College of Arts and Sciences
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August 6, 2018
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes teach students important life skills beyond the content of the curriculum, according to Stephanie Salomone, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of mathematics and director of the STEM education and outreach center at University of Portland. Salomone believes that every student deserves to have authentic, real world STEM experiences because STEM classes teach them to problem-solve and to think critically. She dislikes the idea of training students to become a workforce. For Salomone, a successful STEM education trains students to have confidence in their abilities and to discover their passions, regardless of their career choice.
Salomone has always been passionate about mathematics. But she recounts that, “every single math class I’ve ever taken, I have been lectured to. I’ve never had a collaborative, student-centered math class.” In 2016, Salomone attended a conference on evidence-based instructional practices along with fellow UP faculty members Valerie Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, Carolyn James, Ph.D., mathematics instructor, and Heather Dillon, Ph.D., associate professor of engineering. Following the conference, this group expanded their team, inviting Tara Prestholdt, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, and Eric Anctil, Ph.D., associate professor of education to join them in pursuing a grant aimed at improving undergraduate STEM education at UP by increasing student-centered, evidence-based learning.
The resulting $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded a three-year project: Redesigning Education for Learning through Evidence and Collaborative Teaching (REFLECT). The REFLECT project exposes STEM faculty to innovative, active-learning instruction methods which have been proven to be more effective for student success than traditional lecture-based teaching methods. As a part of the REFLECT project, a cohort of STEM faculty will participate in peer observation and assessment as they implement student-centered, active learning methods in their classrooms. Salomone says that she understands that asking faculty members to change their teaching methods is “a big ask,” but she hopes that, through participation in the REFLECT program, and aided with formative assessment from their peers, they will feel incentivized to implement these changes.
Salomone began her journey toward improving STEM teaching methods in 2012 when she received a Robert Noyce grant through the NSF. This grant provides scholarships for students who commit to teaching STEM classes in high-needs schools. The following year was a turning point for her as she and her husband navigated a series of health crises for their two sons, all while welcoming another new baby boy into the family. Salomone felt that it was because of the support she had at work and home that she was able to continue to thrive during this stressful time and says she felt herself drawn to a “higher calling.” She realized that her background in mathematics and her interest in improving K-12 education gave her a unique skillset. This inspired her to step beyond mathematics as a discipline and move towards becoming a resource for schools and teachers in the community, declaring, “it was sort of a shock to start thinking about my job as a vocation.”
The REFLECT team’s makeup is an example of the diversity and inclusion for which the University is striving. Salomone proudly declares that five of the STEM faculty on the team are females, four of them tenured, and one a department chair, which she says is “unusual.” And she believes that the REFLECT project itself is an example of the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. According to Salomone, a student-centered classroom will be a more inclusive classroom, stating, “we’re asking people to participate and we’re giving them space. Regardless of discipline, regardless of level in school, everyone needs to feel heard and to know how valuable their ideas are. I think inviting students to engage in their own education is a way to do that.”
Salomone strives to honor the gifts that everyone brings into the classroom and to then leverage them for the good of the whole. “Everyone has something to contribute,” she says. “And now we’re asking people to reflect on what they’re good at.” She elaborates that a student may not feel that they are gifted at mathematics, but perhaps they are an excellent communicator, which she believes is equally important to the success of the classroom. She wants students to discover their “why” and to ask, “ ‘Why are these things true? Why are we learning this? How is this relevant?’ If we can teach students to be thinkers and to give them confidence, I think we’ve done so much for humanity!”
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