Project Grant 2247901

Chico State Enterprises was awarded a $199,997 National Science Foundation STEM Education Project Grant to implement a faculty learning community program at two Hispanic-serving institutions. The goal is to train STEM faculty in Universal Design for Learning principles to improve student outcomes in introductory science and math courses. Faculty will participate in learning communities to design course activities using these principles from 2023-2026. Student academic performance, interest in STEM fields, and sense of belonging will be measured before, during and after to determine how the Universal Design for Learning approach impacts student success. Differences across demographic groups will also be analyzed to assess the efficacy and equity of this model. It is expected that integrating Universal Design for Learning will benefit most students academically while making courses more equitable and increasing affective gains for underrepresented minority students. Findings from this pilot project could inform broader adoption of the faculty learning community model to train faculty in culturally responsive pedagogies and support diversity in STEM.