Connecticut aims to grow STEM enrollment

Interesting model.  To be effective, I’d suggest hiring the STEM faculty with an eye toward STEM education.  Hire faculty who want to make improving the quality and retention of STEM graduates, not just more STEM researchers.  Make it count.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced Thursday a plan to dedicate $1.5 billion to growing the science, technology, engineering, and math programs at the University of Connecticut. The money will be used to hire more faculty members, enroll more students, build new STEM facilities and dorms, and create new doctoral fellowships and a STEM honors program.

The proposal, called Next Generation Connecticut, spans UConn’s three campuses. If the program passes the state legislature, it would increase the number of engineering undergraduates enrolled by 70 percent and the number of STEM graduates by 47 percent. UConn currently enrolls 7,701 undergraduates and 1,973 graduate students in STEM fields. It would also fund the hiring of 259 new faculty members, 200 of whom would be in the STEM fields.

“It’s transformational,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “It’s really every president’s hope that they get this kind of investment from their state or from their donors.”

via Connecticut and Texas aim to grow STEM enrollment, but take different approaches | Inside Higher Ed.

Using Education Theory to Frame CER: HCIL Invited Lecture

I gave a talk on 19 February at HCIL at U. Maryland-College Park.  I was pleased with how it turned out.  One of the things I learned when I gave my Indiana talks was that I ought to frame my talk with how I define learning and what theoretical frameworks I’m drawing on (e.g., learning sciences, constructionism, situated learning, community of practice, and authenticity).  This was my first talk where I tried to do that, and I liked how I could keep referencing back to the theory as I went along.  The talk gave me a chance to connect my work in computing education research (CER) to a broader education theory.

HCIL 30th Anniversary Distinguished Lecturer Series: Mark Guzdial, Georgia Tech – YouTube.