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