2005 Roundtable on the Future
April 1 - 3, 2005
Every other year for the past eight years, PKAL has convened a roundtable on the future, first as an occasion to figure out PKAL's future, but morphing into attention on emerging issues that have potential to shape the future of undergraduate programs in STEM fields. These roundtables have brought together provocative thinkers, those experienced practitioners in exploring at the cutting-edge and bringing back new ideas into the community of stakeholders. Issues addressed have been how information technologies can strengthen learning, how to link assessment of student learning to larger institutional decisions, and how the STEM facility of the future incorporates 21st century science and technology, and serves 21st century learning communities. The past roundtables, and related activities within peer associations, set the stage for the 2005 PKAL Roundtable on the Future, exploring the potential of translating contemporary understandings about how people learn into programs, practices and policies.
The 2005 PKAL Roundtable on the Future will incorporate attention to the character of spaces for STEM learning under the umbrella theme of relating "learning theory to institutional transformation." Sessions will explore ways contemporary research in cognitive science affects how campus leaders approach the design and redesign of curricula and pedagogies, and determine policies and practices relating to establishing both a strong intellectual and physical infrastructure.