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Title: A Collaborative Professional Development Program for Science Faculty and Graduate Students in Support of Education Reform at Two-Year Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Emerging revelations from education research have underscored strategies which effectively promote student success in undergraduate science courses. This chapter describes a pilot professional development for science educators in higher education aimed at implementing these strategies at two-year Hispanic-serving institutions (2Y-HSIs). Science faculty members from 2Y-HSIs and graduate students at a research university participated jointly in the collaborative professional development activities described herein. The design of this unique program that comingles in-service and pre-service educators was informed by prior research: Enduring change in science education necessitates more than simply informing educators about effective instructional approaches. Following a comprehensive three-day workshop focused on restructuring college science courses via backward design, 2Y-HSI faculty members and graduate student partners worked together over the next year to devise, implement, and assess the impact of interventions intended to promote active learning in classrooms at the 2Y-HSIs. In support of this effort, the graduate students received additional training on how to conduct classroom observations and provide effective feedback to the 2Y-HSI faculty. A community of practice was further cultivated via regular project meetings that enabled participants to share progress, exchange ideas, and solicit advice and guidance. A culminating session, during which the 2Y-HSI faculty member-graduate student teams presented posters of their ongoing work, offered a capstone experience. In this chapter, we invite faculty members and administrators from two-year colleges (2YCs), especially 2Y-HSIs, and research universities to consider the potential of such collaborative professional development efforts.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1645083
NSF-PAR ID:
10331732
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Editor(s):
Boesdorfer, Sara B.
Date Published:
Journal Name:
ACS symposium series
Volume:
1335
ISSN:
0097-6156
Page Range / eLocation ID:
119-134
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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