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Annual Report 24-25

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Profile: Catalyst Center

The Catalyst Center supports faculty doing research in the teaching and learning of math and science. Because faculty researchers in this area are often sprinkled across many departments, the Center provides a central place for faculty to network and share expertise and experiences, while also supporting cross-disciplinary research in math and science education research.

This page provides an overview of key activities, programs, and outcomes from the 2024–25 academic year.

 

Visit Catalyst Center

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Top Outcomes for 2024-2025 

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  • 28
  • faculty members across 3 colleges (NSM, CoE, CBE)
  • 8
  • NSM faculty in the STEP faculty development community
  • 1
  • week-long STEP kickoff workshop (summer 2025)
  •  
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"I am proud of Catalyst’s long-standing dedication to advancing the teaching and learning of math and science. Dr. Passante, as Center director, also fosters a faculty learning community that champions inclusive classroom practices, helping to shape a brighter, more equitable future for our students and educators alike."

-Marie Johnson, PhD
Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

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“The Catalyst Center has supported faculty who are not only innovating on their instructional practices in math and science, but who are doing so in a way that centers students, their experiences, and their voices. We emphasize the use data to iterate and improve teaching, and support faculty research in STEM education.”

Gina Passante, PhD

Director, Catalyst Center

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Key Highlights

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NSF Funding

National Science Foundation funding has been the cornerstone of the Catalyst Center’s work this year. The grant supports faculty research (primarily that of Dr. Stone-Johnstone and Dr. Tierney) while also supporting a faculty professional development community for NSM faculty to improve teaching in ways supported by research. (PIs: Gina Passante, Amelia Stone-Johnstone, and Gavin Tierney.)

 

STEP

The kickoff of the STEP faculty professional development community took place in summer 2025 with a week-long workshop where faculty learned ways to innovate their instruction in ways that are student centered, equity minded, and pedagogically engaging.

Syllabus Group

Faculty working group to support individual faculty’s syllabus development after working through the EMP2 modules. Faculty met twice to support each other, provide feedback on syllabus drafts, and discuss issues that are specific to STEM courses.

Faculty Community

Creating a community of faculty who have similar research interests and a desire to improve STEM education at all levels is a main goal of the Catalyst Center. In 2024–25, the Center included 28 faculty members across three colleges (NSM, CoE, CBE), with an additional 9 faculty who elected to receive emails about Center activities, and 8 NSM faculty participated in the STEP faculty development community.

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