Since its inception, CIRTL has held a national Forum every 2-3 years, attracting ~ 275 deans, faculty, staff and graduate students from a diverse set of higher education institutions, as well as leaders from national organizations devoted to improving STEM education. Each CIRTL Forum offers attendees opportunities to interact with visionary thought-leaders in higher education, gain perspectives from current and future faculty, and enjoy rich discussions and innovative programming. Listed below are the themes and goals of the CIRTL Forums.
October 13-15, 2019 at Drexel University
Themes:
- Existing Culture of STEM Education
- STEM Teaching and Learning Practices that Support All Students
- Working Effectively Within Existing Institutional Culture
- Change Leadership
April 12-14, 2015 at Texas A&M University
Goals:
- Better understand key changes in the nature of higher education and in student demographics that will happen over the next 15-20 years
- Discuss the implications of these changes on the future professoriate, and
- Develop creative strategies to align the preparation of the nation’s future STEM faculty with these changes
October 10-11, 2011 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Goals:
- Identify the expected outcomes of teaching–focused professional development programs, and share means of assessing these outcomes
- Exchange best practices in future faculty professional development focused on teaching and learning
- Showcase the work of graduate students and post-docs engaged in improving teaching and measuring student learning
- Our goal is for participants to walk away from the Forum with a shared vision for future faculty teaching professional development, a clear definition of such development and a means of assessing it
June 16-17, 2008 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Goals:
- To explore the degree of alignment of STEM faculty experiences from graduate school through early-career faculty positions
- To enhance mutual awareness and alignment of key stakeholder groups – graduate students, graduate universities, academic employers and graduate faculty
- To highlight the new generation of graduate students and early-career faculty prepared by future faculty programs
May 25-26, 2005 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Goals:
- To explore the degree of alignment of STEM faculty experiences from graduate school through early-career faculty positions
- To enhance mutual awareness and alignment of key stakeholder groups – graduate students, graduate universities, academic employers and graduate faculty
- To highlight the new generation of graduate students and early-career faculty prepared by future faculty programs
November 5-6, 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Goals:
- To define the present landscape of STEM graduate training in teaching and learning at research universities across the nation
- To build connections among national STEM graduate programs