The Annual Forum as Linchpinfor Integrated STEM Community

Tom LoughranDepartment of Physics

University of Notre Dame

Start with different “circles”

Add people; stir vigorously

Elements of STEM Community

Research

Education

Elements of STEM Community

Research

Education

Segregated elements of STEM Community

K-12

Integrating STEM Community

Research

Education

NDQC

NDeRC

RE(HS,U,T)

Integrated STEM Community

Research

Education

Commerce

Programs that integrate STEM Community

Education

ESTEEM enFocus MSTCi

Innovation &Ignition Parks

PLTW Internships

WFD

NDQC

NDeRC

RE(HS,U,T)

CommerceResearch

A Vibrant STEM Community

Education

PLTW Internships

WFD

NDQC

NDeRC

RE(HS,U,T)

Innovation &Ignition Parks

ESTEEM enFocus MSTCi

Research Commerce

How do we connect the people we’d like to be together?

Secret sauce: Invite them to a party

Education: the craft of issuing effective invitations into community…

A Forum is a great place to invite people

(Strategic) Party Games at the Forum

• FOOD• a pinch of Vision • invitations to new initiatives• cool reports from recent ones• changemaker appearances• attractive, timely topics• FOOD• collaboration bazaar• handouts (collaboration catalogue)• handins (f2f and check-box sign-in sheets w/ followup)• plenary discussions• DATA collection

A Few Images

Rinse and repeat

• 7 consecutive years• a steady stream of new and familiar faces• common genres: collaboration catalogues,

bazaar, plenary discussions• a consistent set of assessment questions• an emerging database of participant activity

The data: teachers come back

Everybody who does anything with us comes to a Forum

Some 25 schools had teachers at 10 or more events (over 6 years)

200+ teachers came back at least one more time

In our hayday (2010), we collaborated with a lot of schools and teachers

The forum keeps drawing beyond the grant funding cycle (2013 data)

Over time, we’re building a good ember bed of collaborators

We need some really GOOD network maps (sociograms)

SBCSC