Goals for this semester:

• Identify (and later, evaluate) resources and initiatives at KCC that support student success in STEM
• Identify opportunities for research projects assessing the effectiveness of these resources and initiatives
• Produce a report summarizing our findings (and figure out to whom we can present it)

Today’s discussion:

• We reviewed the 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report: “Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education” (Table S-1 on pp.5-7). Read online or download for free at:

https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24943/indicators-for-monitoring-undergraduate-stem-education

• We adopted the three goals in this table to guide our work, revising the wording of goal 3. Goals for our planned work now read as follows:
  • Increase students’ mastery of STEM concepts and skills by engaging them in evidence-based STEM practices and programs
  • Strive for equity, diversity, and inclusion of STEM students and instructors
  • Ensure adequate preparation for STEM careers
• We developed specific research questions we would like to answer (based on the goals). These questions will guide our data gathering.
  • What are the evidence-based educational practices used by faculty in STEM disciplines?
  • To what extent are such practices in use?
  • What programs do we have at KCC to increase academic readiness, gateway course completion, retention, and transfer in STEM majors?
  • What programs, policies, and initiatives exist at KCC to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM?
• We agreed that the objectives and indicators in Table S-1 reflect our intent, and we intend to gather data for each of these indicators.
• Data will be gathered from the following three sources:
  • Faculty survey (Loretta will develop questions for survey)
  • KCC’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness (Kristin will send requests to Chris Calienes)
  • Relevant administrators (diversity officers, ATD, Academic Affairs, etc) (Mary will request from diversity, Kristin will request from ATD through Chris Calienes)

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