How Faculty Use NSDL

Michael Khoo, Evaluator, NSDL Core IntegrationBEN Workshop, Washington D.C., December 2006

The wider context Increased STEM capacity

is a long-term goal of US educational, economic, and strategic policy

Undergraduate STEM student retention is key component of long-term US STEM capacity

National Academies Press: Rising Above The Gathering Storm - Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future

STEM retention builds on student engagement Ability is not the primary

predictor of STEM retention The quality of the STEM

educational environmentis a crucial factor

Engagement vs. isolation:both influence students’desires to become scientistsand/or science educators

Seymour and Hewitt. Talking About Leaving, Westview Press Seymour, Wieman. Testimony to US House of Representatives Hearing: Undergraduate Science,

Math an Engineering Education - What’s Working?

Digital Libraries (such as NSDL) support STEM educationDLs engage students

visualization collaboration conversation etc.

DLs support educators lesson planning curriculum development just-in-time professional development etc.

n= 155, approx. 20% of responses from ‘faculty’

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10

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30

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50

60

70

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100

Tell acolleague

Use inteaching or

research

Use newideas in

own work

Use tosuppportlecture or

lab

Directstudents to

use

Download aresource

Submit aresource

Having used NSDL,how likely/ very likely are you to …(%)

Educators like NSDL!

NSDL supports TAs

Seymour et al.: Partners in Innovation - Teaching Assistants in College Science Courses. Rowman and Littlefield

TAs are key STEM educators(Seymour et al.)

NSDL supports TAs Classroom resources Images Just-in-time professional

development for Positive response to NSDL

from TAs/usability tests Images, animations Lecture supplement Powerpoint material

Faculty use of NSDL

Science Education Resource Center (SERC), Carleton College

2005: 11 groups and 60 participants 1 research university 1 community college 4 teaching colleges 2 historically black colleges/universities 1 liberal arts college 2 at MERLOT International Conference

http://serc.carleton.edu/facultypart/

Search goals

Popular search categories Images, animations/videos/simulations, real

world data/examples

Popular uses Lectures, labs, demonstrations Own professional development Few interactive uses reported

Search behavior

Focus on top results Diminishing returns and time/resource

constraints lead to cost-benefit analyses and prioritizing

Selections based on ‘good enough’ Frequent return to favorite sites Short timeframe of use (pre-class, not

curriculum planning)

Summary

NSDL provided engaging STEM educational resources

NSDL supports faculty and TAs Just-in-time classroom resources Just-in-time professional development

NSDL supports students Engaging resources, pedagogical

environments and practices NSDL supports STEM retention - we

hope!

More Information National Academies Press. 2006. Rising Above The Gathering

Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.Pre-print: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html

Seymour, E., and N. Hewitt. 1997. Talking About Leaving. Westview Press.

Seymour, E., et al. 2005. Partners in Innovation. Teaching Assistants in College Science Education Courses. Rowman & Little.

Testimony to US House of Representatives Hearing, “Undergraduate Science, Math an Engineering Education - What’s Working?” Elaine Seymour: http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/research06/march

%2015/seymour.pdf Carl Wieman:

http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/research06/march%2015/wieman.pdf

NSDL user survey: http://eval.comm.nsdl.org/reports.html SERC ‘Faculty Participation in NSDL’ surveys:

http://serc.carleton.edu/facultypart/