Special Project: North Central Regional Shaping the Future Workshop Project Summary The colleges of Education and Natural Science at Michigan State University, with cooperation from the Michigan Department of Education will host a workshop for mathematics, science, and science education faculty and administrators from campuses in the North central region on June 24, 1998 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center of Michigan State University. This workshop is a follow-up to the highly successful national conference held last year at Michigan State University during May 8-10: Revitalizing Undergraduate Science and Mathematics Education: A National Dialog. This event was attended by 400 faculty and administrators from around the nation. The June workshop will address specific issues raised by the conferees, namely, how the various recommendations of Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineerin& and Technology (NSF96-139) that are particularly important to institutions of higher education in the North central region of the U.S. can be implemented. Referencing this report, the principal foci of the workshop will be: V. Role of college ~ university administrators in shaping the future VI. Role of SMELT departments in promoting faculty development VII. Role of SME&T faculty in facilitating and employing curricular improvements and pedagogical enhancements to SME&T courses. Teams of 3 to 5 faculty and administrators from each participating institution will attend this workshop. The plan is to invite teams from a mix of 60 two- and four-year institutions. Particular attention will be given to the issues of reaching all students found in three major groups (majors, students planning teaching careers, and non majors). One ofthe themes of the workshop will be developing partnerships between two- and four-yea institutions and ensuring the foundation courses taken in two-year colleges will properly prepare students for furthe r work in four-year institutions. This work will be guided by an external advisory committee of experts.
