Fourteen Michigan State University faculty members from the College of Natural Science and Lyman Briggs College have been named to the second cohort of fellows of the STEM Gateway Teaching Fellows Program.
The goal of the two-year program, which is supported by funds from the Provost's Office, NatSci and LBC, is to improve Gateway STEM courses by engaging fellows in effective STEM teaching and learning practices.
These fellowships are part of the Association of American Universities (AAU) STEM Education Initiative. MSU was one of just eight sites across the country selected by AAU to host this initiative.
The faculty members selected for the second cohort of fellows include:
Virginia Cangelosi, academic specialist, College of Natural Science/Department of Chemistry
Samantha Cass, academic specialist, Lyman Briggs College/Department of Chemistry
Dirk Colbry, curriculum specialist, College of Natural Science/Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering
Teena Gerhardt, assistant professor, College of Natural Science/Department of Mathematics
Becky Matz, assistant professor, Create for STEM Institute/The Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology at MSU/College of Natural Science, Department of Chemistry
Terri McElhinny, assistant professor, College of Natural Science/Department of Integrative Biology
Saul Beceiro Novo, instructor, College of Natural Science/Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Integrative Studies in General Sciences
Amber Peters, assistant professor, College of Natural Science, Department of Plant Biology/College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Brian O’Shea, associate professor, College of Natural Science, Departments of Physics and Astronomy and Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering
Vashti Sawtelle, assistant professor, Lyman Briggs College/Department of Physics and Astronomy
Benjamin Schmidt, associate professor, College of Natural Science/Department of Mathematics
Ryan Sweeder, associate professor, Lyman Briggs College/Department of Chemistry
Peter White, assistant professor, Lyman Briggs College/Department of Entomology
Yuying Xie, assistant professor, College of Natural Science, Departments of Statistics and Probability and Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering
“With this second cohort of STEM Gateway Fellows we are able to expand our transformation efforts in STEM teaching and learning, with the goal of achieving sustainable change,” said Melanie Cooper, Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and the Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education. “These faculty will help us make a real positive difference for the thousands of students who come to MSU to study STEM subjects.”
Fellows participate in monthly workshops, a teaching and learning research project and ongoing meetings with a disciplinary mentor.
“The faculty members participating in this program are outstanding and dedicated teachers,” said R. James Kirkpatrick, NatSci dean. “Their selection as fellows will undoubtedly advance Michigan State’s leadership role in providing the best possible education in the STEM disciplines.”
By the end of the fellowship participants should be able to identify disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts and science practices that form the basis of the STEM Gateway curriculum. They also will become part of a faculty group committed to improving the STEM curriculum. Fellows receive $8,000 each, spread over two years, to support their participation in the program.
“We are very proud of all these faculty for their innovative proposals," said Elizabeth H. Simmons, LBC dean. "It will be exciting to see how their projects impact their teaching practices and benefit their students over the next two years."
For more information on the STEM Gateway Teaching Fellows Program, visit http://create4stem.msu.edu/gatewayfellowship.