The Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching provide intensive training in undergraduate instruction for STEM faculty and future faculty at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Northeast Summer Institute (University of Connecticut): June 12-16, 2016

The goal of the Summer Institutes is to transform STEM education at colleges and universities by improving classroom instruction and attracting more diverse students to science. We train faculty and instructional staff by introducing them to a scientific method of teaching that embodies the spirit of research. Approximately 170 participants from about 65 colleges and universities attend the institutes each year.

The institute format models scientific teaching principles of active learning, assessment, and diversity. Activities include reflective writing, reading, researching, discussing teaching methods and philosophy, interactive presentations, and developing teaching materials that participants teach and evaluate when they return to their home institutions. 

Currently, Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching are supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Helmsley-funded institutes focus on faculty and future faculty from teaching-intensive institutions, while HHMI-funded Institutes focus on faculty and future faculty from research-intensive institutions.