Eligibility: All Miami STEM faculty. Graduate students interested in pursuing an academic career.

Amount: Each participant will receive $500 in professional development funds.

Submission: Online Application

Deadline: May 12, 2023

Purpose and Description

Universities across the United States play a fundamental role in achieving national, state, and regional goals in STEM education and fostering innovation that supports and drives the economy (Benish, 2018; National Science Foundation 2020). This FLC aims to 1) review relevant literature within the context of supporting faculty as they design their STEM curriculums, develop student-centered courses, and prepare students for career success; 2) survey current efforts throughout STEM departments and divisions at Miami to gain insight into what formal (and informal) training and methods of assessment exist in support of teaching excellence (e.g., peer evaluation, mentoring); 3) develop a web-based resource which summarizes a) evidence-based best practices and b) opportunities at Miami which provide training and mentoring such that faculty (and future faculty) develop an innovative and engaging teaching portfolio. This FLC is associated with a current NSF ADVANCE award at Miami University (Award #2126030: Equity in STEM programs at Miami University).

Activities

Members will:

• Conduct a literature review of evidence-based practices which support faculty as they develop and work to continuously improve their teaching portfolios.
• Design a survey to be issued across Miami’s STEM departments in order to gain insights into what current policies, programs, and practices exist at the department level to assess and evaluate teaching effectiveness.
• Invite (and meet with) external speaker(s) to gain insight into other institutional practices which center teaching development.
• Design a web-based resource for publication on CTE website.
• Prepare and submit proposal to annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching.
• Depending on findings, consider submission of manuscript for publication within the context of best practices and recommendations.

2023-2024

• Catherine Almquist, Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering; Co-facilitator
• Michelle Boone, Biology
• Kaylynn Borror, Computer Science & Software Engineering
• George Daly, Geology and Environmental Earth Science
• Madeline Ess, Graduate Student
• Daniela Inclezan, Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Claire McLeod, Geology and Environmental Earth Science: Co-facilitator
• Aise (Zulal) Sevkli, Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Jing Zhang, Statistics