I have spent much of the last 12 years teaching various topics in statistics, research methods and measurement to undergraduate and graduate students at St. Thomas and elsewhere. My students typically have been hard working and eager to learn. They came to class and took notes. They learned the steps of important processes. Their nodding heads indicated that they understood the material as it was being presented to them. And yet, these bright and capable students often had difficulty applying course material in novel or ambiguous but true-to-life contexts. Despite the clarity of my explanations or the number of times I demonstrated how to apply concepts and processes, students often didn’t know what to do with what they knew.

I came to understand that remembering and understanding are necessary, but not sufficient, for the kind of “knowing” that allows one to think critically and solve complex problems. This realization seemed particularly problematic, as it is precisely this type of“knowing” our students need now, in our increasingly technical and competitive world.

While this need for knowing exists in all disciplines, it may be especially urgent for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In 1996, the Advisory Committee to the National Science Foundation, responding to a call to improveundergraduate STEM education, published “Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology.” One of its recommendations called for faculty teaching undergraduate STEM courses to “build inquiry, a sense of wonder and the excitement of discovery, plus communication and teamwork, critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills into learning experiences.”

At St. Thomas, STEM faculty members have taken to heart the call to actively engage students through critical thinking and collaborative problem solving.

In spring 2010, Kris Wammer, associate professor of chemistry, organized a two-day workshop on the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) in entry-level STEM courses. PLTL involves groups of six to 12 students who take the same course (e.g., Chemistry111) and work with trained peer-facilitators to address problems that facilitate conceptual understanding of course material and the development of problem-solving skills. The workshop was well attended by biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer and information sciences, geology, physics and engineering faculty. At its conclusion, faculty decided to initiate a PLTL program for students taking introductory STEM coursesat St. Thomas.

After an intense summer of planning, the PLTL program was ready to launch: A program structure consisting of a coordinator, four departmental liaisons and 16 to 20student peer-facilitators was agreed upon; shortterm funding to support a program coordinator and pay peer-facilitators for the 2010-2011 academic year was secured from the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Biology Department; discipline-specific peer-facilitators were recruited and trained; concept-focused, problem-based activities were developed by departmental liaisons for use by peer-facilitators in small-group sessions; formal PLTL program evaluation procedures were devised; and a name for the PLTL program was created: the STEM Learning Community (LC) Program.

In fall 2010, STEM LCs emphasizing collaboration, active learning, problem solving and critical thinking were introduced. Each semester since then, STEM LCs have been offered to about 300 chemistry students, 200 biology students, 130 calculus students and 90 statistics students, most of whom are first-year college students at St. Thomas. Between 180 and 240 students participate in the STEM LCs each semester.

Research on the use of collaborative learning strategies in undergraduate STEM education suggests that they are a highly effective strategy for promoting the kind of “knowing” that is expected of STEM professionals. Evaluation of the STEM LC programat St. Thomas indicates that benefits for participants and peer-facilitators are many: learning effective study skills; acquiring depth of understanding; gaining skills in collaboration; and developing confidence in problem-solving abilities. As one STEM LCparticipant noted, “I learned different ways of approaching a problem, and if I didn’t understand something, the group was able to help.” Another participant stated, “I study more efficiently and more often” as a result of this experience.

Mithra Marcus, clinical professor of chemistry, is excited by the impact of the STEM LC program on her students. She noted, “This program has helped my students think critically about course material rather than just focus on memorizing facts.” Such an emphasis has translated into improved learning outcomes for participants. Significantly higher exam scores have been achieved by LC participants in all of the courses in which LCs are offered. In the case of chemistry, STEM LC participants scored more than five points higher, on average, than their peers on a standardized, nationally normed chemistry examination.

Through my own involvement with the STEM LC program, I am reminded that my job is not to simply tell students what is important to know. If I truly want my students to beactive learners, critical thinkers and effective problem solvers, I must find ways for them to connect with one another and with the material in deep and meaningful ways. The STEM LC program appears to offer an effective strategy for doing just that.

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“I mainly have been studying clouds and how they’re organized on different time and length scales,” Stechmann said. “I’m trying to understand the various aspects of weather and climate that aren’t understood now. I want to improve the models that are used to predict weather and climate.”

Weather forecasters use certain equations to see what the atmosphere will look like in the future. Stechmann wants to create the correct equations and different strategies for solving them on a computer.

“It all goes back to an independent study I did at St. Thomas,” he said. His senior year, Stechmann took an independent-study course, Fluid Dynamics and Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics, taught by Doug Dokken, Kurt Scholz and Mikhail Shvartsman.

“I started off at St. Thomas as a pre-med student but then I got to know some of the older students majoring in math and I just really liked it. I enjoyed the challenge,” Stechmann said. “I really liked doing physics, math and chemistry [his three majors at St. Thomas] so when I went to grad school I chose weather and climate classes because it employed all three.” Stechmann earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, last May.

He received two fellowships for his postdoctoral research at UCLA: A mathematical sciences fellowship from the National Science Foundation and a climate and global change fellowship from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association.

In a few years when he’s done with his postdoctoral research,he hopes to teach and do research as a tenure-track professor.

“I’d like to come back to Minnesota, but you usually can’t be so picky,” said Stechmann, a Red Wing native.

Colleen Duffy ’03 – Assistant Professor At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Colleen Duffy knows that students enter her classroom with different levels of appreciation for math.

“There are students who dislike math and when they are done with class, they dislike math less,” she said. “A lot of students come in thinking math is interesting. I can share with them the cool parts of math and it’s great to see the light come on when they finally understand something. Math majors are really excited about math, and I help them explore it further.”

This is the profession Duffy envisioned many years ago. In high school, she helped her friends with their math homework, competed on the math team and completed math independent-study classes. So it was natural for her to major in mathematics at St. Thomas. She also majored in Spanish and minored in physics.

“I was friends with everyone on the faculty. They helped me get into graduate school and helped me succeed,” Duffy said.

“Cheri Shakiban was my adviser so I did a lot of research projects with her that greatly helped me in my Ph.D. program. I did applied research projects such as studying the stability of structures.” One project was inspired by the study of the historic collapse of the Tacoma Bridge in Washington. The suspension bridge collapsed in 1940 due to wind-induced vibration.

“We looked at a variety of structures to determine under what forces the structures would collapse. I set up a system of equations to see what happens if you change the number a little bit – is it still stable or will it collapse?”

Her independent study in abstract algebra with Melissa Shepard Loe helped her decide to concentrate in algebra in graduate study. Duffy earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, last May.

Duffy teaches three classes a semester at UW-Eau Claire. Her research focuses on noncommutative algebra.

Tom Dahl ’01 - Actuary It’s risky business, but that’s what an actuary loves. Tom Dahl deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. He is an actuary at Federated Mutual Insurance Co.’s home office in Owatonna.

Federated specializes in business insurance; Dahl is one of four employees who works in the actuarial health insurance division.

One of his responsibilities is pricing. As most Americans are aware, health insurance costs continue to rise. Dahl explained,“Pricing is based on what it cost last year. We look at trends and we project how much it will cost the next year. We set our premiums so we’ll be able to make a small profit or at least break even.”

Dahl enjoys his work at Federated. “I get to see all phases of the health insurance process and I have a lot of autonomy in my work. I have friendly co-workers,” he added.

When he started his freshman year at St. Thomas, he knew that he would major in actuarial science. Later he tacked on a major in math.

“I always liked math,” Dahl said. His cousin worked for State Farm Insurance and suggested Dahl might like actuarial work, so in high school he participated in a mentorship program with St. Thomas alumnus Joe Paul ’88, an actuary.

His adviser at St. Thomas, Heekyung Youn, who taught several of his classes, helped him find an internship. For two years he interned at Mercer Consulting and worked with state Medicaid programs. He was hired at Mercer in Minneapolis after graduation and worked there until 2004.

“Then I decided that I didn’t want to live in the Twin Cities anymore. I needed a break so I moved to Owatonna for the Federated job. It’s a more relaxed pace of life – no rush hour! It takes me four minutes to drive to work ,” said Dahl, a Moorhead native.

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