CIRTL Network Featured in Report Proposing Broad Changes to Undergraduate STEM Education

January 20, 2015

According to a report recently released by the Coalition for Reform of Undergraduate STEM Education, the CIRTL Network is one of four national programs that could drastically increase the number of college students who graduate with a degree in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The report comes from a two-day workshop hosted by the Coalition and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in June 2013, according to a news release on the AAAS website. It notes that recent data show that less than 40 percent of students who enter college with the intention of majoring in a STEM discipline complete a STEM degree, and cites data showing that two major factors influencing the high attrition rate are “uninspiring” introductory courses and an unwelcoming atmosphere from faculty.

The full report emphasizes the United States’ economic need for immediate corrective action to reverse the trend of declining interest in STEM fields. By 2020, the U.S. economy is expected to increase its demand for STEM workers by 26 percent, which along with a predicted mass retirement of baby boomers, is leading to a situation where too few students are both sufficiently proficient and interest in STEM to meet U.S. workforce demands.

The report mentions CIRTL as an organization capable of leading a push for broad institutional changes in undergraduate STEM education. CIRTL is working to address the core issues facing STEM education by training future STEM faculty to create inclusive classrooms and to incorporate evidence-based active learning practices in their teaching, according to the report.

Shirley Malcom, head of Education and Human Resources programs at AAAS, notes that “evidence is growing every day on how active engagement by faculty in the teaching and learning process makes a difference to student success in the classroom, especially for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.”