|
Too many Americans -- from children to adults -- lack a proper understanding of basic science concepts and processes. They are ill-equipped to make critical decisions in areas that impact their lives on a daily basis such as health and medicine, technology, and the environment. Changes in university and workplace requirements and student demographics are increasing the diversity of student learning needs in science courses. In addition, students have become more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, which has resulted in a student population that has a wider range of learning needs than students who took those science courses in the past. A strong need exists to revise traditional science pedagogy so that it aligns better with the needs of today's students.
College and university science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty are integral to initiating and implementing science reform. The instruction and experiences STEM faculty provide will be passed to future generations -- by way of our science majors who enter STEM fields of research and education and by way of those non-majors who make public policy and those who vote on it.
Some SyRIS Managment Team Members(from L to R):Karen Conzelman, GCC; Jeff Pommerville, Principle Investigator,mcli; Maria Harper-Marinick,mcli; Lynda Santiago, PVCC; and Rosemary Leary, EMCC
|
Systemic Reform In Science (SyRIS) has begun the process of reform by providing an environment for STEM faculty to make changes in curriculum and pedagogy. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and inkind support from participating colleges and the mcli, SyRIS has brought together over the past two years more than 60 of Maricopa's STEM faculty. As collaborative college teams, they developed and piloted interdisciplinary science activities (science modules). Integrated into a course curriculum, these modules can give students a better understanding of the connections between the sciences. These reforms also enable students to understand how science fits into their lives, to use scientific ways of thinking, and to make connections and apply what they know to the world outside the classroom.
Accomplishments
Over the two years of the project, 17 inquiry-based, interdisciplinary modules were developed and piloted by STEM faculty. Designed to be easily integrated into STEM courses, each module package includes:
- Student Materials, Exercises, and Experiments. The student packet contains all the information that students need to complete the module activities.
- Instructor Notes. The instructor packet contains instructions for implementing and assessing the module. The pedagogical design allows instructors to personalize their instruction in ways that best meet student learning needs.
The modules were based on the premise that students must be engaged and involved if higher order or deep learning is to occur. To promote active learning, each module has been designed around collaborative learning strategies that engage students in learning from and with each other. The inquiry-based, interdisciplinary strategies include features that:
- Go beyond curriculum content. They show students how scientists see the world, how they think about what they see, and how they draw conclusions that are consistent with new observations and current knowledge. More than any other strategy, inquiry-based, interdisciplinary learning says to students, "This is science as a way of knowing."
- Are built on a multi-leveled scale of knowledge and skills. Students move progressively toward a more complete and useful understanding of science. The specific modules offer instructional strategies that help students grapple with difficult concepts in ways that promote their growth toward such an understanding.
- Help students ask and answer difficult questions. They learn the language of science and see relationships, similarities, and differences.
Additional SyRIS Managment Team Members(from L to R):Donna Benson, MCC and Reece Welde, GWCC
|
With this foundation, students are ready to apply their understanding of science in independent ways. The modules require students to state, explain, and provide examples of key scientific principles and to recognize these principles at work in novel situations. The modules promote student development by challenging students to express their understanding to others and to examine, refine, modify, and expand their own and others' ideas.
As students begin to understand the place of science in human experience, they can tackle controversial issues that are at the intersections between science and society, such as global warming or environmental pollution. Through real life applications, students apply what they know to a variety of complicated, multidimensional questions and problems. The modules challenge students to analyze and evaluate complex scientific and social issues and to practice making informed decisions about socially relevant questions.
Additional SyRIS Managment Team Members(from L to R):Tim Frank, SMCC and Howard Sullivan, ASU
|
Faculty Participation
The STEM instructors have found their contributions and experiences with SyRIS to be rewarding. SyRIS has heightened their consciousness and that of their students regarding the connectedness of STEM disciplines. The skills gained have allowed them to do more real-time instruction that supports and assists students' learning. The experiences of working on SyRIS have made many instructors aware of how important it is to understand student preconceived ideas and then adapt their teaching style to help the students discover different concepts on their own. It was only through designing a SyRIS module that many faculty came to truly understand and appreciate active learning.
It has been a pleasure and honor to work with a great group of Maricopa STEM faculty. Quite simply, the SyRIS project would not have been possible without the tremendous time and effort put forth by the peer mentors and the collaborative learning teams. All the teams worked many long hours to develop modules that are pedagogically useful and of interest and significance to students. Many of the teams took time out of their own busy schedules to "pre-run" the student modules to make sure as many of the unforeseen pitfalls and obstacles to effective instruction and learning were caught before the students actually started the modules. One of the most frequent comments from the SyRIS project faculty was about the collegial experience among faculty in different disciplines where each member could contribute and learn. Working with faculty from other STEM disciplines fostered a better understanding of how each discipline approached concepts and topics that all disciplines have in common.
I would like to thank the SyRIS faculty for their enthusiastic efforts and determination. This group of faculty is linked by their genuine interest in quality education, and it has been my pleasure to work with them.
Additional SyRIS Managment Team Members(from L to R):Linda Santiago, PVCC; Karen Conzelman, GCC and Ul Luu, GCC
|
The Future
Although the SyRIS Project ends in July, science reform must continue. We must strive to continue reforming STEM instruction to support high quality, inquiry based, "hands-on" science for all our undergraduates. This includes addressing the needs of persons going into the technical workforce, the preparation of majors in these areas, and the issue of science literacy for all.
The success of undergraduate STEM education depends on the students who come from grades K-12. To ensure that students start out with the best of all learning environments, we need enthusiastic and well-prepared K-12 teachers. The SyRIS management team strongly believes that one avenue for future science reform is developing a two-semester interdisciplinary science course for pre-service education majors based on the SyRIS model. With the continuing shortage of K-8 science teachers and the priority for teacher preparation set by Chancellor
Fred Gaskin and Vice Chancellor Anna Solley, the management team sees such an interdisciplinary science course as a creative way to bring more "science-shy" pre-service teachers into the teaching pipeline. At the same time, pre-service teachers' science understanding, ability to communicate about science, and confidence would be improved through opportunities for application of science concepts in authentic contexts.
Additional SyRIS Managment Team Member and Co-Principle Investigator JD Mildrew, SMCC
|
Conclusion
Reform takes time. It takes time for instructors to feel at ease with a new instructional approach that might be quite different from the way they use it or from how they were taught. It takes time for students to become accustomed to a new way of learning that previously may have been a passive learning experience. In addition, it takes time for college and university administrators to understand how best to support the change. SyRIS has been one channel for guiding science reform on all these levels.
The SyRIS web site
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/syris
|
