- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1852893
- First Name Corin
- Last Name Slown
- Discipline Other: STEM
- Co-PI(s)
Dennis Kombe, California State University Monterey Bay, dkombe@csumb.edu; Kendra Cabrera, Monterey Peninsula College, kcabrera@mpc.edu; Mary Rayappan, Hartnell College,mrayappan@hartnell.edu
- Presenters
Corin Slown, California State University Monterey Bay, cslown@csumb.edu; Dennis Kombe, California State University Monterey Bay, dkombe@csumb.edu
Need
Joint pathway planning between institutions enables transparency and coherent progression. We hypothesize that familiarizing administration, faculty, and students with the academic language and practices in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teacher pathways will increase students’ mastery of STEM concepts and skills.
Goals
How well aligned are community college and university courses to the disciplinary core ideas, science, and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts?
Approach
We will use matrices for each of the dimensions of NGSS and evaluate the curriculum from both a faculty and a student lens. The framework for improving STEM Education consists of 1) providing Professional Development, 2) Recognizing and sharing best practices, and 3) assessing learning outcomes aims to tighten alignment of course learning outcomes not only with assignments and learning activities (constructive alignment) but also with co-curricular learning and program and institutional learning outcomes (holistic alignment). Holistic alignment, as defined by Jankowski and Marshall (2017), extends Bigg’s (1996) concept of constructive alignment. In constructive alignment, teachers create pedagogies and activities for students that enable them to create the learning that is stated in the learning outcomes established for a class’ (Jankowski & Marshall, 2017). While constructive alignment focuses on aligning what happens within courses (a valuable goal!), holistic alignment involves the entire institutional learning system. As Jankowski and Marshall (2017) explain, ‘the relationships between education and the discipline reflect the complementarity of academic curricula and co-curricular engagement. The result is a more complex picture of learning.’ Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher education, 32(3), 347-364. Jankowski, N. A. and Marshall, D. W. (2017). Degrees That Matter: Moving Higher Education to a Learning Systems Paradigm. Stylus Publishing. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24943
Outcomes
(a) By evaluating the alignment of curricular and co-curricular supports in STEM education at the participating Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and the Cross-Cutting Concepts (CCCs) emphasized by the NGSS, we anticipate the opportunity to make curricular and co-curricular revisions based on our gap analysis. (b) We identified that Earth and Space Science standards as well as Engineering standards have gaps across the STEM education pathway. We also identified cross-cutting concepts that are implicit rather than explicit in instruction. (c) We are working with faculty to close the loop and find ways to integrate the missing content either into the curriculum or into co-curriculum.
Broader Impacts
(a) By engaging future teachers in evidence-based STEM educational practices and programs aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), our region will better prepare highly qualified STEM educators to serve our communities. Sustaining the region’s economic strength and growth in future markets requires a qualified workforce prepared for careers in STEM. (b) In order to engage all undergraduate students and particularly underrepresented minority (URM) students in STEM learning experiences, a close examination of curricular and co-curricular alignment to NGSS will provide the necessary gap analysis to tailor future STEM support in programs. As many of the students we are recruiting for teacher preparation come from districts where the STEM programs are still growing, it is essential that students encounter the content, knowledge and skills in the NGSS that they will be required to teach when they enter classrooms. (c) Incorporating the findings into curricular revision and then assessing future teacher knowledge of the three dimensions of NGSS are the next steps.
