SPARCT: A STEM Professional Academy to Reinvigorate the Culture of Teaching

Abstract

We examined three years of data from the STEM Professional Academy to Reinvigorate the Culture of Teaching (SPARCT) program. SPARCT consists of a year-long professional development opportunity in evidence-based teaching practices for STEM faculty teaching introductory STEM courses at XXX. The expected outcomes for the program include: (1) improving evidence-based practices targeting the introductory STEM classroom, (2) developing professional peer-observation strategies for the STEM classroom, (3) enhancing scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) by SPARCT faculty, (4) developing long-term Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) in STEM instruction and (5) enhancing student learning in introductory STEM courses as a result of this faculty development. Here we briefly describe the features of SPARCT and discuss our findings as aligned with the outcomes over three cohorts of SPARCT program participants (2014-2016). By engaging at least 25% of XXX's STEM faculty over the three years, SPARCT is creating a community of STEM scholars, reinvigorating interdisciplinary connections, developing learning threads, and increasing the community’s potential to transform the teaching culture of the university.