Category: News

The CIRCLE website is undergoing updates to better reflect current projects and services. If you have any questions or need help locating anything please contact Chris Wally at cwally@wustl.edu.

Due to precautions related to COVID-19, the CIRCLE conference has been rescheduled to Spring 2022. Please note this date change from the originally planned dates of October 2020 and April 2021. This conference, co-hosted by Washington University’s Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE) and The University of Utah’s Department of Chemistry, […]

***UPDATE to the previous updates*** This event is now postponed until further notice due to precautions related to COVID-19. More information will be provided when it becomes available. **UPDATE** This event has been postponed until Fall Semester 2020 due to WashU’s new ban on non-essential university travel due for the rest of the spring semester […]

**UPDATE: This event has been postponed until further notice** A 90-minute interactive workshop will be held from 10:30 am to Noon on March 13th, and is open to all interested advisers, student affairs professionals, and staff serving students from the Danforth and Medical campuses. The workshop will be focused on how to have difficult conversations […]

On Saturday, November 2nd, CIRCLE Undergraduate Researchers J.D. Young and Neil Vuppala presented data from projects they have been working on with CIRCLE staff at WashU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. J.D.’s research focused on qualitative analysis of students’ social belonging in introductory STEM courses, and Neil’s research looked at performance data related to concept-learning in introductory […]

  On Sept. 25, a day-long workshop was presented by nationally recognized social justice expert, Dr. Kathy Obear. Dr. Obear is the founder and president of The Center for Transformation and Change, author of three books, and consultant to hundreds of universities, human services organizations, and corporations. Dr. Obear has over 30 years of experience specializing […]

Our October 2019 speaker was Dr. Jennifer Knight from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Knight’s talk was titled: “Understanding Students’ In-Class Experiences Can Help Shape Effective Instructional Practices.” Over 30 interested faculty and staff attended the event; and Dr. Knight also met with departmental groups of faculty from Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Psychology, and Math over […]

Upcoming event on Wednesday, September 25th: Day-long workshop presented by nationally recognized social justice expert, Dr. Kathy Obear. Dr. Obear is the founder and president of The Center for Transformation and Change, author of three books, and consultant to hundreds of universities, human services organizations, and corporations. Dr. Obear has over 30 years of experience […]

CIRCLE’s third meeting of the Teaching Academy will take place on Wednesday, August 14th from 12:00 – 1:30 pm. All Arts & Sciences STEM faculty are welcome to attend, especially our faculty partners in the Transformational Initiative for Education in STEM (TIES) project and the HHMI Community for Innovations in STEM Teaching, Inclusion, and Learning […]

The next featured speaker scheduled as part of our CIRCLE Teaching Academy Speaker Series on October 8th is Dr. Jennifer Knight. Dr. Knight is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at University of Colorado-Boulder, and a recent recipient of the ‘Excellence in Teaching and Pedagogy’ 2019 BFA Excellence Award. […]

*** Update*** This conference will now be held April 29-30, 2021 due to precautions surrounding COVID-19. Please mark your calendars – the next CIRCLE Conference will be held April 29-30, 2021 at the Knight Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Details about the event and a meeting agenda will be forthcoming. If you are […]

CIRCLE’s inaugural Teaching Academy Speaker Series featuring Dr. Judith Harackiewicz took place on Tuesday, 4/16 and Wednesday, 4/17. Judith gave her keynote lecture titled “Promoting Motivation for Underrepresented Groups in Undergraduate STEM Classes,” which was followed by a reception in the Millstone Lounge. Judith also met with faculty in Biology, Chemistry, Psychological & Brain Sciences, […]

CIRCLE research assistant J.D. Young presented her poster, titled “Importance of Students’ Social Belonging in Chemistry and STEM” at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in Olin Library on April 12th. The Undergraduate Research Symposium at Washington University in St. Louis is a biannual event that provides undergraduates from all disciplines the opportunity to present original research in […]

For the inaugural kickoff of CIRCLE’s Teaching Academy Speaker Series, Dr. Judith Harackiewicz (University of Wisconsin-Madison) will give a keynote lecture on Tuesday, April 16th at 4:00 pm in Louderman 458. Dr. Harackiewicz’s research focuses on human motivation; specifically intrinsic motivation, interest, and achievement motivation in education. All are welcome to attend her talk, titled […]

CIRCLE’s second Teaching Academy workshop took place on February 28, 2019. Over 30 STEM faculty participated and each of the STEM disciplines including math, physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology were represented. A summary of the workshop and resources related to the presentations are available by clicking here. CIRCLE’s next Teaching Academy will take place on […]

CIRCLE has been selected by the Association of American Universities (AAU) as one of twelve AAU member institutions to receive a STEM Network mini-grant for $20,000 over two years. See the press release by clicking here. The grant is part of an Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative that focuses on improving STEM education through evidence-based teaching practices […]

Harris-Stowe State University is hosting the 2019 iEMBER (Inclusive Environments and Metrics in Biology Education and Research) Conference April 5-6 in St. Louis. Click here to register. Travel awards remain available through March 1st. The goal of iEMBER is to build a sustainable network of education, psychology, sociology, and biology researchers, who also connect with […]

The second meeting of the CIRCLE Teaching Academy will take place on Thursday, February 28th, from 12 – 1:30pm.   During this meeting, faculty participants will come together with CIRCLE and the HHMI project team for presentations and working-group sessions that will explore research on 1) how WashU students approach learning new material (concept-building approach), and […]

CIRCLE has received funding as part of a $3 million dollar National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop and implement a program that will train current and future faculty members in inclusive teaching methods. The project is called Inclusive Learning and Teaching in Undergraduate STEM Instruction, and will continue for five years.The funds will be […]

On December 10th, CIRCLE research assistants J.D., Jan, Michelle, and Neil presented findings from their work during the Fall 2018 semester. At CIRCLE, undergraduate researchers assist with ongoing projects in many ways, including design of materials, coding of surveys and data, administration of surveys, and data analysis. These presentations allowed our hardworking assistants to show […]

*** Please note that this conference has concluded. Feel free to contact Angela Fink (amfink@wustl.edu) with any questions or inquiries. *** This national conference, co-hosted by the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE) and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, will take place September 6-7, 2018, at Washington University in St. Louis. […]

CIRCLE is pleased to announce that one of our experimental studies has been accepted for publication in the journal Chemical Education Research and Practice. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Chemistry and with support from an Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative grant from the Association of American Universities. Results showed that a growth […]