Improving How Science is Taught: Mentoring, Teaching & Advising
As part of the BSP's Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Sustaining Excellence grant, from 2015–2019, the BSP held a series of annual conferences to explore ways to improve undergraduate STEM education, so more students remain in science. The first conference, Expanding Undergraduate Success in Biology, aimed to share BSP's strategies for increasing undergraduate persistence in STEM majors, develop research plans to investigate how and why the BSP works, and disseminate the BSP's best practices to other units at UC Berkeley. In 2016, the conference was re-named Expanding Undergraduate Success in STEM (EUSS) to reflect how the project had grown to include participants in STEM fields beyond biology.
A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the conferences and working groups. The meetings brought together members of the STEM community, both locally and nationally, to explore the challenges and opportunities of increasing equity, inclusion, and institutional change in STEM education and disciplines. Working together to improve students' experiences and success rates works, and we look forward to future partnership opportunities.
Kern Community College District Chancellor Dr. Sonya Christian (previously Bakersfield College President) at the 2019 Expanding Undergraduate Success in STEM (EUSS) Conference. The conference brought together students and educators from the UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges to explore the opportunities and challenges of increasing retention and success in STEM education and disciplines.
Annual Conference Materials
2015
| Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|
| Dr. John Matsui BSP Director & Co-Founder | UCB |
Expanding Undergraduate Success in Biology |
| Dr. Sylvia Hurtado Professor | UCLA |
STEM Undergraduate Education: Increasing Diversity & Productivity |
| Dr. Mica Estrada Assistant Professor | UCSF |
Understanding Why Programs Work: Cultivating Psycho-social Stability and Integration |
2016
| Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|
| Dr. Shaila Kotadia STEM Equity Planning Director, Division of Equity & Inclusion | UCB |
Berkeley STEM Equity & Inclusion Initiative |
| Dr. Andrew Eppig Institutional Research Analyst, Division of Equity & Inclusion | UCB |
Campus Climate in a Major Advising Context |
| Dr. Mica Estrada Assistant Professor | UCSF |
Examining the Power of Community to Increase Persistence in Science |
2017
| Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|
| Dr. John Matsui BSP Director & Co-Founder, Assistant Dean | UCB |
|
| Dr. Kelly Mack Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education, Executive Director for Project Kaleidoscope | Asso. of Amer. Colleges & Universities |
That None Shall Perish: Expanding Undergraduate Success in STEM Part I Part II |
| Dr. Mica Estrada Social Psychologist, Assistant Professor | UCSF, Dept. of Social & Behavioral Sciences and The Institute of Health & Aging |
Why does BSP Work? The Gift It Forward Study & Lessons for Institutional Change |
2019
The final conference was hosted jointly by the UC System-wide Faculty Learning Community Project, The California Learning Lab, and The Biology Scholars Program.