About Us

The CIRTL (Center for Integrated Research Teaching and Learning) mission is to enhance excellence in undergraduate education through the development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse learners as part of successful and varied professional careers.

To prepare the future STEM faculty, CIRTL must influence graduate-through-faculty preparation in teaching and learning at a significant number of research universities. We plan to achieve this goal through CIRTL's core ideas--that is, through a learning community of diverse research universities mutually engaged in the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance STEM learning.

• Learning-through-Diversity capitalizes on the rich array of experiences, backgrounds, and skills among STEM undergraduates and graduates-through-faculty to enhance the learning of all. It recognizes that excellence and diversity are necessarily intertwined.

• Teaching-as-Research is the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of both students and teachers.

• Learning Communities bring together groups of people for shared learning, discovery, and generation of knowledge. To achieve common learning goals, a learning community nurtures functional relationships among its members.

“An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching” has been developed mainly by faculty, staff, and students at Vanderbilt University, Michigan State University, Boston University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California Berkeley, and the University of Colorado-Boulder. However, course content, developmental input and intellectual input was also provided by several additional institutions within and outside the CIRTL network. Videos were hosted by Dr. Derek Bruff from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Trina McMahon from the University of Wisconsin Madison, Dr. Michele DiPietro from Kennesaw State University, Dr. Stephanie Chasteen from University of Colorado Boulder, Dr. Angela Little from the University of California Berkley, Dr. Katheryn Spilios and Dr. Bennett Goldberg from Boston University, as well as Trey Mack from Vanderbilt University and Dr. Alice Pawley from Purdue University.

List of Faculty, Staff and Students Appearing in MOOC 1

(In Order of Appearance)

• Dr. Derek Bruff, Mathematics Professor from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Trina McMahon, engineering and bacteriology Professor from the University of Wisconsin

• Dr. Shane, Hudson Physics Professor from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Michele DiPietro, from Kennesaw State University

• David Caudel, Physics Graduate Student from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Kathy Friedman, Genetics Professor from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Jennifer Osterhage, Genetics Professor from the University of Kentucky

• Dr. Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, Biomedical Engineering Professor from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Margaret Rubega, Professor of Ornithology from the University of Connecticut

• Dr. Andrew West, Professor of Astronomy from Boston University

• Dr. Mark Connolly, Associate Scientist of Education Research from the University of Wisconsin Madison

• Dr. Stephanie Chasteen, Multimedia Director, PHET Interactive Simulations and Assistant Director, Science Education Initiative from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Kathy Perkins, Director of Science Education Initiative and the PHET Project from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Steven Pollock, Physics Professor from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Ben Kirshner, Professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Sarah Wise, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Jenny Knight, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Victoria Hand, Professor of Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Chelsea Cook, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Xavier Alegre, Civil Engineering Graduate Student from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Trevor DiMartino, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Sarah Black, Geology Graduate Student from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. William Penuel, Professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Sarah Seiter, Science Teaching Fellow, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Jean Hertzberg, Professor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Angela Little, Visiting Scholar of Interdisciplinary STEM Education from the University of California Berkeley

• Dr. Mel Sabella, Professor of Physics from Chicago State University

• Dr. David Webb, Professor of Mathematics, Executive Director of Freudenthal Institute US from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Daniel Reinholz, Research Associate, Center for STEM Learning University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Colleen Lewis, Professor or Computer Science from Harvey Mudd College

• Helen Salama, Undergraduate Environmental and Engineering Technology Major from Texas State University, San Marcos

• Jenna Pinkham, Undergraduate Physics Major from the University of California Berkeley

• Dr. Joel Corbo, Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of Colorado Boulder

• Dr. Kathryn Spilios, Director of Instructional Labs and Lecturer in the Department of Biology from Boston University

• Dr. Bennett Goldberg, Director of STEM Education Initiatives and Physics Professor from Boston University

• Dr. Henry (Rique) Campa III, Professor of Wildlife Ecology from Michigan State University

• Dr. Mark Ryan, Professor of Wildlife Conservation from the University of Missouri, Columbia

• Dr. Cynthia Brame, Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching and Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences from Vanderbilt University

• Benjamin Steren, Undergraduate Astronomy Student from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Erika Grundstorm, Astronomy Lab Director from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Eric Mazur, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics from Harvard University

• Dr. Peter Newbury, Associate Director of Center for Teaching Development from the University of California, San Diego

• Dr. Marco Molinaro, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Innovation and Analytics as well as the Director of IAMSTEM Education Hub from University of California, Davis

• Dr. Nicholas Gross, Lecturer in the Department of Physics and School of Education from Boston University

• Dr. Paul Lipton, Research associate Professor and Director, Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience from Boston University

• Katie Epstein, Undergraduate Student in Principles of Biology 2 from Boston University

• Jennifer Gilbert, Undergraduate Student in Principles of Biology 2 from Boston University

• Jessica Mah, Undergraduate Student in Principles of Biology 2 from Boston University

• Trey Mack, Astronomy Graduate Student from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. Alice Pawley, Professor of Engineering Education from Purdue University

• Dr. Kelly Holley Bockelmann, Professor of Physics and Astronomy from Vanderbilt University

• Dr. William Robinson, Professor of Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University

• Abraham Padilla, Geology Graduate Student from Vanderbilt University

• Leolene Jean, Biological Sciences Graduate Student from Vanderbilt University