Unraveling Collective Change in STEM Education Reform: The Importance of Collaborative Dynamics

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Transforming STEM Systems Toward Equity

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of large, well-funded multi-institutional and multi-sector collaborative reform initiatives designed to improve the quality, production, and diversity of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, little empirical research exists that tests the implicit assumptions about collective change in higher education. This qualitative study seeks to advance knowledge about collaborative dynamics in a large-scale, higher education collective reform initiative centered on STEM education and broadening participation. Findings demonstrate the importance of better understanding how collaborative reform works amidst the complicated tapestry of organizational identities, priorities, and operations; constrained resources; and mixed modalities of leadership styles and structures.

Authors

• Lucas B. Hill, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Diane Codding, Northwestern University