Preparing future STEM faculty through flexible teaching professional development.

Area of Science:

• STEM Education
• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Faculty Professional Development

Background:

• Future STEM faculty require effective teaching professional development.
• Traditional professional development models may lack scalability and flexibility.
• Evidence-based instructional practices are crucial for diverse student needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel blended learning model for STEM faculty teaching professional development.
• To assess the scalability and sustainability of massive open online courses (MOOCs) combined with in-person learning communities.
• To improve access to high-quality STEM instruction for undergraduate students.

Main Methods:

• Delivered seven offerings of an introductory course via MOOCs and facilitated in-person learning communities between 2014-2018.
• Enrolled 14,977 participants globally.
• Achieved a 11.5% completion rate (1,725 participants).

Main Results:

• High levels of participant engagement and learning were observed.
• The blended approach demonstrated flexibility for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Leveraging educational technology and learner demographics proved effective for large-scale professional development.

Conclusions:

• The combination of asynchronous online learning (MOOCs) and structured face-to-face learning communities is a viable and sustainable model for large-scale STEM faculty professional development.
• This initiative can serve as a model to increase access to essential teaching preparation for future STEM educators.
• Effective faculty preparation directly impacts the quality of undergraduate STEM instruction and student success.