The CIRTL Network: A Professional Development Network for Future STEM Faculty

1. The CIRTL Network: A Professional Development Networkfor Future STEM Faculty Dr. Bruce Herbert Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning http://cirtl.net/

2. The CIRTL Mission: What Does this Mean for the Nation? Enhance excellence in undergraduate education through the development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse learners as part of successful and varied professional careers.

3. Developing Faculty Teaching Expertise:A Deceptively Simple Question Often we are asked, “If I met a STEM faculty member, how would I know if they had taken part in CIRTL?” at some point in their development. Of course, formally this is an evaluation question. But the question is usually asked in a more informal spirit, and so we begin with informal answers. Dr. Robert Mathieu, PI University of Wisconsin Dr. Omar Harvey, a former CIRTL participant from Texas A&M

4. Developing Faculty Teaching Expertise:The Hero’s/Heroine’s Journey as Metaphor Hero Call to Adventure Herald Return with Elixir Refusal of Call Mentor Ordinary World Cross the Threshold Threshold Guardian Resurrection Special World Tests, Allies, Enemies Shapeshifter Trickster Shadow Flight Approach the Cave Ordeal and Reward Campbell, J. 2008. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Vogler, C. 1998. The Writer’s Journey. Mythic Structures for Writers.

5. K12 Teaching Expertise: Early Conceptions of Science Teaching Instructional Practices Training: Best Practices Student Achievement Good & Brophy. Looking in Classrooms (10th ed.) • Atheoretical; best practices • Teacher commitments • Student learning • Multiple teaching strategies • Teacher as instructional designer • Subject matter connections • Personal practice theories

6. K12 Teaching Expertise: Teachers Mediate Classroom Environments Instructional Practices Student Achievement Teacher’s Knowledge & Beliefs Content Knowledge & Beliefs Pedagogical Knowledge & Beliefs Contextual Knowledge & Beliefs Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000 Bolhuis & Voeten, 2004 Windschitl, 2004

7. K12 Teaching Expertise: Emergence of New Concepts Teaching in the Fiji Islands as a Peace Corps Volunteer • Pedagogical Content Knowledge • Teaching & learning given subject matter context • Schulman, 2000 • Learning Sciences • How People Learn, 2000 • Professional Change & Intervention Theories • Teacher induction • Luft et al., 2011

8. K12 Teaching Expertise: Emerging Systems Perspective of Teacher Expertise Teacher’s Characteristics Experience Preparation Teacher Thinking & Beliefs Teaching Context Structural Cultural Learning Sciences Pedagogical Content Knowledge Change & Induction Teacher Practices Curriculum Professional Development Student Achievement Gess-Newsome, J. NARST March 2010.

9. The CIRTL Network • Being national change agents in STEM graduate education around teaching and learning. • The core ideas (pillars): • teaching-as-research • learning community • learning-through-diversity • Collaboration with network universities - sharing programs, resources, successes, and initiatives. Diverse set of research universities committed to: The CIRTL Network http://www.cirtl.net/

10. Higher Education Teaching Expertise:CIRTL Learning Outcomes • CIRTL Fellow: recognize the role of the CIRTL pillars in effective teaching and learning • CIRTL Practitioner: scholarly teaching that builds on the CIRTL pillars to demonstrably improve learning and make the results public • CIRTL Scholar: scholarship that advances teaching and learning under peer review Photo courtesy of University of Illinois-Springfield

11. Higher Education Teaching Expertise:CIRTL Fellow • Participants can identify realistic, well-defined and achievable learning goals. • Participants can design effective and inclusive instructional materials, courses, learning environments, and curricula that align learning activities with learning goals and assessments. • Participants have been exposed to the literature associated with teaching, learning and assessment. • Participants recognize the diversity in their classrooms and the need to address that diversity in teaching plans. Graduates-through-facultywho are CIRTL Fellows have the knowledge and skills that to be effective teachers, where they are able to implement research-based “best” practices in different learning environments to achieve defined learning goals. CIRTL Fellows recognize the diversity of their students and seek to meet the needs of diverse learners.

12. Higher Education Teaching Expertise:CIRTL Practitioners • Participants are reading the literature associated with teaching, learning, and assessment and are able to critique it effectively with peers. • Participants have started designing and implementing Teaching-as-Research projects for the classroom. • Participants can demonstrate how their disciplinary research can inform their teaching. • Participants contribute to local professional learning communities associated with teaching and learning. • Participants are engaging the diversity of their students in ways that enhance the learning of all. A CIRTL Practitioner has a level of knowledge and skills that allow them to be scholarly teachers, where they are able to use Teaching-as-Research to improve their practice. Scholarly teaching builds on what others have learned in an ongoing way, seeks evidence of learning, and uses evidence to improve practice.

13. CIRTL Program:Teaching as Research Projects TAR Projects from a CIRTL Network Course • Supporting Traditional Instructional Methods with a Constructivist Approach to Learning: Promoting Conceptual Change and Understanding of Stoichiometry. • Analogous Reasoning and Conceptual Model Development of Complex Earth Systems. • Can Inquiry-Based Learning activities in an upper-level undergraduate neuroscience course improve student understanding of the nature of neuroscience research? • Using Prezi to design interactive, multi-scale, iterative concept maps in an Earth Materials course Impact of CIRTL Model on Research Group

14. Final Thoughts • Conceptions of K12 Teaching Expertise • Development and Induction • Context and Practitioner Research • CIRTL network is effective in developing community among small numbers of like-minded individuals at institutions – way to move along the collaboration curve The authors gratefully acknowledge the the support of National Science Foundation Grant No. 0717768 . Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.