well as encourage the scaling of programs and policies that enhance college-level STEM learning and student outcomes, in addition to increasing the alignment of undergraduate STEM education and workforce needs.
Research Corporation for Science Advancement Cottrell Scholars Awards and Collaborative Program
The Cottrell Scholars Awards program promotes and supports early career STEM faculty members who have both excellent research programs and approaches to student learning at the undergraduate level. As part of the program, current and former Cottrell Scholars work to advance a series of collaborative projects to address issues that have broad impacts for science teaching and research integration.