Building Robust Learning Environments in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: (119 New Directions for Higher Education)

Acknowledging the growing national need for a well-equipped talent pool from which the scientific, technical, and engineering workforce in the twenty-first century will be drawn, this volume examines ways that trustees, presidents, provosts, and deans can commit to national objectives and translate them into action at the local level. It challenges academic leaders to take immediate and informed action to guarantee undergraduate access to programs of the highest quality that prepare them for life and work in the world beyond the campus. All undergraduates in these early decades of the twenty-first century need access to robust and engaging learning experiences that provide a deep understanding of the nature of science and the scientific process, alert them to the power and potential of science and technology in their world, make them facile with numbers and data and the use of technologies, and prepare them for responsible citizenship in a world dominated by science and technology. All students, no matter what their background, need access to a research-rich, discovery-based learning environment in which they are motivated to consider a career using scientific and technological capabilities, perhaps as a K-12 teacher, an academic scientist or engineer, or in the high-tech industrial community. This is the 119th issue in the Jossey-Bass higher education series New Directions for Higher Education.

Table of Contents:
EDITORS' NOTES (Jeanne L. Narum, Kate Conover).PART ONE: Social Demands and Student Needs.1. The National Context for Reform (G. Doyle Daves, Jr.):Educational cultures must be changed to strengthen the learning of allstudents.2. New Truths and Old Verities (Judith A. Ramaley):The leaders of educational institutions must work to ensure that undergraduatesgain mastery of the ideas and ways of thinking of science andmathematics.PART TWO: The Curriculum and the Sequences of Learning.3. Changing Assumptions About Who Can Learn (George Campbell, Jr.):We must address our failure as a nation to develop a more diverse cadreof students and to bring them into the natural sciences, mathematics,and engineering professions.4. Science for All Americans (George D. Nelson):This chapter proposes a project to ensure that in ten years, all studentsgraduating from American colleges and universities will be literate inmathematics, science, and technology.5. A Multidisciplinary Core Curriculum (Trace Jordan):A major research university has made a strong commitment to generalmathematics and science education for its undergraduate students.It is addressing the educational challenge of mathematical and scientificliteracy for undergraduate students.6. Building Natural Science Communities (Thomas E. Brady):A community collaborative is formed to ensure academic opportunityand success for a diverse region of the country. Emphasis is placed ona standards-based curriculum, better teacher preparation, and theincreased engagement of leaders, parents, teachers, and faculty from allparts of the community.7. Cognitive Science and the Work of Reform (Diane F. Halpern):Research in how people think, learn, and remember can be used as aguide in redesigning higher education.8. Effective Assessment and Institutional Change (Christine Brooks Cote, Marianne Jordan):The assessment process contributes to keeping teaching ideas fresh andresponsive to student needs.PART THREE: Investing in Science Education.9. Investing in Faculty (Project Kaleidoscope, Core Institution Task Force):Investing in faculty must be an institutional priority.10. Learning and Teaching Centers: Hubs of Educational Reform (Susan R. Singer):Learning and teaching centers maximize the forward momentum ofeducational reform.11. Linking Departmental and Institutional Mission (J. K. Haynes):A departmental mission statement frames planning and provides consistentprogrammatic activities, thereby creating a closer community ofscholars.12. A Perspective on Campus Planning (Arthur J. Lidsky):Campus planning is the process of guiding the development of a campusso that it supports functional, aesthetic, and economic goals withinthe context of the institution's history, mission, and vision for thefuture.13. Investing in Digital Resources (David McArthur):Emerging technologies enhance existing methods of learning and createnew ways for institutions of higher education to fulfill their coreteaching and learning missions.PART FOUR: The Perspectives of Leadership.14. The Variables of Positive Change (Daniel F. Sullivan):A strategy for systemic reform must involve faculty innovators andadministrative leaders working together.15. The Role of the Grants Officer (Lee W. Willard):Grants officers have a central role to play in promoting institutionalprogress.16. The Role of the Science Dean (James M. Gentile):One college's science dean is a campus and divisional leader who helpsfaculty to frame programs that suit institutional and disciplinary needsand is a key advocate for those programs inside and external to the institution.17. Fund Development for Science Facilities (James R. Appleton):A president shares his wisdom on the critical elements of a capital campaignprogram.18. The People and Process of Investing in Facilities (Elizabeth S. Boylan):The author offers working principles that appear to lead to more satisfactoryand satisfying outcomes in planning and building new facilities.19. Communication in Reform (Melvin D. George):A communications plan is an integral prelude to and part of any majorcurricular or pedagogical change.20. Assessment to Improve Student Learning (David F. Brakke, Douglas T. Brown):Efforts to improve student learning must be tied to ongoing evaluationand assessment.INDEX.