.2024 Engineering PLUS Alliance Midwest Regional Hub Retreat
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#2024EngPLUSMWRH
We are well on our way to the 2024 Engineering PLUS Alliance Midwest Regional Hub Convening. Our team has been hard at work to bring you this community opportunity. We are excited to offer this opportunity for our community members, and perspective community members to join us as we come together as scholar practitioners to further our work advancing the Engineering PLUS Alliance’s mission, and our ability to further our experience as a community of peers and colleagues.
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WELCOME LETTER:
Dear Participants,
On behalf of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Eddie Bernice Johnson Includes Alliance Engineering PLUS (Partnership Launching Underrepresented Students) leadership team, I wish to extend a very warm welcome to you to the first Midwest Regional Hub Retreat.
Despite some significant investments, the number of engineering degrees awarded to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and women remains low. The overarching goal of the Alliance is to increase the number of undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees awarded to BIPOC and women to 100,000 and 30,000, respectively, by 2026.
The Midwest Regional Hub (MWRHub), led by Chicago State University (CSU), focuses on building partnerships among institutions in the Midwest who share the mission of the Alliance. The multi-year plan for the MWRHub includes efforts to address issues related to; 1) Retention and Enrichment, 2) Recruitment/Admissions and Readiness, and 3) Institutional Culture and Climate.
The theme of the 2024 Retreat is “Approaches to Improving Engineering Undergraduate Education.” To underscore this, we have sessions focusing on; 1) The Learning Assistant (LA) Model which is part of an International LA Alliance (LAA) to support students by engaging student LAs as partners in improving instructional environments, and 2) Uncoupling Mathematics and Engineering by developing a novel first-year engineering mathematics course, with the goal of increasing BIPOC and women retention, motivation and success in engineering.
With sincere gratitude, I acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation, Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES), award # 2119930. The contributions of the CSU staff, the EngPLUS Alliance backbone staff, the LAA, and speakers are greatly appreciated. I hope that you find this retreat to be both informative and enjoyable.
Sincerely,
Dr. Chris Botanga
Professor of Genetics & Genomics,
Chicago State University
Executive Director, Center for STEM Education & Research (CSER)
Project Director, Illinois LSAMP (https://www.csu.edu/ILSAMP/)
Retreat Agenda
WIFI CODE: DT2021
| Friday, Sept 6 (ALL FRIDAY EVENTS ARE IN THE MAJESTIC BALLROOM) |
| Time | Session Topic |
| 3:00 – 4:00PM (60 minutes) | Conference and Hotel Check-In |
| 4:00 – 4:30PM (30 minutes) | Welcome and Ice Breaker |
| 4:30 – 5:30PM (60 minutes) | Essential Elements of the LA Model
Description: This session introduces the three key experiences of LAs: interactions with students’ in and out of the classroom, weekly instructional team preparation meetings, and participation in a weekly pedagogy course. Participants will analyze videos of LAs working with students and consider effective use of LAs along with the preparation necessary to help support LAs in their roles. This session will highlight outcomes from LA programs at a diversity of institutions and will serve as an introduction to themes that run throughout the meeting. Facilitators: Liao, Langdon, Van Duzor, and Sabella |
| 5:30 – 6:00PM (30 minutes) |
Group Discussion, Question Generation, Curiousities, and Goal Setting Facilitators: Liao, Langdon, Van Duzor, and Sabella |
| 6:00 – 7:30PM (90 minutes) |
Dinner & Keynote Presentation
Uncorking the Mathematics Bottleneck to Student Success in Engineering: A Focus on Implementation Dr. Nathan Klingbeil, Wright State University |
| 7:30 – 8:30PM (15 minutes) |
LA – Faculty Panel
Description:Workshop participants will have opportunities to prepare and ask a panel of current and former LAs questions about their experiences. LAs represent a range of disciplines and levels of experience within the program. Kayla Branch; LA, Chicago State University Emily Erazo; LA, Northeastern Illinois University Xavier Lyons; LA, Chicago State University Kara Nuss; Faculty, Northeastern Illinois University Archie Peters; Faculty, Chicago State University Laszlo Toth; LA, Chicago State University Moderator: Gregory Curry; Chicago State University |
| 8:30 – 9:30PM (60 minutes) |
LAs in Engineering
Description: In this session we explore how LAs are utilized in Engineering courses. We consider opportunities, challenges, and support for faculty to work with LAs in various course and institutional contexts. We explore the different roles an LA might take on, as well as the different types of skills an LA would need to support students in introductory and advanced engineering coursework. Facilitator: Liao, Langdon, Van Duzor, and Sabella |
| 9:30PM | End of Day 1 Goodnight |
| Day 2: Saturday, September 7, 2024 |
| Time | Session Topic |
| 8:00 – 9:00AM (60 minutes) |
Conference Registration & Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 10:00AM (60 minutes) |
Working Breakfast & Collective Conversation: Moving to Action
Reflections and Implementation in Engineering Equity Facilitator: Tyler Clark & Joyce Wang; Sagefox Consulting Group; CIDER Engineering PLUS Alliance Description: This session will explore the impact of participant engagement with the MWRHub initiative on individual professionals, their institutions, and the broader landscape of engineering equity. Participants will reflect on key themes from previous sessions and brainstorm strategic, data-driven actions to advance equity in engineering education. Emphasis will be placed on developing clear, actionable ideas aligned with the retreat’s themes and session topics. Through collaboration and open discussion, participants will refine their ideas, addressing barriers to student success, opportunities for implementation, challenges, and necessary resources. The session will also tackle the challenge of navigating a changing political landscape while maintaining a unified vision for progress within the Hubs. The discussion will culminate in identifying actionable items for participants to bring back to their institutions, with a focus on driving meaningful change by 2025 as they continue advancing equity in engineering through coordinated efforts within their Hubs. Majestic Ballroom |
| 10:00 – Noon (120 minutes) |
Parallel Sessions
Locations: Please note the location of the parallel session you choose to attend. Simultaneous sessions will be occurring in two spaces:The Rosewood Room and the Redwood Room. Teams should anticipate separating to attend different sessions. |
| 10:00 – 10:50AM (50 minutes) |
Pedagogy and Practice
Facilitator: Langdon & Van Duzor Description: This session helps participants make the connections between the work of LAs in the pedagogy course and the practice of LAs facilitating effective group work in the course. We will begin with brief introductions of who we are and our experience with both pedagogy and practice in the context of LAs. Participants will reflect on what pedagogical skills and themes would be useful for LAs to develop, and we will provide multiple examples of how pedagogy courses are adaptable across institutional contexts. Participants will leave the session with knowledge of resources available to them and some ideas about how an LA pedagogy course could be structured at their own institution. Redwood Room Weekly Preparation and Practice Facilitator: Liao & Sabella Description: Weekly preparatory meetings help the instructional team reflect on the past week, prepare LAs for the upcoming week and build community. This session focuses on key elements of the weekly prep meeting, includes video examples, and provides a template to help participants think about and plan weekly prep sessions. Participants will consider the questions of who will attend the weekly prep session, what roles the attendees will take, what the essential goals and features are of the prep session, and how faculty can establish a positive community dynamic within their teaching team. Rosewood Room |
| 11:00 – 11:50AM (50 minutes) |
Pedagogy and Practice
Facilitator: Langdon & Van Duzor Description: This session helps participants make the connections between the work of LAs in the pedagogy course and the practice of LAs facilitating effective group work in the course. We will begin with brief introductions of who we are and our experience with both pedagogy and practice in the context of LAs. Participants will reflect on what pedagogical skills and themes would be useful for LAs to develop, and we will provide multiple examples of how pedagogy courses are adaptable across institutional contexts. Participants will leave the session with knowledge of resources available to them and some ideas about how an LA pedagogy course could be structured at their own institution. Rosewood Room Weekly Preparation and Practice Facilitator: Liao & Sabella Description: Weekly preparatory meetings help the instructional team reflect on the past week, prepare LAs for the upcoming week and build community. This session focuses on key elements of the weekly prep meeting, includes video examples, and provides a template to help participants think about and plan weekly prep sessions. Participants will consider the questions of who will attend the weekly prep session, what roles the attendees will take, what the essential goals and features are of the prep session, and how faculty can establish a positive community dynamic within their teaching team. Redwood Room |
| 12:00 – 1:00PM (60 minutes) |
Working Lunch Discussion Majestic Ballroom |
| 1:00 – 1:45PM (45 minutes) |
Starting and Growing an LA Program
Facilitator: Langdon & Van Duzor Description: Starting an LA program brings many challenges. In this session we will describe common concerns and issues people face with starting a program. We’ll classify these by themes, discuss strategies for addressing them, and work to separate the critical issues that must be addressed immediately from others that can be deferred for a later resolution. Group discussion will be used to seed a repository of resources and strategies that participants can access as they work to get their program underway. Rosewood Room Making the Case: Complexity vs. Simplicity Facilitator: Liao & Sabella Description: In this session, we will talk about making the case for an LA program to different campus groups, including students in transformed classes, students who could potentially be LAs, faculty who would adopt the LA model, and administrators. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and share strategies for appealing to different stakeholder groups on their own campuses. Redwood Room |
| 1:45 – 2:30PM (45 minutes) |
Planning Your Next Steps & Action Items
Facilitator: Liao, Langdon, Van Duzor, and Sabella Majestic Ballroom |
| 2:30 – 2:45PM (15 minutes) |
Evaluation Survey
Facilitator: Tyler Clark & Joyce Wang; Sagefox Consulting Group; CIDER Engineering PLUS Alliance Majestic Ballroom |
| 2:45PM | End of Retreat Safe Travels |