The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is participating in national efforts with the SEISMIC Collaboration and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities to support students taking introductory STEM courses with two main areas of focus: course assessment in large classes and success in mathematics.
“I love the UNL idea that every person and every interaction matters, and often when we look at data, we see big pictures, but we want to also see individuals,” said Kevin Gonzales, assistant professor of practice in mathematics. “These two STEM initiatives bridge those efforts together. We are looking at big picture changes, assessment and class structure while keeping in mind the individual students.”
SEISMIC is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary STEM higher education collaboration that includes instructors, researchers, student success staff and students who are focused on course assessment reform. UNL is participating in SEISMIC Phase Two, which is designed to build community across institutions while helping faculty explore broader adoption of innovative, evidence-based alternative approaches to assessment practices in large introductory STEM courses.
UNL participants include Chad Brassil, faculty director of undergraduate analytics, Kati Brazeal, assistant professor of practice in the School of Biological Sciences, Nate Pindell, senior instructional designer, Chris Varney, research associate professor in the Center for Science, Math and Computer Education, and from the Department of Mathematics: Kevin Gonzales, assistant professor of practice, Zach Norwood, assistant professor of practice, Rachel Funk, postdoctoral teaching associate and Michelle Homp, associate professor of practice.
Participants attended a kick-off event in May at the University of Michigan and will meet with partner institutions virtually each month to share progress and resources, discuss revised assessments, and evaluate effectiveness. The work is supported by the Sloan Foundation and Google.
APLU has identified introductory mathematics courses as one of the most persistent barriers to college completion, noting that many research universities have mathematics courses with DFW rates exceeding 30%.
UNL is among 25 institutions selected to participate in “Analyzing Student Success in Introductory Courses: Is Mathematics an Outsized Challenge?” to examine the scope and nature of challenges in these courses. Participants will identify strategies to improve student outcomes and develop case studies of effective practices for improving mathematics course outcomes.
UNL lead participants from the Department of Mathematics include Allan Donsig, professor; Josh Brummer, associate professor of practice; Kevin Gonzales; and Chad Brassil.
Data will be determined and submitted from partner institutions beginning this fall, followed by a January convening to review preliminary research findings and engage in cross-institutional learning. A final report will be published at the end of May. The work is supported by the Gates Foundation, the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities and Project EMBER.
