Photo courtesy of Joyce Gawlik
Collegium’s board has made it a strategic priority to develop useful resources to encourage and support the professional development and vocational discernment of STEM faculty on our campuses, and to ensure that conversations about mission reflect the work and interests of these disciplines. A group of four Collegium alums from several STEM disciplines -- Rob Bellin (Holy Cross), David Crowley (Assumption), Heather Dillon (U of Washington), and Shannon Mayer (U of Portland) -- has been charged with leading this work.
"Team STEM" as we enthusiastically call ourselves, held two listening sessions in late spring/early summer 2020 with dozens of Collegium STEM alumni. The two key themes that arose were a desire to form a supportive and encouraging network of STEM faculty, and a desire for accessible and practical resources that would provide examples of how STEM faculty address mission-related topics in their teaching, service and/or scholarship. In response, we are excited to share our STEM Mission VLOG series! We strongly encourage Collegium alums and their colleagues to submit more STEM Mission VLOG entries - anyone interested can complete this short form to get started!
Care for Our Common Home: Environmental Justice for Upper Division Students
The Mission of a Catholic institution calls it to be attentive to environmental injustice as well as social and economic injustices. Indeed, the issues are deeply entwined. The Biblical command to be...
Cultivating Wonder in Biology
In her poem Sometimes , Mary Oliver gives startling simple yet profound instructions for a life well lived: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. I share this excerpt with my introductory...
An Invitation to Wonder
How do we provide educational experiences in the sciences that help students think about themselves as global citizens? How do we support students in their personal and spiritual formation? These...
Kindness in Calculus
This video is part of the joy of teaching project at the University of Portland, sponsored by Collegium.
Conjectures of Courage
This video is part of the joy of teaching project at the University of Portland, sponsored by Collegium.
Find Some Awe: End of Semester Reflection
One of the central aspects of Jesuit education is “Finding God in all Things.” For me, this is summarized in the experience of awe. Exclamations like, “Wow, that was so cool.” and “I wonder what...
Humans before Heat Transfer
After attending Collegium, I thought for a long time about how I might help my engineering students with character formation, particularly building empathy and compassion as a habit. I implemented...
Lessons Learned: Building Metacognition Using the Ignatian Examen
The Ignatian Examen is a 500-year old method of contemplation, identifying patterns in our life that help us become more human and identify obstacles to that growth. Students often view organic...
Integrity in Teams
This video is part of the joy of teaching project at the University of Portland, sponsored by Collegium.