Building Bridges: Science Education Reform at Bryn Mawr College is an institutionwide effort at science teaching reform in a liberal arts setting. It addresses the national need to provide consistently effective models for science and mathematics teaching at a time when students come with increasingly varying pre-college preparation. The program builds upon a wide array of efforts previously undertaken at Bryn Mawr, with the support of various private and federal funding sources, and is informed by national efforts in undergraduate science education reform. Building Bridges seeks: to improve the teaching of math and science through efforts that bring together scientists, humanists and social scientists; to infuse the inquiry-based and cooperative pedagogical methods of the teacher education program into math/science teaching; and to encourage greater interaction among college faculty members, precollege teachers, and students. Specific activities will include: workshops for faculty members teaching in a new cross-disciplinary College Seminar program, required of all undergraduates; a discussion series on science pedagogy for faculty members, graduate students, and precollege teachers; support for the development of courses incorporating new pedagogical approaches, the revision of introductory science courses, and the development of courses bridging math/science and teacher education; and a peer tutoring program for math and science students. The results of Building Bridges will be evaluated both quantitatively, in terms of the extent of faculty participation in the project, and qualitatively, through an existing student course evaluation program and an assessment of the impact on faculty/student attitudes toward and sense of competence in science. The work undertaken through Building Bridges will be institutionalized at the end of the three-year grant period, and its results disseminated through Serendip, a College Web site, and through presentations at national science and science education meetings.
