The CU Science Education Initiative was
a university-supported, 10-year, $5M project to improve how we teach science to all undergraduate students. The SEI centered on department-based Discipline-Based Education Specialists (DBESs); disciplinary experts with training in the science of teaching and learning who serve as catalysts of change within departments. The initiative completed in 2013.
The Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI) has dramatically improved undergraduate science education through its participating UBC Science faculty members adopting evidence-based, interactive teaching methods. Over 200 course projects were undertaken, leading to substantial improvements in over 100 courses, reaching over 16,000 UBC undergraduates each year (about three-quarters of student enrolment in the Faculty of Science). A key aspect of the model for change was the embedding of Science Teaching and Learning Fellows in departments to support a four-step, scientific approach to teaching:
Establish what students should learn
Scientifically measure what students are actually learning
Adapt instructional methods and curriculum and incorporate effective use of technology and pedagogical research to achieve desired learning outcomes
Disseminate and adopt what works
As an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was created in 2002 to be a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education.
IES is the nation's premier source for research, evaluation and statistics that can help educators, policymakers and stakeholders improve outcomes for all students.
EdInstruments is a developing library of educational measurement tools intended to be a resource for scholars, educators, schools, districts and the general public.