The future of STEM education: Using a MOOC to prepare the next generation of faculty
More than 80% of future STEM faculty that will teach the next generation of students in the 4,500+ institutions of higher education in the US receive their PhDs at fewer than 100 institutions. Preparing graduate students and postdocs at these relatively few research universities to use evidence-based instruction, active-learning, and effective teaching practices can change the future of higher education. Dr. Bennett Goldberg will discuss the model of the Center for the Integration of Research Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network, a coalition of 22 universities preparing future faculty. To scale and reach the more than 43,000 STEM PhDs that graduate each year and 20,000 that take postdoctoral positions, we created a massive open online course, “An Introduction to Evidence-based Undergraduate STEM Teaching.” Remarkably, 50% of postdocs and nearly 40% of graduate students who signed up completed the course, demonstrating a significant need and success at serving our target audience. Bennett Goldberg is Professor of Physics and Director of STEM Education Initiatives in the Office of the Provost, Boston University.
This event is co-sponsored with the Teaching and Learning Laboratory at MIT.