Faculty with College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs have enjoyed an active spring semester, joining and leading conversations about education around the state.
In early April Assistant Professor of Biology, Steve Lysne, was hosted by Boise State University to deliver a seminar titled “Alternative Instructional Practices Increase Student Engagement and Success”. Lysne met with the Department of Biological Sciences Curriculum Committee to share ideas for engaging students and discuss curricular alignment. He also met with Boise State’s Faculty Advocate for Science Transformations team and the Director of Boise State’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Lysne was a 2007 CTL Fellow. All of the groups Lysne met with at Boise State expressed interest in the progress CWI’s Life Sciences Department is making toward becoming even stronger in science instruction.
In March Lysne and three other CWI faculty—Nicole Frank, Brian McClain, and Kristin Cook—had an opportunity to present on the topic STEM education at the 57th-annual Meeting and Symposium of the Idaho Academy of Science and Engineering. CWI’s four faculty presenters was the most by any other institution in the state on this topic. CWI’s presence at the symposium is a great representation of the niche the College’s science faculty is establishing in the larger educational landscape of Idaho and the region.