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STEM TLC

About the STEM Teaching & Learning Community

The STEM Teaching and Learning Community (STEM TLC) is a professional development community for UCSC faculty teaching STEM courses, especially the large-enrollment STEM courses that are important gateways for students along their intended STEM majors. Originally developed as part of the HSI Initiatives’ SEMILLA grant, STEM TLC lives on as a space for instructors to think together about pedagogical practices that promote STEM equity.

In recognition of both the performance disparities in these STEM courses and the opportunity to increase equity and inclusion in STEM, members of STEM TLC discuss common challenges and solicit shared solutions. The group meets four times per quarter to share teaching practices, hear from colleagues inside and outside of UCSC, and read current research in teaching and learning.

This year, the meeting schedule will alternate between Wednesdays and Tuesdays, in hopes of accommodating the different teaching schedules faculty may have. While the dates may be subject to change, for Winter quarter, we plan to meet from 12 to 1 PM on:

  • Wednesday, Jan 22 — Guest speaker: Leo Porter (Computer Science & Engineering, UC San Diego). Read more about Prof. Porter’s CS research. (Zoom)
  • Tuesday, Feb 4 — Large-lecture courses in the era of fewer TAs: How can a functional teaching team framework be used to address STEM students’ agency in learning calculus? (In person)
  • Wednesday, Feb 19 — Open Educational Resources with UCSC OER Librarian Sarah Hare (in person)
  • Tuesday, Mar 4 — Guest speaker Deborah Nelson + faculty guest (UC Riverside) on campus experiences with student surveys to measure sense of belonging in the classroom: Student Experience Project/Ascend — survey + analyzed data on classroom climate (Zoom)

For Spring quarter, we plan to meet from 12 to 1 PM on:

  • Wednesday, Apr 16 | Tuesday, Apr 29 | Wednesday, May 14 | Tuesday, May 27
  • [Topics forthcoming]

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