SIMPLE Design Framework for Teaching Development Across STEM

The purpose of the NSF-funded SIMPLE Project is to develop faculty communities of practice that promote evidence-based interactive teaching across STEM. Over the past three years, teaching development groups have been formed in eight STEM departments at Mason. Participants in these teaching development groups have been trying new interactive teaching strategies in their classrooms and documenting the process in the form of a design memo. In the context of the SIMPLE Project, design memos pursue two goals: prompting instructors to engage in reflection about their teaching, and serving as sharable artifacts for other instructors interested in adopting similar strategies. This poster presents the six principles that guide SIMPLE teaching development groups and describes different ways these principles have been enacted across the groups at Mason. More information about the SIMPLE project can be found on the project website: simple.onmason.com.  Â

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