Panel Discussion: Understanding Students’ Narratives of Grand Challenges Scholars Program as a Nexus between Liberal and STEM Education

Abstract

She earned her B.S. degree in Physics from Yale University in 1995 and her Ph. D. degree in Biological Physics from MIT in 2001. Dr. Zastavker's research interests lie in the field of STEM education with specific emphasis on innovative pedagogical and curricular practices at the intersection with the issues of gender and diversity. With the goal of improving learning opportunities for all students and equipping faculty with the knowledge and skills necessary to create such opportunities, Dr. Zastavker's recent work involves questions pertaining to students' motivational attitudes and their learning journeys in a variety of educational environments. One of the founding faculty at Olin College, Dr. Zastavker has been engaged in development and implementation of project-based experiences in fields ranging from science to engineering and design to social sciences (e.g., Critical Reflective Writing; Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering, etc.) All of these activities share a common goal of creating curricular and pedagogical structures as well as academic cultures that facilitate students' interests, motivation, and desire to persist in engineering. Through this work, outreach, and involvement in the community, Dr. Zastavker continues to focus on the issues of women and minorities in science/engineering. Ms. Abigail M Fry, Olin College of Engineering Abby Fry is a second-year student at Olin College of Engineering majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Ms. Holly Nguyen Holly Nguyen is a Master's student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), studying Computer Science. She completed her Bachelor's at WPI with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Business. Gretchen Rice, Olin College Gretchen is originally from Maine and plans to graduate from Olin College in May 2020. Outside of classes and GCSP, Gretchen is president of Olin's A Capella group and works as a Resident Resource, a teacher's assistant, and a tour guide.

Work in Progress: Transformation through Liberal Arts-Focused Grand Challenges Scholars Programs

“…These collaborations gave rise to new experiences for students and early evidence indicates that they have been transformative. (For student narratives of transformation, see [49] .) While it is not possible to rule out other factors that might have contributed to the transformations at our schools, we believe that the work we have done together centered on GCSP has been a primary driver of change at each of our institutions.…”

“…In coming together as a community of practice centered on integrating liberal arts and engineering education through GCSP, our four institutions have embarked on a process of transformation at many levels. Institutions undergo change as programs evolve and students experience transformative learning as a result of participation in the programs (for student narratives see [49] and for discussion of future data collection see section 4). Institutional transformations and student transformations create productive feedback loops within each school in the community and the schools support, encourage, and respond to further transformation in each other.…”

“…Ideas drawn from the group contributed to the many conversations and design sessions leading to GCSP 2.0: examples include WPI's declaration that each student at their institution will graduate with both "a major and a mission," which informed thinking about a personal "mission" as an integral outcome of the educational experience, and several institutions' creation of new courses integrating liberal arts and engineering in ways that look different from the common "add some X to an engineering course and call it integrated" approach, where X is commonly writing or ethics. Working with this community of practice has also led to new opportunities for students at Olin, such as participating as panelists and co-authors for ASEE in presenting their own narratives of transformative learning [49] . Design of an assessment plan is underway to collect, among other data, evidence of students' transformational experiences.…”