Inventions and Impact 2: Building Excellence in Undergraduate ...

Introduction
Overview of the National Science Foundation
(NSF) Course, Curriculum and Laboratory
Improvement (CCLI) Conference
The overall outcome of the NSF CCLI Conference is to provide
awardees with an opportunity to identify collaborators,
strategies, and actions that they and others can use to
strengthen the design, development, and implementation of
promising project approaches to transform science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for the
diverse undergraduate student population. The conference
includes plenary and poster sessions, discussion groups, and
an opportunity to network with other faculty and educational
leaders engaged in improving undergraduate STEM education.
The NSF CCLI Program, which is a program of the Division of
Undergraduate Education (DUE), seeks to improve the quality
of STEM education for all undergraduate students, including
majors and non-majors. The program supports efforts to create
new learning materials and teaching strategies, develop faculty
expertise, implement educational innovations, assess learning
and evaluate innovations, and conduct research on STEM teaching
and learning. The program supports three types of projects
representing three different phases of development, ranging from
small, exploratory investigations to large, comprehensive projects.
The CCLI Program includes all STEM fields.
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The conference features nearly 400 poster presentations and
65 workshops organized by CCLI project leaders. The poster
presentations are grouped by STEM disciplines. The workshops
are grouped into six categories:
1. Dissemination and Project Management
2. Material Development
3. Pedagogy
4. Personnel Development
5. Research and Assessment
6. Technology Based Education
Also, included in the conference are posters and presentations
by leaders of the NSF DUE National Science Digital Library
(NSDL) Program. NSDL is the nation’s online library for STEM
education and research.
The plenary speaker is Robert J. Full, Professor, Department
of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley.
His research interest includes comparative biomechanics,
physiology, and functional morphology.
The conference was organized by staff and consultants of
the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate
Education and American Association for the Advancement of
Science Education and Human Resources Programs.
Program Book 2008 Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI)