SENCER Summer Institutes

Hosted by Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California

The annual SENCER Summer Institute is an opportunity for a community of educators, administrators, students, and community leaders to gather to consider how best to engage students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics and the civic issues in which they play an integral role.

The 2008 SENCER Summer Institute was hosted by Santa Clara University, which also hosted Summer Institutes from 2001-2006. Santa Clara University is the host Institution for the SENCER Center for Innovation-West.

The Institute featured presentations by educators, administrators, and students from across the United States, representing a diverse set of disciplinary backgrounds and selected civic issues.

Hosted by the University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME

The 2007 SENCER Summer Institute passed quickly, as always, with full days, much discussion, and hard work done by all who spent the early part of August in Portland, Maine. Warm afternoons saw groups of participants and facilitators scattered around the university quad and seeking shade under the sloping white tent, using the outdoor areas as impromptu classrooms. Others clustered around tables on the mezzanine of the conference center, taking advantage of the cooler area as a place to work on team plans.

For the first time, the Institute was held on the campus of the University of Southern Maine. Our host institution has sent teams to the Institute and regional meetings many times, and has taken the SENCER approach as a guide for course development during the reform of their general education system. Honors courses have been created with the SENCER ideals in mind. A course sequence on “The Body” has been launched with success. Many other courses, concerned with oceans and the environment, are also operating on campus.

The decision to change the location of the Institute this year was made to accommodate attendees from smaller, local institutions who might not otherwise be able to attend the national meeting. A number of new teams and individual representatives from the New England and Midatlantic regions participated this year. In total, around 300 people participated in SSI 2007, representing 94 domestic and foreign institutions concerned with the improvement of STEM education. Nearly fifty percent of the attendees had participated in a prior Summer Institute. SSI 2007 was different in many ways from past Institutes, but for all of the changes, the core motivation and attitude remained constant. The group of educators, administrators, students, and other officials who attended the Institute were thoughtful, energetic, and determined in their efforts to work toward greater student understanding and achievement. Cora Marrett, head of the directorate of education and human resources for the National Science Foundation opened her plenary talk with a title that reflected the goals of all who attended, “the engagement of learners.”

The maturity of the work of the SENCER community is evident with just a glance through the Notes on the Program. More alumni presentations were submitted and accepted than ever before, and the topics covered address a broader range of pedagogies and STEM issues. Several of the courses reported on during the concurrent sessions were supported by Post-Institute Implementation Awards, which were granted for the first time last fall. Three new model courses, highlighted in both the July e-newsletter and in sessions at the Institute, also indicate the quality of work in the community. Two, the “emerging models” – Science on the Connecticut Coast (Southern Connecticut State University) and Slow Food (Beloit College) – grew specifically out of SENCER work. The third, The Power of Water, is a featured model course, and the result of work by alumni at Longwood University.

The Institute program included activities specifically designed for people who are at an advanced level of their work with SENCER, such as a plenary session on planning for further assessment of SENCER, offered by Rich Keeling. Discussion groups on topics like introductory STEM courses, pre-medical education, two-year schools, formative assessment, strategies for deans and department chairs, and social science allowed both alumni and novices to work on areas of concern for the future phases of SENCER work.

Many Institute attendees also chose to report on their campus work by displaying a poster during one of the scheduled presentation times. Two separate sessions were set aside to allow more display space and time to discuss posters with colleagues, as well as to accommodate the increased interest in participating in this year’s session. Forty posters featured new and developed projects, and included a number that focused on work done by faculty at the University of Southern Maine and students in SENCERized courses. Students displayed posters on projects relating to HIV/AIDS, epidemics, and sustainability. Copies of many of the actual posters are available on our website.

We were fortunate to have plenary speakers who considered topics relevant to both alumni and newcomers. As mentioned earlier in this article, Cora Marrett of the National Science Foundation discussed improving learning for all students. Barbara Tewksbury returned to give her popular talk on designing a SENCER course, while Rich Keeling, Matt Fisher, Alix Fink, and Terry McGuire discussed assessment techniques. Robert Full, who also spoke at SSI 2006, gave a “mesmerizing” and “inspiring” address, according to participants. John Bransford, who was not able to be in Maine in person due to a last-minute emergency, was kind enough to deliver his talk live, virtually – another first for the Institute.

The Institute was both proceeded by and followed by special-topic seminars. Last year, we introduced SENCER’s involvement in the scholarship of teaching and learning with a plenary session directed to alumni who were looking to deepen their work. In the fall of 2006, the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement became an affiliate of the Carnegie Foundation, strengthening that collaboration. This year, invited participants took part in an intensive, day-and-a-half Pre-Institute Workshop on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, led by Spencer Benson and Matt Fisher, a Carnegie scholar and senior fellow for the NCSCE. The workshop was only the beginning of a year of work for the participants, who will continue their research projects during the year and report on them next summer.

Post-Institute Workshops allowed participants to spend an afternoon focusing on an area of interest. Though briefly interrupted by a lightning strike and hotel evacuation, they encouraged thoughtful discussion on a number of topics, including grant writing (Myles Boylan), writing in SENCER courses (Cathy Middlecamp), new avenues of assessment (Rich Keeling), course design (Barbara Tewksbury), and K-12 education. The last topic, K-12 education and SENCER, was considered during a dynamic symposium that brought together specialists in many fields of education to work through the question. Richard Duschl of Rutgers University, the chair of the committee that drafted Taking Science to School, a National Academies publication that explores learning processes of children, effective teaching methods, teacher preparation, and professional development as key factors in student success participated, as did Jean Moon, the director of the Board on Science Education. Jay Labov represented the National Research Council. A number of educator from high schools and colleges also took part: Erin Pittman and Kevin Varano (SciTech High), Susan Mooney, Karen Anderson (Stonehill College), Stephanie McNamara (former education student, Stonehill College), and Adrienne Wootters (Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts). Karen Oates, David Burns, and Ellen Mappen represented SENCER and the NCSCE. We hope that the discussions begun at the Summer Institute in this and other sessions will continue this year and grow into solid projects and collaborations.

Hosted by Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California

Participants predict that they will reach a large number of students with work initiated at SSI 2006 – over 50,000 undergraduate students during this academic year alone. Approximately 37,000 of those students are expected to be non-STEM majors. The number of undergraduates reached is not, however, the only population who will be touched by work emerging from SSI 2006. An estimated 1,300 graduate students will also be exposed to the SENCER ideals through teaching assistantships, instruction and upper-level courses. Courses developed or revised at the Institute will also be used to teach approximately 5,000 students enrolled in pre-service teacher education curricula, who will then be prepared to encourage civic engagement and interest in the STEM subjects in their students. The results, which respond to specific questions that the National Science Foundation requires, represent the responses of participants working on SENCER projects at 80 institutions. When tabulating results for institutions (as opposed to categories concerning individual faculty members), responses were checked so that only one set of numbers represented each institution.

In addition to team time and interactions with colleagues, which are traditionally areas that inspire new ideas and collaborations, much of the base for innovations emerged from attending plenary sessions and concurrent sessions. One participant commented that his team gained “a sense of purpose” during the time spent together at SSI 2006. Concurrent sessions offered a range of topics, strategies, and presenters – as core faculty, alumni, and a strong group of new participants presented on topics ranging across disciplines and pedagogies. Participants noted as a special benefit of attendance the community that encouraged. A participant new to SENCER left with “an understanding of the opportunities and boundaries for making progress on changing the culture of undergraduate science,” and another gained “a fresh perspective and ideas about instructional problems, insight on active learning, a sense of shared challenges, and increased confidence.” This year’s SENCER community comprised:

• Participants from 80 institutions
• Four representatives from historically black colleges and universities, 7 from Hispanic serving institutions, and 26 from minority serving institutions
• Faculty, administrators, students, and representatives from foundations and learned societies covering all disciplines – the STEM subjects as well as the humanities, social sciences, education, and visual arts
• Participants from two-year colleges (33), four-year colleges (55), associate’s colleges (6), baccalaureate colleges (20), master’s college/universities (56), research universities (53), high schools (3), and other institutions (11) (n.b. – some participants chose more than one category)
• Newcomers: 64% of Institute attendees had never been to a SSI before (and 86% of those new attendees cited increased interest in SENCER – 11.5% had the same level of interest)

Participants responded positively in general to the settings and general SENCER features of the Institute, such as the newsletter, the materials provided before, during, and after SSI, the website, and the resources available online connected to the Institute. Strong support of the SENCER project and a commitment to involvement in future activities was also expressed.

• 81% of participants overall reported increased interest in SENCER after participating in SSI 2006, and 18% noted that they were as interested in SENCER as they were prior to the Institute
• 86% of you responded favorably to the idea of a SENCER membership
• A majority plans to be active in regional organizations over the next year by attending a regional meeting (68%). Many expressed willingness to host meetings, present sessions or posters, and publicize SENCER regional activities to colleagues on campus who have not previously attended a SENCER function (58%).

We also collected valuable information on the future direction of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement and SENCER. This feedback will be helpful to us as we prepare an application for continued funding from the National Science Foundation in early January and plan our activities for the year. The greatest interest was expressed for developing new models, introducing a searchable database, strengthening regional organizations, and offering mid-year SENCER events. These are part of our plans for the coming year. Faculty are encouraged to develop or recommend a model course, apply to attend the Capitol Hill Symposium and Poster Session, organize a regional meeting, and check the SENCER website regularly.

Hosted by Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California

Participants in the SENCER Summer Institute 2005 (SSI 2005) estimated that their SENCER-related work would affect over 53,000 students within the next two years. This number includes undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a variety of higher education institutions across the nation and around the world. Here’s how it breaks down: Overall, respondents indicated that 39,996 undergraduate students and 895 graduate students in an estimated 455 courses/labs could be affected this year alone by work done or ideas shared at this Institute – an average of seven courses/labs, 606 undergraduate students and 39 graduate students per institution. When participants considered the future impact on their campuses, the aggregate numbers jump to 53,430 undergraduate students and 2,074 graduate students in 1,572 courses/labs.

We gathered these rather impressive numbers based on answers to our annual SSI evaluation. Each year, we ask the participants in the Institutes to help us gather data regarding our project and to help us evaluate our program. We solicit their appraisals of every feature of the Institute – from the intellectual quality, usefulness of their experience to lodging, facilities, and transportation. We depend on the candid responses to these evaluations to inform the shape and content of following Institutes and to provide us with their valuable perspective. This thoughtful feedback, both positive and negative, is essential to our work.

The evaluations consist of two parts: 1.) required information for the National Science Foundation and 2.) an appraisal of the SENCER Summer Institute program. 282 participants were eligible to complete the evaluations. After compiling information from the 191 returned evaluations – representing a 68% response rate – a clearer view of how the Institute worked for all of its participants is taking shape. Here are some findings from our initial analysis with the greater SENCER community.

The overall registration for SSI 2005 was 327 faculty, administrators, staff, and students representing 106 institutions from 30 U.S. states and five foreign nations. There were 169 women and 155 men in attendance, of whom 7% were African American, 4% were Asian American/Pacific Islander, 2% were Hispanic, 72% were White/not of Hispanic origin, and 1% selected “other” (14% of registrants chose not to respond regarding their ethnicity).

Of those individuals who submitted completed evaluations, 35% represented four-year colleges, 33% represented comprehensive universities, 18% represented doctoral institutions, 9% represented two-year colleges, and 5% selected “other”. This includes four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, one Hispanic-Serving Institution, six Minority-Serving Institutions, and one that is both a Hispanic and Minority-Serving Institution.

It’s no surprise that participants claimed a wide variety of experiences given the diversity of participants’ academic backgrounds. With respondents representing over 20 areas of study, opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations were numerous. Despite their differences, many had similar goals for their time in San Jose. The most common reasons that individuals chose to attend the Institute included improving science education at their home campuses, broadening their abilities by learning new areas, strategies, approaches and techniques, improving interdisciplinary learning, and stimulating/supporting civic engagement in students. Considering the overwhelming number of participants who considered their time spent at the Institute valuable, it seems that many people will be able to translate their goals for SSI 2005 into classroom reality.

Overall 92% of participants responded that their experience at the Institute was positive and valuable. Many indicated that “team time” was especially effective and that the chance to get to know colleagues better was an important element to their work at the Institute. Exposure to new ideas, cross-institutional connections, and the chance to develop skills ranked among the most useful aspects of the Institute.

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Hosted by Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California

The snapshots below suggest the range of accomplishments made by campus teams following attendance at the first SENCER Summer Institute. The excerpts are drawn largely from project reports.

The College of St. Catherine developed “Genetics and Inequality,” an interdisciplinary, laboratory-based course for non-majors that helps thestudents learn basic human genetics in the context of complex social issues such as eugenics, DNA fingerprinting and racial profiling, genetic testing, and transgenic organisms.

Colorado College‘s course, “Water, focuses on learning about the local watershed through the integration of four community-based service projects with theory in geochemistry, geography and physical hydrology, while students in the new Energy course study the generation and use of energy in an industrial society, as well as attendant environmental problems through an emphasis on the physical and chemical principles underlying these issues.

“Biology and Human Concerns,” the new SENCER course at Delta State University, focuses on the human condition by exploring human evolution, human population growth over time, contemporary human population issues (such as urban sprawl in the U.S.), and the dangers to continued human existence (particularly threats involving disease pandemics).

Florida Gulf Coast University designed “Ecological Kaleidoscope” – a project to increase science knowledge and teaching skills for pre-service teachers, teachers, and parents. This project includes, a science and science education course that is linked, integrated and taught collaboratively by a science professor and a science education professor.

“The Natural World,” a “rather complex,” integrative learning community is being created by faculty at George Mason University. The project melds the skills and interests of six faculty with the learning styles and accomplishments of a diverse cohort of students and aims to create a coherent and fundamentally important learning experience for all involved.

Hampshire College developed a course exploring the digital divide, taught by a computer science professor, complementing new campus-wide efforts to redesign the experience of all first-year students.

Holyoke Community College now offers several courses that were “substantially influenced by SENCER,” including, “Brink of Extinction: Science Politics, and the Fate of the Earth,” combining Conservation Biology and Introduction to Political Science, and “What is Life?” combining Biology Today and Introduction to Language and Literature.

Keene State University‘s SENCER project seeks to engage university and primary and secondary students in a program to improve scientific understanding and address community needs. Current efforts are focused on pursuing significant extramural support for teachers and college faculty to expand efforts and facilitate communication with community organizations.

Kennesaw State University features several new science courses, including “Interdisciplinary Science: Basic Principles,” and “Interdisciplinary Science: Issues in Science.” SENCER ideals were utilized in the development of the lab, assessment, and course topics.

Students at Loras College can now choose from nine new SENCER courses to complete the Humanity in the Physical Universe (HPU) requirement in the new general education curriculum. Each course is for non-majors, deals with a specific topic that is related to public interest, and has a major, open-ended research component.

SENCER team members from Lourdes College wrote the new course outline and syllabus for “Lake Erie: A Microcosm of Environmental Issues.” The Curriculum and Academic Policies (CAP) Committee unanimously approved the proposal. The new course can be sued to fulfill the General Education Scientific Literacy requirement for non-science majors.

Lynchburg College has incorporated SENCER ideals into two course labs: one designed to teach scientific reading and the other to teach scientific writing. The faculty members who attended the Summer Institute have also changed assessment practices, influenced by new understandings of science teaching and learning.

The focus of the Montclair State UniversitySENCER team has been to bring SENCER ideals into “Contemporary Issues I: Scientific Issues,” an interdisciplinary, non-laboratory general education course. The course draws upon basic principles integrating biological, social and physical sciences, applying the scientific method, scientific data analysis, reasoning and logic to conduct an examination of a contemporary scientific issue.

Emphasizing issues related to the Hudson River, the Mount Saint Mary’s CollegeSENCER project formed connections among three existing courses across the disciplines, Applied Math, Science, and Technology, College Writing, and Introduction to Sociology.

The Evergreen State College reports developing several interdisciplinary programs based on the SENCER ideals, including “Introduction to Environmental Modeling,” “Health and Human Development,” and “Science of the Mind.”

At the University of Missouri-Columbia, the course, “Analysis of Environmental Issues,” asks students to use key natural science concepts to analyze the cause of a problem, develop alternative solutions, select solutions with the most leverage (least cost for most impact), and, where possible, implement solutions. The SENCER team also supports “Conversations About Life Science Teaching,” a biweekly series that encourages and supports discussion about teaching the life sciences.

The University College of the University of Maryland has incorporated the SENCER approach extensively into two courses designed for non-science majors: “The Biology of Cancer” and “The Biology of Aging.” In both courses, the basic principles of biology are taught within the context of topics with which most students have had some personal experience. The courses incorporate various social issues in addition to scientific principles.

At the University of South Florida an interdisciplinary SENCER course sequence, “Science That Matters.” is now offered as part of a coordinated set of courses in a learning community.

Western Nevada Community College implemented a free speaker series titled “Environmental Issues in Nevada” that featured lunchtime lectures by local experts on issues currently facing Nevada.

Numerous activities and courses in the science program at the College of Saint Rose are now connecting the application of scientific knowledge and skills to involvement in community issues. Notable changes include: the introduction of service learning in an introductory science course, increased community involvement by students through several science related events, the development of a new multidisciplinary and integrative capstone science course for elementary and special education science concentrators that draws on their scientific knowledge to investigate societal issues, and the design of a new three-course science program for elementary and special education students who are not concentrating in science. (See September SENCER E-Newsletter for details).

The College of Wooster has developed “Science, Gender and Environment,” a course that explores the relationship between science, environmental degradation, resource depletion, and gender. Through the examination of scientific knowledge claims, an understanding of the scientific method is developed and critiqued with a feminist perspective.

Yeshiva College‘s “The Science of Chemistry: Global Issues” track, exposing students to contemporary issues and current controversies while focusing on energy and the environment, was developed using a SENCER approach and is taught by an organic chemist. Yeshiva’s Freshman Book Project creates overt and formal linkages among science, humanities, and the social sciences through the Book Project selection, The Plague, by Albert Camus.

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The reports are just now coming in from teams that have worked on SENCER projects during this past academic year. Details will follow the very brief synopses below:

Drake University‘s two-semester sequence integrates the science and mathematics disciplines throughout the two courses that focus on current issues: nutrition and global climate change.

Madonna University‘s new course, “Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity,” is designed around SENCER idealsand is being offered for the Fall 2003 term.

Mercer University assembled a new Scientific Inquiry case study: “Nutrition and Health,” a three to five week casestudy for use in a scientific inquiry course.

The primary goal of Northern Arizona University‘s Introductory ENV course is to imbue students with a fundamental knowledge of the scientific method applied to problems in environmental science, including biodiversity, water, and energy.

University Studies, the general education program at Portland State University, is offering a new Freshman Inquirytheme, “Pathways to Sustainability and Justice.”

Simmons College redesigned an existing course, “Great Discoveries in Science,” to cover similar material but through a new lens: “Feeding the World’s Population.”

Southern Oregon University created a SENCER pilot course, “Forensic Investigation,” a hugely popular, general education class.