The 2019 SENCER Summer Institute (SSI) was hosted by Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, August 1-4, 2019.
SSI is the cornerstone of NCSCE’s faculty development efforts, and brings together formal and informal educators, learners, and community and government partners for over 60 plenaries, workshops, and other sessions that support STEM learning that is meaningful, interdisciplinary, and durable–advancing a lifelong engagement with the science and technology challenges that are so central to our democratic future.
In addition to our core focus on effective pedagogy and course design for science and civic engagement, the Institute program explored collaborations and partnerships that advance STEM learning and build our civic capacity for addressing the critical challenges facing our democracy. The Institute is designed for both individuals and teams working on curricular designs and programming with special attention to:
- STEM, the arts, and humanities
- Diversity, inclusion, and social justice in STEM
- Partnership Power–leveraging community partnerships to advance learning
- Assessment for STEM learning and Civic Engagement
- SENCER approaches in Engineering from K-12 to professional programs
- SENCER strategies for K-12 curricula, and Community Colleges
Here is full program book for this year’s meeting:
For presentations, posters, and other materials that participants offered to share, click HERE
Photo Gallery
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- NJ Team Receives Wm. E. Bennett Award
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- Dave Ferguson Receives Wm. E. Bennett Award (posthumously)
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- Assessment Symposium
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- Assessment Symposium
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- Matt Fisher at Assessment Symposium
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- Franco Workshop on 2020 Census
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- Davida Smyth at Assessment Symposium
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- Plenary Speaker Marsha Semmel NEH
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- Plenary Speaker Andrew Minigan from the Right Question Institute..Click on picture to see his note about SSI!
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- Plenary Speaker Felton Thomas of Cleveland Public Libraries
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- Felton Thomas on how community partnerships can promote student centered learning
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- Poster Session
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- Poster Session
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- Poster Session
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- Poster Session
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- Sunset on Cuyahoga River
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- SCI-Midwest Leaders
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- Cuyahoga River Guide
Keynote Speakers
Marsha Semmel, Marsha Semmel Consulting
Opening Plenary, Thursday, August 1, 4:30pm, Ford Auditorium
Partnership Power: Learning Networks and Civic Renewal
Marsha Semmel is Senior Advisor to the National Center on Science and Civic Engagement’s SENCER-ISE project (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities-Informal Science Education). She currently serves as faculty for the Bank Street College of Education’s Graduate School of Education in the Leadership in Museum Education Program and as a member of The Museum Group (TMG), a consortium of museum leaders who support museums in achieving their greatest potential in an ever-changing world. http://museumgroup.com/
From 2013-15, Marsha was Senior Advisor to the Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI), a project envisioning an essential and transformative role for organizations that engage their publics in crucial science and technology issues. Her career has included more than two decades of work in major U.S. cultural agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), where she served as the agency’s first director for strategic partnerships, deputy director for the Office of Museum Services, and acting Director. Previously, Marsha served 12 years in the Public Programs Division of the National Endowment for the Humanities, as program officer and Division Director.
Felton Thomas, Jr., Executive Director and CEO, Cleveland Public Library
Friday Plenary, August 2, 9:00am, Ford Auditorium
Partnership Power: Creating Collaborative Community Connections
Felton Thomas, Jr. was appointed Director of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) in January 2009. Since then, he has positioned CPL as a community deficit fighter and launched initiatives aimed at addressing community needs in the areas of technology, education, and economic development. During Felton’s tenure, CPL has maintained its “Five Star” status and been named a “Top Innovator” by the Urban Libraries Council for its use of technology and data to inform decision making. Felton also has guided CPL through the worst recession in decades by actively seeking input from the community, and then reducing CPL’s budget by millions while still providing superior service and keeping all neighborhood branches open. Under Felton, the Library has battled the digital divide, illiteracy, unemployment, and other community deficits with innovative programming and action at all branches.
Andrew P. Minigan, Director of Strategy, Education Program, Right Question Institute
Saturday Plenary, August 3, 9:00am, Ford Auditorium
How Asking the Right Questions Can Improve Learning and Build Civic Participation
Andrew P. Minigan is the Right Question Institute’s (RQI) director of strategy for the Education Program. He is a co-principal investigator (Co-PI) on a National Science Foundation funded research grant to help researchers, including doctoral students and faculty in higher education, learn how to formulate better, more transformative research questions. He has facilitated learning experiences for faculty and doctoral students at Brandeis University, Northeastern University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Mt. San Antonio College, Citrus College, and the University of Prince Edward Island. Hundreds of faculty and students from around the country have participated in his active learning experiences, including a recent webinar for the American Society for Engineering Education. Andrew has written on the importance of question formulation and its connection to curiosity for Education Week, Social Education, Educational Leadership, and PBS.