Insights and Outcomes from a Revolution in a Chemical Engineering Department.

Despite decades of calls for both broadening participation in engineering and for STEM faculty to adopt evidence-based teaching practices, change is notoriously slow. In response to an NSF call for projects that could accomplish such efforts, our chemical engineering department proposed FACETS (Formation of Accomplished Chemical Engineers for Transforming Society) with a vision of supporting our diverse students to be prepared to address the grand challenges of the 21st century. Our longitudinal analysis suggests that our approach has fostered persistence, especially among first-generation Latinx students. Now, at the end of our project, we report on evidence of sustained change and offer insights and implications for others interested in making change. Specifically, we synthesize the following guidelines: (1) Planned change theory, like Kotter's change model, is an accessible place to start, but don't expect the change process to be linear. (2) Embed a community of practice in existing structures and norms, such as faculty meetings. Be creative in bringing discussions of teaching into such spaces. (3) Develop multidimensional measures of student assets, growth, and development. Staying only with measures of progress on conceptual learning misses much about students' development as chemical engineers. With regard to supporting students, we also share two key strategies: (4) When teaching technical communication, offer limited but specific feedback and require revision and reflection. (5) If developing design challenges, create low-bar entry experiences that are relevant, but that have high-ceilinged, open-ended solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]