A presentation featuring Scott Freeman (University of Washington) and Pamela Pape-Lindstrom (Harford Community College)
Friday, October 9 at 2:00 PM EST
Overview
Learn how high-structure courses foster student achievement and narrow performance gaps for less prepared students. We will review key research and offer practical implementation strategies using your most common course challenges as our guide.
Key Topics
Defining High-Structure Course Design: Explore the core principles of highly structured courses and review data on their impact on student achievement in community colleges
Balancing Time and Preparation: Examine whether community college students have adequate time for pre-class preparation and discuss ways to support them
Expanding Student Support: Identify additional evidence based strategies to help students overcome barriers and thrive in STEM
Collaborative Problem-Solving: Address attendees’ specific classroom challenges and develop practical, actionable solutions together
Optional Reading
Reading the featured publication will provide helpful baseline knowledge, but it is completely optional—all are welcome to attend!
“Community College Students Rise to the Challenge—Meeting the Time Demands of Highly Structured Courses" by Scott Freeman, Pamela Pape-Lindstrom, Anne Casper and Sarah Eddy, Journal of College Science Teaching, Vol. 49, No. 5, May/June 2020
If you are unable to access the article, please indicate this on your registration form to receive a copy.
Dr. Scott Freeman is Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Washington. The recipient of a UW Distinguished Teaching Award, he has published research on how innovative approaches to teaching science benefit all students, but particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is the author of the textbooks Biological Science and Evolutionary Analysis, which have sold over 500,000 copies and been translated into multiple languages, and the popular book Saving Tarboo Creek, which is for general audiences.
Dr. Pamela Pape-Lindstrom earned a PhD in biology from the Univ. of South Carolina studying marine ecology with a combination of traditional field research and immunochemical techniques. She taught majors biology at Everett Community College integrating course undergraduate research experiences from 2000-2017. In 2012 she became a founding Fellow of the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education working on organizational change initiatives in STEM education. In 2017, she became the Dean of STEM at Harford Community College in Bel Air, MD. Dr. Pape-Lindstrom has had past NSF support for research in biology education and organizational change in life sciences education. Presently she is a co-PI on an ATE grant to improve access to biotechnology certificate and degree programs for under-represented students at HCC.