Technology

In 2014, the University of Michigan launched an NSF-funded program to reinvent introductory teaching and learning in the core STEM disciplines.  REBUILD (Researching Evidence-Based Undergraduate Instructional and Learning Developments) aimed to promote recruitment, retention, and academic excellence in STEM disciplines by catalyzing the use of evidence-based teaching methods and learning analytics.  Toward this end, REBUILD faculty and postdocs led reform efforts in traditionally lecture-based, high-enrollment courses and labs in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Physics.

The  Integrated Teaching and Learning Program (ITL) is nationally recognized as an award-winning engineering education leader, this program supports hands-on engineering learning through an innovative environment where students integrate engineering theory with practice and learn through doing.

The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) is headquartered at CU Boulder, and a non-profit organization chartered in 2004 by the National Science Foundation to increase the participation of girls and women in computing. Before NCWIT was formed, programs focusing on women and computing (K-12, post secondary, or corporate) existed mostly in isolation, without the benefit of shared best practices, effective resources, communication with others, or national reach.

In early 2016, the REBUILD committee harnessed the momentum provided by REBUILD to launch a university-wide Foundational Course Initiative. In partnership with Michigan’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning, we talked to hundreds of administrators, faculty, staff, and students representing numerous schools and colleges, departments, student support programs, residential learning communities, and other units at Michigan.

Yale’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) promotes equitable and engaged teaching throughout the University, and supports students across the curriculum as they take ownership of their learning. As part of the CTL’s mission, it encourages innovation and enhancement in teaching and learning through the considered use of technology.

The University of Virginia has converted several current classrooms into active learning spaces and are planning renovations to the Chemistry and Biology buildings incorporating significantly more active learning spaces.

To improve learning, the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh is introducing a flipped, or inverted, classroom model in which direct learning (lecture) takes place outside of class, while class time is used for active learning.

The University of Pennsylvania is supporting faculty in making use of Structured, Active, In-class Learning (SAIL) in their teaching. SAIL classes begin with the related premises that students benefit from learning by doing and that class time should be used to help students learn to work with material.

The University of Missouri implemented opportunities for faculty to redesign courses to be more effective and engaging for student learning by enhancing the effective use of technology in the classroom.

UKanTeach expands to the University of Kansas Edwards campus, bringing high-quality academic programs, research and public service to the greater Kansas City community to serve the workforce, economic and community development needs of the region.